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The WaterbergThe Waterberg ...Vast, peaceful and incredibly beautiful, the Waterberg is a fascinating destination with a rich cultural legacy and a natural splendour -- missed by African bush safari enthusiasts en-route to Kruger Park for centuries... Only in the last 10 years has it been discovered and old farms with untouched and untamed bushveld have been turned into Private Game Reserves by nature loving owners... What is it?The Waterberg is an escarpment of massive sandstone buttresses and outcrops, incorporating many rivers, streams and swamps, stretching for 150 km in a long arc from Thabazimbi in the West, past Nylstroom to Potgietersrus in the east. It encompasses some 14,500 sq km of mountain ranges and undulating plateau’s and is an area of magnificent landscape, with breath-taking scenery, pristine habitats, abundant bird and wildlife and has an unmatched rugged beauty. Where is it?The Waterberg lies in the Limpopo province of South Africa to the west of the N1 freeway (runs north from Pretoria) and stretches for 150 km from Thabazimbi to the Lapalala River. This is a unique area in South Africa where its beauty lies in its mountain gorges, clear streams and rolling hills which are rich with indigenous species of flora and fauna. The main towns in and around the Waterberg are Vaalwater, Lephalale, Thabazimbi, Warmbaths. Why is the Waterberg important? The Waterberg is an area of rich habitat diversity with unique ecosystems and therefore contains high biodiversity of animals and plants. The Waterberg also serves as a significant water reservoir. This is an important attribute for Limpopo Province, as water supply is limited. The numerous wetlands, streams and rivers that exist within the Waterberg mountains form a very important conservation priority. The plant life also, makes the Waterberg special. There are 84 species of trees on the current list, which includes Ficuses, Combretums, Rhuses, Acacias, Aloes, Maroela, Tamboti and many others.A fascinating feature of the rocky hillside of The Waterberg is the abundance of flora related to Cape fynbos found hundreds of kilometres away. The Cape fynbos constitutes a separate floral kingdom and is found almost exclusively in the western cape. It is fascinating to find similar plants growing on the slopes of the Waterberg so far north. The Cape Vulture used to be a common sight on Table Mountain, but now the most important breeding colony for these creatures lies on the Groothoek cliffs in the Marakele National Park in the Waterberg. Human history of the Waterberg The mountains of the Waterberg are steeped in history with many rock art and geological sites. Its history dates back to the Stone Age and features significantly in the country's cultural and sociopolitical development. Towns in the area are home to different clans of the Bapedi, Tswana and Basotho tribes as well as descendants of the VoortrekkersThe Waterberg as we know it today is more than three million years old. Archaeological finds and San paintings are just glimpses of lives that have been played out in the region. Stone Age implements, fashioned by Homo erectus, have been found along the Lapalala river basin, the earliest evidence of humans. The people of the Stone Age, the San (Bushmen) who were indigenous hunter/ gatherers, were displaced within the last two thousand years when the first Iron Age people moved into the area. Settlements of the late Iron Age People, dated about 150 years ago can be found through out the Waterberg. Later, the Waterberg became home to the Voortrekkers. These were the early white settlers who first ventured into these mountains in the 1840s. The early Voortrekkers gave name to the Waterberg, which literally means water mountain. They were struck by the abundance of rivers flowing from the area, particularly in the rainy season when every available rock face glistens with water overflowing from the mountains. The Waterberg has a long history of human occupation and has been inhabited by a succession of people over hundreds of thousands of years. From Stone Age people, to the San (Bushmen), Khoikhoi herders and Iron Age people, all have left their traces in the form of paintings or iron smelting furnaces. The Waterberg is rapidly emerging as one of the most important San rock art sites in South Africa. The Geology of the Waterberg Spectacular rocks rise out of the bushveld easily showing the geology of the area. The Waterberg, as its name suggests, was once well watered with a system of great rivers, morasses and inland lakes. Unlike other mountain ranges, the Waterberg, was not pushed up by continental drift or volcanic activity, it is a structural remnant of erosion. In comparatively recent geological history the land around the sandstone mountains eroded away, leaving the landscape we see today.The red beds of shale and sandstone, so characteristic of the Waterberg, were laid down by continental deposition around 1.8 billion years ago, and are very early evidence of an oxygenated atmosphere around our planet. The Waterberg Massif has an abundance of iron and manganese which gives the sedimentary rocks their distinctive red, orange and purple hues which glow in the setting sun. Conservation of the Waterberg The past 19 years have seen a major change, which has come about as a result of the many land-use practises becoming unprofitable. Wildlife conservation has taken the place of these earlier farming enterprises, so that vast areas have been given over to conservation in one form or another. About 20% of the Waterberg is now under formal conservation management. The Waterberg Conservancy is an association of landowners who have dedicated their efforts to re-establishing and conserving endangered species and habitats. The network of farms cover more than 150 000ha and includes some 100km of the Palala river.Approximately 6 000 square kilometers of the Waterberg has been turned into a conservation area with elephants, white rhino, leopard and buffalo as local residents. There are over 300 bird species listed - a bird watcher’s paradise. The Waterberg.Com Waterberg South Africa Copyright. Last updated June 2010 Author/ designer: K Abramemail: Kelly@thewaterberg.com |