Expansion plans set to transform Marakele Park

2026-03-18 - 04:31

The Marakele National Park in Thabazimbi, Limpopo, is working on acquiring more land to expand its territory, creating employment and business opportunities, according to Sipho Zulu, the park’s hospitality services manager. Zulu, who spoke at a recent media briefing held at the reserve, said the move would enable it to offer new activities, bring more animals, attract more visitors, and create job opportunities. “The park is not generating enough revenue. We have many plans and priorities, which is why we want to acquire more land so that we can expand it,” said Zulu. Marakele Park not generating enough revenue He said while the park is currently about 100 000 hectares, management is working on getting an additional 70 000ha. He added that the park was unique because of its range across three Waterberg municipalities, Thabazimbi, Lephalale and Modimolle. It is also situated near North West. ALSO READ: Hope flows again at Wonderboom landmark He said the park’s geographical spread serves as an advantage because many tourists use it as a corridor when visiting different areas adjacent to OR Tambo International Airport. Zulu further said the management was negotiating with neighbouring communities and other relevant stakeholders about the plan to secure more land. He revealed the park and local communities had a good relationship. Community partnerships “When there are issues or queries from the community, maybe unhappy with what we are doing and things like that, maybe our animals are troubling them, we talk about it. “We always work with the communities to make sure they always benefit from whatever we have. “Another special thing about this park is that it has a wetland and we use the water that comes from there. ALSO READ: Bloodsuckers just waiting to pounce “That’s why we’re also getting money from the national department to be able to protect the wetland from being damaged by elephants and rhinos. When these animals see water, they always want to go and play there.” He said the park was one of the few that has the big five. He added for that reason, they have strengthened security measures. Strengthen security measures Zulu said the park was doing well in fighting rhino poaching and poaching in general and recently managed to arrest several suspected rhino poachers at the facility. “Ours still have horns; what is helping us is we are working well with the neighbours and all the private sectors.” The park was also working on improving the road networks to allow tourists to have access to different vital sites that are not easily accessible. ALSO READ: Why spending New Year’s Eve alone might be the best way to start 2026 “Our five-year plan is to see Marakele’s visitors grow and we also want to increase the number of products we have. “At the moment, we don’t have brick and mortar for our clients, we only have safari tents, and we would like to put in brick-andmortar [facilities] to attract different clientele and make sure Marakele grows and attracts private investors.” Zulu added there were businesses operating in the park and invited small business owners to also avail themselves and take advantage of the business opportunities within the park. Protecting animals In an interview with The Citizen, Tinyiko Ndlovu, who is one of the ranger managers, said protecting the animals was her calling. “I started as a guard and have worked here for eight years. As a child, I was a wild child,” said Ndlovu. “I liked going out to the bushes, playing there. “I used to look at the rangers and wish to be one of them. ALSO READ: Life under wagtail authority “I’m happy because I am now one of them. I won’t say protecting animals is easy. We face different challenges daily,” she said. “As a ranger, sometimes my guard feelings tell me if there is an injured animal or when something bad is about to happen to the animals.”