Balule Nature Reserve is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

Limpopo Province 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 term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers ...

, South Africa which forms part of the Greater Kruger National Park as a member of the Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR). As part of a wildlife conservation initiative, all fences separating APNR reserves – Balule, Timbavati, Klaserie, Umbabat, – and the

Kruger National Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

have been removed. The ecological benefits of this initiative have made the region a popular

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

destination and conservation efforts have ensured that the wildlife population includes all the Big Five game.

History

The Balule area of the Greater Kruger National Park initially consisted several separate fenced game farms. In the early 1990s, landowners decided to remove the fences separating their properties in aid of conservation in order to increase the grazing area for the local wildlife and to diversify the animal gene pool. By the end of the decade, most Balule landowners had joined in the venture creating a much larger area for game to roam unhindered by fences, and hunting was curtailed. Kruger authorities noted the ecological benefits and decided to incorporate the Balule area into the Greater Kruger National Park by removing the fence between the

Kruger Park Kruger National Park () is a national park in South Africa covering an area of in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country's northeast. It extends from north to south and from east to west. The administrative headquarters are i ...

and Klaserie Game Reserve as well as between the Klaserie and Olifants Game Reserves. Today the Balule reserve covers around 40,000 hectares in area (The area periodically extends as more landowners join the initiative and become incorporated).

Geography

Balule Nature Reserve is situated on the western boundary of the

, in the

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, southwest of

Phalaborwa Phalaborwa (translated to English as ''better than the south; phala'' means ''better than and borwa'' means ''south'') is a town in the Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo province, South Africa. Name The place was called "Phalaborwa" by the S ...

, and north of

Hoedspruit Hoedspruit (Afrikaans for ''Hat Creek'') is a town situated at the foot of the Klein Drakensberg (Afrikaans for "Small Dragon Mountains" range), in the Limpopo province of South Africa, on the railway line from Tzaneen to Kaapmuiden. History ...

. The perennial Olifants River flows for approximately 20 km through the center of the reserve. The reserve consists of a number of smaller privately owned parks, these include: * Olifants River Game Reserve * Olifants River Eastern Conservancy * Olifants West Game Reserve * York Game Reserve * Parsons Game Reserve * Olifants North Game Reserve
Grietjie Game Reserve
* Jejane *Pridelands Conservancy

Flora and fauna

Balule is located in the subtropical lowveld, an area with multiple eco-zones resulting in significant variety in the flora with over 336 documented tree species in the region.

Baobab tree ''Adansonia'' is a genus of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). The eight species of ''Adansonia'' are native to Africa, Australia, and Madagascar but have also been introduced to other regions of the world, including Barb ...

s, fever trees, knobthorns, marula and mopane trees are predominant species in this wooded savannah. Lioness Balule

The diverse flora accommodates a diverse array of fauna. More than 220 different kinds of birds inhabit the area including raptor species such as

lappet-faced vulture The lappet-faced vulture or Nubian vulture (''Torgos tracheliotos'') is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes, which also includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is the only member of the genus ''Torgos''. It ...

Pel's fishing owl Pel's fishing owl (''Scotopelia peli'') is a large species of owl in the family Strigidae, found in Africa. It lives near rivers and lakes, and feeds nocturnal animal, nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. T ...

martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...

and impressive larger birds such as

kori bustard The kori bustard (''Ardeotis kori'') is the largest flying bird native to Africa. It is a member of the bustard family (biology), family, which all belong to the order Otidiformes and are restricted in distribution to the Old World. It is one of ...

ground hornbill The ground hornbills (Bucorvidae) are a family of the order Bucerotiformes, with a single genus ''Bucorvus'' and two extant species. The family is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa: the Abyssinian ground hornbill occurs in a belt from Senegal east ...

and

saddle-billed stork The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'') is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to ...

. There are over 30 species of mammals ranging from plains game such as

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

wildebeest Wildebeest ( , ,), also called gnu ( or ), are antelopes of the genus ''Connochaetes'' and native to Eastern and Southern Africa. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes true antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed ...

and

South African giraffe The South African giraffe or Cape giraffe (''Giraffa giraffa'' or ''Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa'') is a species or subspecies of giraffe found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Mozambique. It has rounded or blotched sp ...

to predators such as

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

African leopard The African leopard (''Panthera pardus pardus'') is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been Habitat fragmentation, fragm ...

and

southeast African cheetah The Southeast African cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus jubatus'') is the nominate subspecies, nominate cheetah subspecies native to East Africa, East and Southern Africa. The Southern African cheetah lives mainly in the Kalahari Basin, lowland areas a ...

. The rivers and other watering holes are home to large herds of

hippos A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water: * Hippopotamus * Pygmy hippopotamus Hippo or Hippos may also refer to: Toponymy * The ancient city of Hippo Regius (modern Annaba, Alg ...

and

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

s, and in the long dry seasons these areas are heavily trafficked by

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

and

safari A safari (; originally ) is an overland journey to observe wildlife, wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called big five game, "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, African leopard, leopard, rhinoceros, African elephant, elep ...

tour groups alike. The nature reserve is home to the big five.

Accommodation

The Reserve is managed as an eco-tourism destination and there are a number of private commercial game lodges located within the Reserve. The following lodges and camps offer accommodation in the Balule Reserve:
Grietjie Reserve Accommodation

Isilimela Game Lodge

Amukela Game Lodge

Balule River Camp

Baluleni Safari Lodge

Campfire Safaris Academy

Ezulwini Game Lodges

Greenfire Game Lodge

Kurhula Wildlife Lodge

Leopard View Game Lodge

Masodini Private Game Lodge

Maninghi Lodge

Mohlabetsi Safari Lodge

Mpala Lodge

Naledi Game Lodge

Parsons Hilltop Safari Camp

Pondoro Game Lodge

Raptor Retreat Game Lodge

Sausage Tree Safari Camp

Struwig Eco Reserve

Toro Yaka Bush Lodge

References

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External links