You will be forgiven for not knowing about Madikwe game reserve. Since its proclamation in 1991 it has kept a low profile, slowly building a reputation in an area renowned for its beauty and accessibility.
Wedged in a corner of the North West province against the border with Botswana (Gaborone is about 100km away, as the crow flies), Madikwe covers 75 000ha of mostly sandveld.
Better known, perhaps, is its sister reserve — the Pilanesberg — an hour’s drive south and next door to Sun City.
The two could become one if an ambitious plan by North West’s “powers that be” reaches fruition. The Heritage Park project seeks to join Madikwe with the Pilanesberg through a corridor reserve that will encourage game migration.
It is a plan that has its beginnings in the homelands era when the area was part of Bophuthatswana and under the control of Lucas Mangope.
The Bophuthatswana administration was well aware that farmers in the Madikwe area were battling to sustain yields and maintain profits. In what was then a forward-thinking survey examining the best possible and most sustainable use for the land in the area, it was decided that eco-tourism was the answer.
Proposals were put to the farmers, and accepted. Over the course of a few years the fences were dropped and the Madikwe game reserve was born. So too was the North West as the old Bop homeland crumbled during the transition to democracy.
But a game reserve is nothing without game. In a suitably large game-relocation exercise, known as Operation Phoenix, more than 18 000 head of game were brought in from the Kruger National Park, the Pilanesberg, Etosha in Namibia and Gonerazhou in Zimbabwe. Entire breeding herds of elephant were relocated —no mean feat when you consider the costs involved in capturing, acclimatising, transporting and re-acclimatising up to 50 elephant at a time.
But the result has been worth the effort — more than 10% of the former farm workers landed jobs within the new park.
In fact, Madikwe has become something of a flagship for its province and a trailblazer in more than one sense. Not least was North West Parks’s decision not to allow day visitors or self-drivers into Madikwe. The reserve is for the sole use of guests at the lodges and camps — and only then on organised, low-impact game drives.
Madikwe River Lodge was the first of the accommodation establishments to be developed, opening in October 1994 with 16 luxury, fully catered units on the banks of the Marico river.
Working closely with North West Parks, the lodge established a policy of community involvement that has seen it become a shining example of how responsible tourism can work to the advantage of the previously disadvantaged.
Today there are 22 other lodges offering a range of accommodation options within the reserve. By the end of the year there will be 23. Most have community programmes in place and operate in harmony with one another, maintaining the balance in a fragile ecosystem.
Madikwe River Lodge’s quiet success is linked to that of the park, which is the fourth-biggest game reserve in South Africa.
Head ranger Ignatius Bogatsu joined the lodge in 1999 as part of the Madikwe Initiative, a British-funded training project. Born and raised in nearby Molatedi village, Bogatsu was one of a number of community members trained in field guiding. Others took advantage of apprenticeships in plumbing, electrical work, leatherworking and media studies.
Bogatsu became head ranger in May this year and sees the position as the culmination of his life’s ambitions. “I was not cut out for life in a corporate office. This is where I belong, and I feel I can contribute so much, not just to the lodge but also to my community.”
He says he does not know of any other game reserve that has instituted such a strong community involvement. “We have a full-time liaison officer, who keeps channels between the local villages and the park officials and lodges open. In this way job opportunities become available and training initiatives undertaken. It is important because we have a strong policy of education first and foremost, making sure that people are properly trained to do their jobs.”
Bogatsu is positive about the Heritage Park plans. “I feel sure it will go forward.”
The plans were unveiled last February and at the moment North West Parks and the provincial administration are in negotiation with local farmers and landowners, but all indications are that there is a very positive attitude from all the role-players to the plans that are currently on the table,” says Bogatsu.
The planned Heritage Park will also create opportunities for further community involvement.
“A group of local villagers is in the process of building a cultural lodge that will offer the complete cultural experience of the BaTswana people,” says Bogatsu. “We have three tribes in this area — the Bahurutse, Batlokwa and Balete — all of which have their own unique cultures and traditions. All have delegates representing their interests at North West Parks. The people can see that tourism is the way forward for all of the communities.”
Bogatsu has his own ambitions, too. “I want a place of my own eventually, but for now I am aiming at becoming a lodge manager.”
Until then, taking guests out and showing them Madikwe’s richly diverse ecosystem suffices.
It’s a “Big Five” reserve and, thankfully, malaria free. And because of its position on the edge of the Kalahari basin it boasts an unusual combination of habitats — moist, almost sub-tropical, combined with arid, Kalahari sandveld. This means you can see eland and gemsbok, springbok and impala — animals you rarely see coexisting.
But much more than the Big Five, Madikwe is proud of its Magnificent Seven — with cheetah and wild dog adding to the usual team of elephant, buffalo, rhino (white and black), lion and leopard.
Game guide Tim Doyle explains the significance: “To have so many top predators and big game accessible to visitors is marvellous. It makes my job so much easier. For example, we have two wild dog packs, both denning at the moment. The one pack’s den is a few kilometres from Madikwe River Lodge and on most days guests can see the pack and 11 pups at rest around the den.
“We control the environment very carefully with a limit of only two vehicles at a time at the den, and work in close association with the other lodges to maintain a strict policy of non-intrusion.”
It seems to work. Driving or, more accurately, being driven in the park is a pleasure. The lodge, like all of the accommodation establishments in the park, includes two game drives a day in its price. And the policy of limiting the number of vehicles at sightings ensures that there’s no jostling for position and trying to peer over the hoods of 15 other vehicles at what may or may not be an animal.
As it stands, Madikwe is a success story. And the Heritage Park, when it comes, will only enhance that success. Although, what the repercussions will be joining an established self-drive park like the Pilanesberg with a reserved guests-only reserve are unknown.
“There will have to be strict policies in place with regards to the infrastructure,” says Doyle. “There has to be a happy medium and I’m sure it will be achieved.”
Only time will tell.
Sharon van Wyk was hosted by Madikwe River Lodge