Shashe/Tuli Transfrontier Park
The Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area
spanning the international borders of Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe
will become a unique conservation initiative.
The dream of a transfrontier park is one that dates back to 1922.
Jan Smuts, then South African prime minister and a conservationist of
note, declared some of the farms along the Limpopo border as the Dongola
Botanical Reserve.
In 1947, when he was again prime minister, he had it declared as the
Dongola Wildlife Sanctuary, with visions of establishing a transfrontier
reserve across the Limpopo and Sashe rivers.
This was not to be and the park was subsequently shut down.
Features
South of the Limpopo River the landscape is flat mopane veld with sandstone.
Nearer the Limpopo, the flat landscape changes into rugged, hilly terrain
with the altitude varying from 300 to 780 m above sea level.
In the Tuli Circle Safari Area, the relatively flat basalt landscape
gives way to the Shashe River basin running north-south to join the
Limpopo River.
Other major rivers that cross the proposed TFCA are the Tune and Motloutse
rivers in Botswana, and the Mogalakwena River in South Africa.
Viable populations of lion, leopard, cheetah and spotted hyena still
occur, apart from the well-know Tuli elephants.
There are also significant populations of eland, gemsbok, duiker, impala,
zebra, Sharpe’s grysbok, steenbok and blue wildebeest.
The habitat is also suitable for both white and black rhino.
The permanent pools in the Limpopo River offer refuge to crocodiles
and hippos as well as a variety of indigenous fish species.
De Beers recently reintroduced wild dogs, roan, tsessebe and elephant
into the Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve.
This area also has a great diversity of birdlife and over
350 species have been recorded to date.
At least eight black eagle breeding pairs have been recorded in the
sandstone hills.
Tourism Prospects
The Limpopo/Shashe TFCA with its wealth of wildlife, beautiful scenery
and unique cultural assets has the potential to become a major tourist
destination in southern Africa.
Existing tourist facilities are a number of privately run lodges in
Botswana and a growing number in South Africa.
The recently launched Mapungubwe National Park has added 100 beds to
the region in the form of a rest camp with chalets, a tented camp, wilderness
trails and various game-viewing facilities like a tree-top walk, hides
and access roads.
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