South African National Parks (Sanparks) announced on Monday the launch of the organisation’s newest park — the Mapungubwe National Park.
Previously known as Vhembe Dongola National Park, the Mapungubwe National Park is situated in Musina, north-east of Polokwane, the capital of the Limpopo province.
The Mapungubwe National Park comprises the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape and the Mapungubwe World Heritage Site in an area covering more than 28 000ha.
The park forms part of a project to develop a major transfrontier conservation area, the Limpopo/Shashe Transfrontier Park, which will include Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. This will link the Mapungubwe National Park with Botswana’s Tuli Block and the Tuli Safari area of Zimbabwe.
”We are very excited about this newest addition. Our decision to develop the Mapungubwe National Park is based on the rich biodiversity of the area and its scenic beauty. The area is also of immense cultural and historical significance because of the archaeological treasures of Mapungubwe,” said David Mabunda, chief executive of Sanparks.
Together with its surrounding areas, Mapungubwe National Park has the potential to be a sanctuary for viable populations of some of the most threatened large mammals on earth, such as the black and white rhinoceros, wild dog and the continent’s flagship species, the African elephant, he said.
The park’s tourism facilities will be available to tourists from August this year. — Sapa