Marakele National Park

Marakele covers about 670 square kilometres of the Waterberg massif in Limpopo, where the dry west of South Africa meets the wetter east. It is Big Five country, malaria-free, and close enough to Gauteng for a long weekend: about 220 km north of Pretoria and 270 km from Johannesburg on tar. The park is really two parks. The western Kwaggasvlakte section is flat bushveld with giraffe, zebra and antelope and the Bontle camp. The eastern section is mountains and cliffs, home to the elephants, lions and the vultures, and you reach it through a tunnel under the public road.

Getting there

From Johannesburg or Pretoria take the N1 north to Bela-Bela, then the R516 west to Thabazimbi. The gate is about 12 km beyond the town. Thabazimbi has fuel, shops, a pharmacy and medical care, which matters because the park has none of them. Gates open 06:00 to 18:00 from September to April and 06:30 to 17:30 from May to August.

When to go

May to September is the dry season: mild sunny days, animals drawn to the waterholes and dams, and cold nights between 1 and 6 degrees in midwinter. Summer (October to April) is hot with afternoon storms and thick bush, but the migrant birds arrive and the hills turn green. Altitude runs from about 983 m to 1,986 m, so even summer evenings can be cool on the heights.

What to do

The drive up to the Lenong viewpoint is the thing everyone talks about. It is the only tarred road in the park: narrow, steep, with sheer drops and no barriers, climbing to about 1,200 m. Two cars meeting can be awkward. People who struggle with heights should think twice. At the top, Cape vultures from the colony of around 800 breeding pairs, the biggest anywhere, ride the thermals at eye level, and you look out over the whole Waterberg.

About 80 km of gravel road is open to ordinary cars, with high clearance helpful. Beyond the Tlopi camp in the east you need a 4x4, and there is a three-day guided 4x4 eco trail from April to October. The park has 16 antelope species, more than 250 birds, white rhino, elephant, buffalo (reintroduced in 2013) and, more elusively, lion and leopard. The three dams, Bollonoto, Bontle and Tlopi, are the reliable places to sit. Guided sunrise and sunset drives and bush walks run from the camps.

Good to know

• No fuel, shop, restaurant or ATM inside the park. Stock up in Thabazimbi.
• Bontle camp, 1 km inside the gate, has campsites and safari tents around a waterhole and is unfenced. Rhino and ostrich wander through, so keep children close after dark. Tlopi Tented Camp, 18 km in on a dam in the eastern section, has ten two-bed tents and is the one most people want. The Motswere cottage needs a 4x4.
• Speed limit is 40 km/h and the roads reward it.

Last updated 6 October 2026. Sources: Wikipedia, Wikivoyage, Roxanne Reid, Africa Addict, SafariBookings, De Wets Wild.