By Dianne Bayley

The province of Limpopo shares international borders with Botswana’s Central and Kgatleng districts to the west and north-west; Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland South and Masvingo provinces to the north and northeast; and Mozambique’s Gaza Province to the east. It is also the gateway from South Africa and to other countries sub-Saharan Africa and on its southern flank from east to west, the province shares borders with Mpumalanga.Limpopo - the capital of which is Polokwane - is home to much of the Waterberg Biosphere, a UNESCO designated Biosphere Reserve. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion. The ecosystem is characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld. Within the Waterberg there are archaeological finds dating to the Stone Age, and nearby are early evolutionary finds related to the origin of humans.

The population of Limpopo comprises several ethnic groups distinguished by culture, language and race. 97.3% of the population is Black, 2.4% is White, 0.2% is Coloured, and 0.1% is Indian/Asian. The Northern Sotho (Sepedi) make up the largest number, at around 57%. The Tsonga (Shangaan) speakers comprise 23% while the Venda people make up 12%. Afrikaans speakers make up 2.6% while English-speaking Whites make up less than half a per cent of residents.

For historians and paleontologists – professional and amateur – the region is a gold mine of information. Bushmen entered Waterberg around two thousand years ago. They produced rock paintings at Lapalala, including depictions of rhinoceros and antelope. Early Iron Age settlers brought cattle to the region which reduced grassland, causing and invasion of brush species that led to an outbreak of the tse-tse fly. The ensuing “sleeping sickness” epidemic depopulated the plains, but at higher elevations man survived, because the fly cannot survive above 600 meters.

The first white settlers arrived in Waterberg in 1808. Around the mid 19th century, a group of Dutch travelers set out from Cape Town in search of Jerusalem. Arriving in Waterberg, they miscalculated their distance and thought they had reached Egypt!

The rise in eco-tourism has stimulated interest in soil conservation practices to restore original grass species to the Waterberg.

Limpopo is also home to many nature reserves and national parks. Besides the well-known national parks - such as the Greater Limpopo Park (Kruger National Park), Mapungubwe and Marakele - some 50 further other provincial nature reserves exist in this exquisite province that reflect the diversity of this pristine part of the world.

You can’t visit South Africa without experiencing the wildlife in its own domain . . . and Limpopo is just the place to do it!