View source for Makuleke

{{Short description|Northernmost section of Kruger National Park, South Africa}}
{{Use South African English|date=July 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Makuleke, Kruger National Park
| map = South Africa
| map_caption = Location in South Africa
| location = [[Limpopo]], [[South Africa]]
| nearest_city = Tshipise, [[South Africa]]
| coordinates = {{coord|22|24|05|S|31|11|49|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area = {{convert|240|km2|abbr=on}}
| established = Incorporated into Kruger Park 1969<br/>Returned to Makuleke people 1998
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[South African National Parks]] and Makuleke People
|embedded = {{Designation list
| embed = yes
| designation1 = Ramsar
| designation1_offname = Makuleke Wetlands
| designation1_date = 22 May 2007
| designation1_number = 1687<ref>{{Cite web|title=Makuleke Wetlands|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1687|accessdate=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
}}
The '''Makuleke Contractual Park''' or '''Pafuri Triangle''' constitutes the northernmost section of the [[Kruger National Park]], [[South Africa]], and comprises approximately 240 square kilometres of land.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.krugerparkreservations.com/pafuri_wilderness_trails.asp |title=Pafuri Wilderness |accessdate=27 July 2007 |author=Wilderness Safaris |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806070332/http://www.krugerparkreservations.com/pafuri_wilderness_trails.asp |archivedate=6 August 2007 }}</ref> The "triangle" is a wedge of land created by the confluence of the [[Limpopo River|Limpopo]] and [[Levubu River|Luvuvhu River]]s at the [[tripoint]] Crook's Corner, which forms a border with [[Zimbabwe]] along the Limpopo River. It is a natural choke point for wildlife crossing from North to South and back, and forms a distinct ecological region.
Pafuri ([[Tsonga language|Tsonga]]) is derived from Mphaphuli, the dynastic name of [[Venda people|Venda]] chieftains who ruled locally,<ref name="bulpin1">{{cite book |last1=Bulpin |first1=T. V. |title=The Transvaal (A Collection of the Mobil Treasury of Travel Series covering the Transvaal) |date=1975 |publisher=T. V. Bulpin |location=Cape Town | chapter = The Kruger National Park |isbn=0-949956-12-0}}</ref> while the Luvuvhu River is named after a ''[[Combretum]]'' tree ([[Venda language|Venda]]: ''muvuvhu'', [[Tsonga language|Tsonga]] Rivubye) growing on its banks.<ref>{{Cite book|last = du Plessis|first = E.J.|title = Suid-Afrikaanse berg- en riviername|publisher = Tafelberg-uitgewers, Cape Town|year = 1973|pages = 265|isbn = 0-624-00273-X}}</ref>
==Geological history==
The Makuleke region carries a remarkable geological and natural heritage that makes this region of interest to geographers and historians.<ref name="Kruger history">{{Cite web|url=http://www.krugerparkreservations.com/History.asp |title=Kruger History |accessdate=4 August 2007 |author=Kruger National Park |year=2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060101224544/http://www.krugerparkreservations.com/History.asp |archivedate=1 January 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://africanadrenalin.co.za/wildernesssafaris/pafuri_camp.htm |title=Pafuri Camp |accessdate=4 August 2007 |author=African adrenalin |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928171222/http://africanadrenalin.co.za/wildernesssafaris/pafuri_camp.htm |archivedate=28 September 2007 }}</ref> Some rocks in the area have been dated to over 250 million years old. In the bottom of [[Lanner Gorge]] are rocks that appear to be of [[Permian]] age, which indicate that the then interior of [[Pangea]] was harsh and arid.<ref name="Berger">{{Cite web|url=http://www.profleeberger.com/files/A_History_of_the_Makuleke_licensed_copy.pdf|title=the History of the Makuleke Concession|author=Berger, L.R.|year=2005|publisher=Wilderness Safaris|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928031031/http://www.profleeberger.com/files/A_History_of_the_Makuleke_licensed_copy.pdf|archivedate=28 September 2007}}</ref>
[[File:Makuleke4.JPG|thumb|left|A westward view of Lanner Gorge in the Makuleke]]
The rocks above the [[Permian]] ones are from the [[Triassic]] and date to between 248 million and 206 million years.  Rocks of this age are found in the lower walls of Lanner Gorge and in these can be found fragments of bone and probably wood representing both holdovers from the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]] like glossopetrids (a type of tree) and [[dicynodonts]] (a form of mammal-like reptile), and new forms that would dominate the [[Mesozoic]], including modern [[conifers]], [[cycads]] and of course [[dinosaur]]s, such as  ''[[Euskelosaurus]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dinoruss.com/de_4/5cebe2b.htm |archive-url= https://archive.today/20071217020337/http://www.dinoruss.com/de_4/5cebe2b.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2007 |title=Euskelosaurus Locations |accessdate=7 December 2012 |year=2007 }}</ref>
Most of the [[sandstone]]s in the Pafuri region however probably represent the great age of dinosaurs – the [[Jurassic]] and [[Cretaceous]] Periods.  During the early parts of the Jurassic, which lasted from approximately 210 million years ago until about 144 million years ago, the area was almost certainly extremely arid as is evidenced by the great sandstones of the region and the many dune and desert structures – such as [[Desert rose (crystal)|desert roses]] – that are found preserved within the rocks of the region.<ref name="Berger"/> In these sediments have been found the remains of early dinosaurs - possibly those of a species known as ''[[Massospondylus]]''. It was also clearly a period of intense [[volcano|volcanism]] – with intrusive [[igneous]] rocks representing the ejected and intrusive molten matter from the interior of the Earth scattered about the region. The Jurassic was the age of great [[plants|plant]] eating [[sauropoda|sauropods]] and smaller, [[carnivore|carnivorous]] dinosaurs.  This was the age of the origin of [[vertebrate]] flight with [[pterosaurs]], as well as the first [[birds]] appearing. The oceans themselves were full of a wide variety of life including many different types of [[fish]], [[squids]] and [[ammonite]]s – [[fossil]]s of which are plentiful in the slightly younger rocks of the coastal regions to the southeast of the area. This was also a time of global upheaval as the World-continent of [[Pangea]] began to break up.
[[File:Makuleke2.JPG|thumb|The walls of Lanner Gorge in the Makuleke are made of ancient [[sandstone]]s. The Luvuvhu River has carved a deep [[canyon]] into these rocks.]]
The Jurassic gives way to the Cretaceous Period in the upper rocks of the Makuleke area, and these are particularly evident in the North and East of the Pafuri triangle. In these upper-most rocks - the region still seems to be dominated by deserts but these seem to give way to water born gravels that may indicate the emergence of the ancient Limpopo in the region.<ref name="Berger"/> This is particularly evident in areas like Matule hill, where abundant gravels contain large and small bone fragments that appear to be those of medium-sized and small dinosaurs. Fossil wood typical of the Cretaceous [[flora]] have also been found in the rocks of the region. The Cretaceous Period lasted from about 144 million years ago until 66 million years when the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]] occurred. While the Cretaceous is often referred to as the end of the age of dinosaurs, many new lifeforms appeared.  This is the age of ''[[Tyrannosaurus|Tyrannosaurus rex]]'' and the [[ceratopsian]] dinosaurs (armoured and horned dinosaurs like ''[[Triceratops]]''). The abundant [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] deposits of the North East coast of South Africa are of this age. There is also the hope of finding the rarest forms of vertebrates alive in this time period – the tiny [[mammals]] which would eventually dominate the planet after the Cretaceous extinction event.<ref name="Berger"/>
The Cretaceous is followed by the [[Palaeogene]] [[Epoch (geology)|Epoch]] – but this is apparently not well recorded in this region.  The next sedimentary sequence is apparently just under two million years old – and comprises the Limpopo and Luvuvhu sands and gravels covering the lower parts of the region.<ref name="Berger"/> The landscape today in the Makuleke has been largely carved out by the meanderings and [[erosion]]al activities of the two rivers. The sandy soils are [[sediment]]s that have been brought from hundreds if not thousands of kilometers away by the Luvuvhu and the Limpopo.
==Early human history==
From about 1.5 million years ago, human ancestors, who were probably members of the species [[Homo erectus]], were attracted to the area as a source of raw material for making early [[Stone tool|Stone Age tools]].<ref name="Berger"/> The raw materials they were seeking are still visible today in the form of rocks and cobbles of non-native materials brought from the West and in abundance in channel lag deposits left by the ancient Limpopo.  ''Homo erectus'' clearly found this raw material provided by the rivers of great importance and used these abundant gravel deposits as quarry sites – there are quite literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of stone tools, and the byproducts of their manufacturing process, which can be seen throughout the area.<ref name="Berger"/> Beautifully crafted [[hand axe]]s – which are common – are evidence that this early stone tool culture represents the [[Acheulean]] industry and lasted from around 1.7 million years ago until around 250,000 years ago when it gave way to a slightly more advanced stone tool culture known as the [[Middle Stone Age]].  The vast numbers of Acheulean aged stone tools in the region are not only testimony of the large numbers of human [[ancestor]]s that occupied the area, but also the vast amount of time in which this occupation occurred – more than 1.4 million years of continuous occupation.<ref name="Berger"/>
Tools of the Middle Stone Age are also in abundance in the area, particularly on top of hills and [[mountain]]s in the region where these humans were apparently using overlooks and high spots to scout for [[Game (food)|game]].<ref name="Berger"/> On top of many hills, at particularly good outlooks, can be found quite literally thousands of Middle Stone age [[knives]], scrapers and [[spear]]-points.  The Middle Stone Age begins around 250,000 years ago and ends around 25 – 35 thousand years ago. It holds within this temporal period not only the origins of a new and more complex toolkit used by humans, but the origin in Africa of [[modernity]] itself – it is during the middle part of this period that we see not only the emergence of the modern human brain and physical features but modern human [[culture]] – our [[Infinity|infinite]] toolkit, [[art]]work and [[burial]] of the dead.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature2/text2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016065007/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0603/feature2/text2.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=16 October 2007|title=Human Journey|accessdate=4 August 2007|author=J. Shreeve|year=2006 |publisher=National Geographic}}</ref>
The Middle Stone age is followed in this region by the [[Upper Paleolithic|Latest Stone Age]] and most places have evidence of the micro-lithic cultures that characterize this [[Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gather]] lifestyle of modern humans.<ref name="Berger"/> The Latest Stone Age merges with the culture of Iron-aged [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] speaking pastoralists who moved into the region around 1500 to 2000 years ago.<ref name="Berger"/><ref name="Bantu">{{Cite web|url=http://www.country-studies.com/south-africa/the-arrival-of-bantu-speaking-africans.html|title=Country Histories|accessdate=4 August 2007|year=2007 }}</ref> [[Rock art]] from this period is abundant in the region, particularly South of the Luvuvhu, but good examples have recently been discovered in the Pafuri region itself.<ref name="Berger"/>
==Mapungubwe and the rise of Thulamela==
From around 1200 a large cultural [[civilization]] and trade network began to emerge just to the North as is evidenced at such sites as [[Mapungubwe]].  Additionally, the idea of sacred leadership emerged – concept that transcends English terms such as [[King|"Kings"]] or [[Queen regnant|"Queens"]].<ref name="Thulamela">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/people/heritage/thulamela.php|title=Thulamela|accessdate=4 August 2007|author=San Parks|year=2006 }}</ref> [[Sacred]] leaders were [[elite]] members of the community, types of [[prophet]]s, people with [[supernatural]] powers and the ability to predict the future. These early civilizations represented the rise of one of the greatest ancient trade networks the world has ever seen.<ref name="Mapangubwe">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rebirth.co.za/mapungubwe.htm|title=Mapangubwe: History of Africa denied|accessdate=31 July 2007|year=2007 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_wn.htm Wonders of the African World] - [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]</ref>
[[File:Makuleke1.JPG|thumb|Looking out over the floodplains of the Luvuvhu River (right) and the Limpopo River (far distance and left)]]
Through interactions and trade with [[Muslim]] traders plying the [[Indian Ocean]] as far south as present day Mozambique – the region emerged as a trade center producing [[gold]] and [[ivory trade|ivory]] and trading for [[Powder glass beads|glass beads]] and [[porcelain]] from as far away as [[China]].<ref name="Thulamela"/><ref name="Mapangubwe"/>
The end of Mapungubwe occurred at the same time as the rise of an even greater trading and architectural civilization – that of [[Great Zimbabwe]] – which flourished for more than one hundred years.  The centre of power then shifted to the south at a site known as Khami near present-day [[Bulawayo]]. It was then, around 1550, that groups crossed the Limpopo and founded numerous flourishing settlements in the Pafuri region including that of [[Thulamela]] on the southern bank of the Luvuvhu.<ref name="Berger"/> Thulamela was one of many [[Defensive wall|walled]] cities that existed in the Pafuri triangle – almost every hill and overlook in the area has evidence of significant occupation during this period.<ref name="Berger"/> Thulamela and the other walled cities of the region were occupied at about the same time [[Portugal|Portuguese]] trade began on the eastern coast of [[southern Africa]].<ref name="Thulamela"/><ref name="Mapangubwe"/> The wealth and sophistication of these people is evident by the beautifully crafted gold [[jewelry]], [[Arab]] glass beads and [[Chinese porcelain]] found in the sites and accompanying burials of sacred leaders.<ref name="Thulamela"/> The Thulamela culture ended around 1650.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6398/thulamel.htm|title=The Thulamela Story|accessdate=31 July 2007|year=2007 }}</ref>
===Political history===
[[File:Johnston, W. and A.K. - South African Republic, Orange Free State, Natal, Basuto Land, etc., crop Zoutpansberg.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Makuleke shown near the northeastern boundary of district [[Zoutpansberg]], on a map of 1897]]
The Makuleke area was forcibly taken from the [[Makuleke (tribe)|Makuleke people]] by the [[Apartheid]] South Africa government in 1969 and about 1500 of them were relocated to land to the South so that their original [[Tribe|tribal]] areas could be integrated into the greater Kruger National Park.<ref name="Kruger history"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hdgc.epp.cmu.edu/misc/IIED%20paper.pdf|title=The Makuleke Land Claim|author=Steenkamp, C.|year=2000|publisher=IIED Evaluating Eden Programme|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722030212/http://hdgc.epp.cmu.edu/misc/IIED%20paper.pdf|archivedate=22 July 2011}}</ref> In 1996 the Makuleke tribe submitted a [[land claim]] for {{convert|19842|ha|km2}} in the northern park of the [[Kruger National Park]].<ref name="Claim-19960806">{{Cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/1996/960812_0x70796.htm |title=Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights, Media statement on a claim by the Makuleke Tribe on a Portion of the Kruger National Park and other areas |date=6 August 1996 |publisher=South African Commission on Restitution of Land Rights |accessdate=9 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604112421/http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/1996/960812_0x70796.htm |archivedate=4 June 2011 }}</ref> The land was given back to the Makuleke people, however, they chose not to resettle on the land but to engage with the [[Private sector|Private Sector]] to invest in [[tourism]], thus resulting in the building of several game lodges.<ref name="Pafuri camp">{{Cite web|url=http://www.krugerpark.org/Luxury_Safari_Lodges-travel/gamelodges-pafuri-camp.html |title=Pafuri Camp |author=Siyabona Africa |year=2007 |publisher=Kruger Park |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214115149/http://www.krugerpark.org/Luxury_Safari_Lodges-travel/gamelodges-pafuri-camp.html |archivedate=14 February 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.krugerpark.co.za/Kruger_Park_Private_Concession_Lodging-travel/the-outpost-lodge.html |title=Outpost |author=Siyabona Africa |year=2007 |publisher=Kruger Park }}</ref>
===Reintroduction of game===
Due to its proximity to Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the area had been heavily [[Poaching|poached]] by the time the Makuleke people received the land back.  Recent anti-poaching efforts and re-introduction of game including [[white rhino]], have resulted in significant increases in the number of animals.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/trust/project_intro.jsp?project_id=216564 |title=Wilderness Trust |accessdate=27 July 2007 |year=2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070804055835/http://www.wilderness-safaris.com/trust/project_intro.jsp?project_id=216564 |archivedate=4 August 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>
The introduction of significant species which have been absent for many years (more than 120 years in the case of the white rhino), the protection of all animal and plant life, and partnering with the Makuleke people in sustainable ecotourism mark the beginning of the restoration of ecological integrity to the area.
==Plants and animals==
[[File:Makuleke6.JPG|thumb|left|A breeding herd of elephants crossing the Luvuvhu in the Makuleke area]]
The Pafuri region is famous for its bird watching and more than 250 bird species have been recorded in a year.  While comprising only about 1% of the Kruger National Park's actual area, the area contains plants and animals representing almost 75% of the Parks total diversity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/luxury_lodges/pafuri/default.php|title=Kruger Park Lodges|accessdate=29 July 2007|year=2007 }}</ref>
The area has both semi-arid vegetation including numerous large baobabs as well as rich riverine forests with large [[Xanthocercis zambesiaca|nyala trees]].  While game is plentiful, one is most likely to encounter [[nyala]], [[African buffalo|Cape buffalo]] and [[bushbuck]] in the riverine areas and drier adapted game, including [[southern white rhinoceros]], in the uplands. The area is famous for its elephant herds in winter, which come to drink from the Luvuvhu River.<ref name="Kruger">{{Cite book|title=Exploring Kruger |publisher=Prime Origins Publishing |ISBN=0-620-31866-X|author1=Hilton-Barber, B.  |author2=Berger, L.R. |name-list-style=amp |year=2004}}</ref>
==Desertification==
Many people visiting the modern Limpopo expecting the ''great grey-green greasy [[Limpopo River|Limpopo]]'' of [[Rudyard Kipling|Kipling]] fame and yet seeing a great sand filled body instead.  This is, however, a recent phenomenon, probably due to a great extent to the over utilization by agriculture of the water resources of the river.  As recently as 1950, a [[Zambezi shark]] was caught at the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers.<ref name="Kruger"/>
[[File:Makuleke5.JPG|thumb|The dry Limpopo in the Winter near Crook's Corner. Only a small trickle of water marks the boundary between South Africa and Zimbabwe.]]
==Other facts==
*Crook's Corner gained its name in the 19th century as the region was seen as a haven for [[criminal]]s and poachers who would use the proximity of three countries at the join of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers to escape police by fleeing out of their jurisdiction into an adjoining country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rainbowtours.co.uk/index.php?id=289|title=Pafuri Camp|accessdate=4 August 2007|author=Rainbow Tours|year=2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanparks.org/about/media/2004/pafuri_gate_fact_sheet.pdf |title=Pafuri Gate Fact Sheet |accessdate=4 August 2007 |author=San Parks |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725034358/http://www.sanparks.org/about/media/2004/pafuri_gate_fact_sheet.pdf |archivedate=25 July 2008 }}</ref>
*The Makuleke area will form the core of the approximately 35,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> [[Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park|Transfrontier Park]] or "Peace Park".<ref name="Pafuri camp"/>
==See also==
*[[Kruger National Park]]
*[[List of national parks in Africa]]
*[[Shingwedzi]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/ Kruger National Park official website]
* [http://www.pafuri.com/ Pafuri Camp commercial website]
[[Category:Protected areas of Limpopo]]
[[Category:Kruger National Park]]
[[Category:South Africa–Zimbabwe border]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in South Africa]]