Blouberg 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 ...

situated close to Vivo, west of

Louis Trichardt Louis Trichardt (formerly Trichardtsdorp, and Makhado from 2003 to 2014), informally shortened to LTT (), is a town in Limpopo, South Africa. It is at the foot of Songozwi, in the Soutpansberg mountain, and is the centre of the Makhado Local Mu ...

in the

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 ...

, of South Africa. It covers an area of from the eastern portion of the Blouberg mountain range to the savanna near the

Brak River The Brak River () is a river located in northern Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is a tributary of the Polokwane River. Course The Brak River starts on the east of the Makgabeng Plateau and flows north-northeast until reaching the Blouberg ...

, Blouberg was established as a protected area in 1990 by Peter G Dix. The reserve is currently managed and administered by the Limpopo Provincial Government Department of Economic Development, Environment & Tourism

Topography and habitats

Its topography renders a diverse array of habitats which in turn accommodate numerous species of plant and animal life. This reserve is well known for the largest breeding colony of

Cape vulture The Cape vulture (''Gyps coprotheres''), also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some parts ...

s in South Africa in its mountainous sector.Blouberg Nature Reserve, Limpopo
/ref> On the plain sector game is abundant with special mention of

Cape buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

sable antelope The sable antelope (''Hippotragus niger'') is a large antelope which inhabits wooded savanna in East and Southern Africa, from the south of Kenya to South Africa, with a separated population in Angola. Taxonomy The sable antelope shares the genu ...

and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

. It is predominately

bushveld The Bushveld (from Afrikaans: ''bosveld'', Afrikaans: ''bos'' 'bush' and ) is a Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, sub-tropical woodland ecoregion of Southern Africa. The ecoregion straddles the Tropic of Capricorn ...

savanna with

Baobab ''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 and Tamboti Trees standing prominently on the northern plains. Natural forest occurs on the mountain's southern slopes, which includes a large Outeniqua yellowwood, which was given official protection in 2013.Situated at .

Visitor facilities

Current accommodation consists of chalets at Mashatu camp, Tamboti tented bush camp, Modumele Wilderness Camp and Molope Camp. A vehicle with high ground clearance is needed, especially for the southern part. Although it is an ideal stopover for the Tuli Block in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

, the

Mapungubwe National Park Mapungubwe National Park is a national park in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. It forms part of the UNESCO Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape and the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, abutting on the border with Botswana and Zi ...

on the

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

border or the northern part of

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 ...

, the reserve is worth a proper visit in itself.

Animals

Animal species found in the reserve: Bird species found in the reserve:

Site locations

270px, Map of the nature reserve *Main gate *Office *Mashatu camp *Tamboti camp *Molope camp *Modumele camp *Vulture Restaurant *Big Tree *Fig Forest *Look-out point *Fountain *Rapanyana's Neck

References

{{reflist

External links