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View of Shingwedzi's office building with the Shingwedzi River in the foreground Visitor accommodation at Shingwedzi Alexander Merensky's map of 1881 shows the unhealthy malarial flats and the range of the
tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glo ...
(in blue) encompassing much of the region. Shingwedzi (also Xingwedzi in modern
Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (born 1985), French tennis player See also * ...
orthography) is a rest camp (i.e. tourist camp) and ranger's post situated in the northern section of the
Kruger National Park Kruger National Park is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends from north to south and from e ...
. They are located on the southern bank of the Shingwedzi River, for which they were named, in
Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...
province, South Africa. The surrounding country formerly constituted the Singwitsi Reserve, proclaimed in 1903, which encompassed over 5,000 square kilometers. The region was over-hunted by the end of the 19th century, its big game depleted and its
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae a ...
population completely decimated. The name "Shingwedzi" is of
Tsonga Tsonga may refer to: * Tsonga language, a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa * Tsonga people, a large group of people living mainly in southern Mozambique and South Africa. * Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (born 1985), French tennis player See also * ...
origin, and was perhaps derived from "Shing-xa-goli", perhaps a local chieftain, and "njwetse", the sound of iron rubbing against iron.


History

During the 19th century the area had only a small native population, as the presence of predators and
tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glo ...
prevented cattle husbandry. To the immediate east
Soshangane Soshangana KaZikode (), born Soshangana Nxumalo, was the Founder and the Monarch of the Gaza Empire, which at the height of its power stretched from the Limpopo river in southern Mozambique up to the Zambezi river in the north. Soshangana rule ...
established himself as overlord of the lower Bileni/ Limpopo valley from 1827/28 to 1835, displacing resident Tsonga people in clashes like the Battle of Xihaheni, while moving northwards. The
rinderpest Rinderpest (also cattle plague or steppe murrain) was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and many other species of even-toed ungulates, including gaurs, buffaloes, large antelope, deer, giraffes, wildebeests, and warthogs ...
epidemic of 1896 however ravaged the region's buffalo population, and with it the
tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glo ...
, the vector of
nagana Animal trypanosomiasis, also known as nagana and nagana pest, or sleeping sickness, is a disease of vertebrates. The disease is caused by trypanosomes of several species in the genus ''Trypanosoma'' such as ''Trypanosoma brucei''. ''Trypanosoma ...
or sleeping sickness. Some now looked at the region for its economic prospects. By the end of the 19th century this remote northeastern part of South Africa was the abode of poachers, illegal loggers, illegal prospecters and illegal recruiters of black labour from across the border. In December 1902, Leonard Ledeboer, a
Zoutpansberg Zoutpansberg was the north-eastern division of the Transvaal, South Africa, encompassing an area of 25,654 square miles. The chief towns at the time were Pietersburg and Leydsdorp. It was divided into two districts (west and east) prior to the ...
resident who had switched sides during the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, suggested the establishment of a reserve to sir Godfrey Lagden of the Department of Native Affairs. The Administrative Proclamation No. 19 of May 1903 which established the Singwitsi Reserve, also brought an end to the lawless exploitation of the region. The reserve boundary went from the
Groot Groot () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Tales to Astonish'' #13 (Nov. 1960). An extraterrestrial, sentien ...
and Klein Letaba confluence in a straight line north to Shikumdu Hill, turning northeastwards to the Levuvhu and Crook's Corner. From the Limpopo it ran south along the Portuguese border to the Olifants, and west along the Letaba to the aforementioned confluence. The remote and beautiful reserve could boast with hills topped by
baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropi ...
trees, the dramatic Lanner and Olifants gorges, lush riparian vegetation, plains with impressive
mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...
trees, and flood plains adorned with ilala palms and fever trees.


First rangers

Major
James Stevenson-Hamilton James Stevenson-Hamilton (2 October 1867 – 10 December 1957) served from 1902–1946 as the first warden of South Africa's Sabi Nature Reserve, which was expanded under his watch and became Kruger National Park in 1926. The Tsonga people ni ...
was warden of the Sabi (since 1902) as well as Singwitsi Reserves. During his inspection tour of Singwitsi during September and October 1903, Stevenson-Hamilton found that game was scarce. He was nevertheless delighted with the region and found it 'well worth protecting'. Besides the relics of hunting camps there were numerous small African homesteads, the occupants of which subsisted on trapping and hunting by bow and arrow. The scarcity of game he however attributed to systematic hunting by
Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this area ...
hunters, who were in his opinion doing more damage in a week than the Africans in a year. They had apparently exterminated all the elephant, rhino and eland during the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, and regarded game laws and ordinances as "waste paper", while having "no sporting instincts and no sense of honour as a rule". From 1904 to 1919 major A. A. Fraser was his only ranger in Singwitsi. The eccentric, red-bearded Fraser was recruited from Scotland as ranger for the small Pongola Reserve (dissolved in 1921), before he was transferred to Malunzane (also Malundzane) in Singwitsi. This deserted base of a former labour recruiter became Fraser's ranger post. It consisted of five
rondavel Rondavel is a style of African hut known in literature as ''cone on cylinder'' or ''cone on drum.'' The word comes from the Afrikaans ''rondawel''. Description The rondavel is usually round or oval in shape and is traditionally made with materia ...
s on the bank of the Shongololo stream, not far from the present Mopani rest camp. Fraser was a poor administrator however, considering office work 'undignified', and was besides a poor manager of his native staff. He also developed poor relations with government officials of the district. An additional ranger, J. J. Coetsee, arrived in 1919 from East Africa. He established his ranger's post at the foot of Dimbo Kop in the far north. This he named Punda Maria, perhaps a playful corruption of ''phande mariha'' (or "border of the winter"), the alleged
Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...
appellation for this region. When Stevenson-Hamilton returned from Sudan to South Africa in 1920, he observed that a depressing retrogression had occurred in terms of discipline, management and faunal preservation in both the Sabi and Singwitsi Reserves.


Merged with Sabi Reserve

In expectation of a government buyout of the land in these reserves, the Singwitsi and Sabi became the Transvaal Game Reserve in 1923, then still privately owned to a large extent.
Deneys Reitz Deneys Reitz (1882—1944), son of Francis William Reitz, was a Boer warrior who fought in the Second Boer War for the South African Republic against the British Empire. After a period of exile in French Madagascar he returned to South A ...
, Minister of Lands from 1921 to 1924, and his successor Piet Grobler, advocated the fulfillment of '
Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (o ...
's dream', and the Kruger National Park was established in 1926. The persons involved in the Kruger Park's creation, the extent of their contributions and their political motives are matters of debate, but may be seen as the culmination of various protectionist movements and many strands of thought. By 1932 a good dirt road linked Letaba, Shingwedzi and Punda Maria for the first time, but this road was only accessible to tourists during the winter months.


Camp facilities

Shingwedzi's 31 tourist huts were completed in 1933, but these were only enclosed by a fence much later. Construction of Punda Maria's tourist huts was likewise undertaken during the same year. Current accommodation of Shingwedzi camp consists of 66 bungalows, 12 huts, 1 family cottage and 1 guest house, besides 50 camping sites. A new administrative complex was added in 1982/3, then outside the camp, and the A-circle huts were upgraded to bungalows. A landing strip is situated just south of the camp. The Kanniedood dam was constructed 9km downstream of the camp in 1978, but was demolished 40 years later, in 2018, in line with a rehabilitation project which aims to limit artificial water points for animals. The artificial supply of water in a naturally dry region caused erosion and environmental degradation. Rare herbivore species such as roan suffered due to increased grazing competition by abundant grazers, and from predation by lions which likewise expanded their territories.


Hiking trail

The Mphongolo Backpack Trail starts from Shingwedzi Camp, but doesn't follow a specific route. It enables small groups of visitors to explore areas like the Mphongolo River, Bububu River, Phonda Hills, sodic pans or stone-walled ruins. The name of the river, Mphongolo, commemorates a former
Venda Venda () was a Bantustan in northern South Africa, which is fairly close to the South African border with Zimbabwe to the north, while to the south and east, it shared a long border with another black homeland, Gazankulu. It is now part of the ...
chief, Mapongole.


Rains and floods

Rainfall is almost entirely restricted to the summer months (October to April), and normally amounts to about 500 mm per annum. The Shingwedzi River flows only during summer, and diminishes to shrinking pools in winter. Heavy rains are normal at the start of each year, which may affect tourist roads, bridges, picnic spots and bush camps. On 24 February 2000 the Shingwedzi River reached record levels when cyclone Leon–Eline struck the northern lowveld. These levels were surpassed on 20 January 2013 when Shingwedzi and Sirheni camps were completely submerged by flood water after 400 mm of rain in a week caused the Mphongolo and Shingwidzi Rivers to burst their banks. 262 people were evacuated on the 20th and airlifted to safety the next day. Some staff were trapped as roads became submerged and survived by taking shelter in trees or on roofs. Some staff and tourists lost all their belongings, and the cost of rebuilding was over R150 million. The camp was reopened for tourists in June 2013.


Fauna and flora

The camp is situated in
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae a ...
country, and breeding herds of 50 to 60 animals frequent the vicinity. The tusks of a local elephant bull named "Shingwedzi" are now displayed in the museum at Letaba. Shingwedzi died in 1981 near the camp, and was one of the so-called "magnificent seven" that roamed the park during the 1970s and 80s. Other
Afrotheria Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also kn ...
which are sparsely resident include the
aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...
, '' Petrodromus'', two ''
Elephantulus ''Elephantulus'' is a genus of elephant shrew Elephant shrews, also called jumping shrews or sengis, are small insectivorous mammals native to Africa, belonging to the family Macroscelididae, in the order Macroscelidea. Their traditional co ...
'' species and the
golden mole Golden moles are small insectivorous burrowing mammals endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa. They comprise the family Chrysochloridae and as such they are taxonomically distinct from the true moles, family Talpidae, and other mole-like families, all ...
. Two species of
hyrax Hyraxes (), also called dassies, are small, thickset, herbivorous mammals in the order Hyracoidea. Hyraxes are well-furred, rotund animals with short tails. Typically, they measure between long and weigh between . They are superficially simil ...
are allopatrically distributed, namely the yellow-spotted hyrax which occurs commonly along the northern bush-clad hills and sandstone outcrops, and the
rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the das ...
, which occurs patchily southwards of the Bubube and Shingwedzi Rivers, but no further south than the Olifants. Ranger D. Swart reported seeing a group of six
bat-eared fox The bat-eared fox (''Otocyon megalotis'') is a species of fox found on the African savanna. It is the only extant species of the genus ''Otocyon'' and considered a basal canid species. Fossil records indicate this canid first appeared during th ...
es near Shingwedzi in 1967, a species previously thought to be restricted to the western parts of
southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
. Further sightings in 1967 and 1969 confirmed their presence. The affinities of the region's avifauna is mainly with the tropical north. Sight records for red-necked spurfowl have been claimed from along the Shingwedzi and Mphongolo rivers, suggesting an isolated population. Two bird species represent the southwesterly arid fauna however, namely the fawn-coloured lark and Kalahari scrub robin, which both occur in the elevated sandveld around Machai Pan. The shaft-tailed whydah likewise occurs there, but not exclusively.
Yellow-billed oxpecker The yellow-billed oxpecker (''Buphagus africanus'') is a passerine bird in the family Buphagidae. It was previously placed in the starling and myna family, Sturnidae. It is native to the savannah of Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal east to Suda ...
s were extinct in the region by 1897, but made an unaided comeback since 1979 and are now well-established. The immediate vicinity of Shingwedzi camp contains some riparian vegetation with large trees, and narrow alluvial plains created by centuries of flooding, flank the river on each side. Here Transvaal mustard trees, weeping boer-bean,
sausage tree ''Kigelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae. The genus consists of only one species, ''Kigelia africana'', which occurs throughout tropical Africa. The so-called sausage tree grows a poisonous fruit that is up to long, ...
, Natal mahogany and brack thorn may be found, but further afield the land is dominated by
mopane ''Colophospermum mopane'', commonly called mopane, mopani, balsam tree, butterfly tree, or turpentine tree, is a tree in the legume family (Fabaceae), that grows in hot, dry, low-lying areas, in elevation, in the far northern parts of southern A ...
shrub, punctuated by apple-leaf trees. The leafy, large-canopied nyala tree occurs sparsely along the alluvial strips, but more commonly at Pafuri. A nyala tree beside the Mphongolo Loop (S56) road has been assigned champion tree status, in addition to a
sycamore fig ''Ficus sycomorus'', called the sycamore fig or the fig-mulberry (because the leaves resemble those of the mulberry), sycamore, or sycomore, is a fig species that has been cultivated since ancient times. The term '' sycamore'' spelled with an ...
near Phalaborwa Gate.
Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The s ...
, caused by the bacterium ''
Bacillus anthracis ''Bacillus anthracis'' is a gram-positive and rod-shaped bacterium that causes anthrax, a deadly disease to livestock and, occasionally, to humans. It is the only permanent (obligate) pathogen within the genus ''Bacillus''. Its infection is a t ...
'', is endemic to the area, and causes sporadic outbreaks. It affects mainly
ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, c ...
s, but also carnivores and humans. As anthrax inhibits blood clotting, the blood of deceased animals seep into the soil. The spores survive for decades in substrates with elevated calcium content or neutral-to-alkaline pH levels.


Land claim

In 1905 chief Sundhuza Mhinga and his Mhinga clan were dispossessed of their land in this area, and moved to land west of the park. In 1999 chief Shilungwa Mhinga claimed all land in the park north of the Shingwedzi River, and intended to use the southern portion for ecotourism hotels and other parts for lodges. Land restitution legislation however assists only those dispossessed since 1913, so as to avoid conflicting claims.


Gallery

File:S134 Causeway (6045847780).jpg,
Yellow-billed stork The yellow-billed stork (''Mycteria ibis''), sometimes also called the wood stork or wood ibis, is a large African wading stork species in the family Ciconiidae. It is widespread in regions south of the Sahara and also occurs in Madagascar. ...
and
crocodiles Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to include all extant taxo ...
patrolling the flooded causeway File:Kruger National Park - Shingwedzi River with elephants.jpeg, Elephants on the sandy river bed File:Big Tusker - Shingwedzi (6045237154).jpg, Preserved tusks of "Shingwedzi" (c.1934–1981) at the museum in Letaba camp File:Hyphaene petersiana02.jpg, Real fan palm at the southern limit of its range


See also

* Makuleke *
Thulamela __NOTOC__ Thulamela is the most dramatic of the around 300 archaeological sites identified in Kruger National Park. It is located on heights south of the Levubu River offering a panoramic view. Sidney Miller led excavations from December 1993 to ...


References

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