The roads may be long, the distances vast, but growing numbers of travellers are heading into the Kruger National Park via Phalaborwa Gate in Limpopo province, and driving across the park to Girriyondo Gate, a fairly recently opened border post into Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park.
It is in the region of an 8 hour journey along rough roads to get to the coast in Mozambique, but the scenery is astounding and the journey certainly gives one a taste of what its like to travel through what has been dubbed ‘the world’s greatest animal kingdom’.
The World’s Greatest Animal Kingdom
This is the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP), a staggering 40 000 km2 wildlife conservation area, that is being created by linking the Kruger National Park in South Africa; Limpopo National Park in Mozambique; Gonarezhou National Park, Manjinji Pan Sanctuary and Malipati Safari Area in Zimbabwe; as well as two areas between Kruger and Gonarezhou, namely the Sengwe communal land in Zimbabwe and the Makuleke region in South Africa.
The GLTP comprises a vast area of the lowland savannah ecosystem, bisected by the Lebombo Mountains running along the border between South Africa and Mozambique. Five major river systems cross this region in a generally west-east flow.
The Transfrontier Concept
The transfrontier concept is based on the protection of eco-systems that don’t necessarily recognise international borders, and makes provision for the mutual management of these areas by the countries involved. The first proposal for a transfrontier park linking Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe was way back in 1938, when ecologist Gomes de Sousa suggested that the Mozambique colonial administration negotiate with its neighbouring states to establish something along these lines.
But it had to wait as it’s been only a few years since the three heads of state of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique signed an international treaty in Dec 2002 to establish the GLTP; after which the Ministers for the Environment of Mozambique and South Africa removed part of the fence between the Limpopo and Kruger National Parks to symbolize the creation of ‘the world’s greatest animal kingdom.’
World-class Eco-tourism Destination
The GLTP is set to be a world-class eco-tourism destination involving extensive private sector involvement, but designed to benefit local communities as well as manage the area’s biodiversity in a sustainable way. Eventually, the entire eastern fence of the KNP will be dropped, a mammoth undertaking of some 200kms.
Once open, tourists will be able to drive across the international borders of the three countries within the boundaries of the park, and will have greater sightseeing adventures. The Kruger currently attracts a million visitors a year and it is hoped that these visitors will make use of the extended transfrontier park.
Parks and People
Right now however, travellers are advised to make use of 4x4 vehicles to travel between South Africa and Mozambique. The entrance to Limpopo National Park is designed out of river stones packed into bluegum poles, and the road leads past the Masingir Dam, which is an amazing sight.
Unlike the Kruger, however, the road through this park takes you past a number of villages and settlements. Many of the houses are built on stilts and the environment is more tropical, low-lying savannah. And here cattle are housed in sturdy enclosures in case of attack by lions.
Part of the challenge of developing the Mozambican side of the GLTP will be to find a way for communities and wildlife to live in harmony. The transfrontier park can only be said to have been fully established once there is free movement of animals and people along the length of the international borders within the boundaries of the park; a process that will understandably take a number of years to implement.
The Jewel in the Crown
The GLTP is regarded as something of a jewel in the crown of the various transfrontier parks across the continent. Much of this has to do with the fact that it includes the famous Kruger National Park. Established tourism infrastructure therefore already exists in one part of the GLTP, and it is hoped this will serve as a springboard for increased tourism to the lesser developed areas.
Tourists will be attracted by the additional possibilities for sightseeing and leisure activities in the expanded area. Direct access to the Mozambican coast will also mean greatly enhanced marketing opportunities for both countries.
Crossing Over
Apart from Girriyondo border post, travellers between South Africa and Mozambique can also cross the border at Pafuri in the area known as Crook’s Corner, which got its name from the border-hopping outlaws who lived there during the late 19th and early 20th century.
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