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Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve is a protected area in South Africa. Named after the Madikwe or Marico River, on whose basin it is located. It comprises 750 km² of bushland north of the small town of Groot-Marico up to the Botswana border. It was opened in 1994.

Geography

Madikwe Game Reserve lies 90 km north of Zeerust on what used to be farm land, but owing to the poor soil type, farming was not that successful. After extensive research, the South African government found that this land would best be utilised as a provincial park, to economically uplift this otherwise rather poor area.

It is currently the fifth largest game reserve in South Africa. The park is now 680 km² by itself, and 750 km², including the now incorporated privately owned land.

The reserve has recently opened itself up to private farms outside the main reserve. Private users need to abide by parks board rules, animals can roam over any land, but there are restrictions as to where private vehicles can drive.

Wildlife

The process of reintroducing wildlife to the area began in 1992 under the codename Operation Phoenix which relocated entire breeding herds of elephants, Cape buffaloes, south-central black rhinos and southern white rhinos along with various species of antelopes. Following Operation Phoenix, Madikwe has also successfully reintroduced rarer predatory species such as lions, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and Cape wild dogs bringing the total large mammal population of the reserve to over 10 000. There are currently more than 60 species of mammal in the park.

Madikwe has been regarded as one of the better conservation areas in Africa, offering all the major species, including lion, leopards, elephants, Cape buffaloes, both white and black rhinos along with almost all the plains antelope species.

A special feature of Madikwe lies in its unique location, a transition zone on the edges of the Kalahari, where a number of rare species occur naturally, and the bushveld. The climate is generally mild to hot, but winter nights can be cold. Over 350 species of birds have been recorded at Madikwe. The reserve is relatively close to Pilanesberg National Park and there is a long-term plan to develop a corridor between the two parks.

Vegetation

The terrain is mainly open grasslands and bushveld plains, interspersed with rocky outcrops and single mountains.

Climate and weather

Madikwe forms part of a semi-arid region on the edge of the Kalahari desert. In this region the climate can be broken into the rainy season (October – April) and the dry season (May – September). Summers overlap with the rainy season. Temperatures are high (32 °C / 90 °F) with cooling thunderstorms common in the late afternoon, evenings are mild (18 °C / 64 °F). Winters here are dry, with mild days (21 °C / 70 °F) and chilly nights (3 °C / 37 °F). Game viewing is good at all times of the year though most animals tend to congregate around available water sources during the winter.

Accommodation

There are 30 lodges on the property, and six lodges in the private farms outside the main reserve. Some of the commercial lodges include Rhulani Safari Lodge, Jaci's Lodges, Tau Game Lodge, Etali Safari Lodge, Impodimo Game Lodge and an eco-lodge, Mosetlha Bush Camp. Madikwe has started community lodges, which the local villages own and run. All profits are then used to uplift the communities.

Transportation options

Federal Air operates charter flights to OR Tambo International Airport from the airstrips in both the north and south of Madikwe. The flight takes about 55 minutes. Alternatively, the drive from Johannesburg is about 5 hours.

North West Province of South Africa

North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana.

History

North West was incorporated after the end of apartheid in 1994, and includes parts of the former Transvaal Province and Cape Province, as well as most of the former bantustan of Bophuthatswana. It was the scene of political violence in Khutsong, Merafong City Local Municipality in 2006 and 2007, after cross-province municipalities were abolished and Merafong Municipality was transferred entirely to North West. Merafong has since been transferred to Gauteng province in 2009.

This province is the birthplace of prominent political figures: Lucas Mangope, Moses Kotane, Ahmed Kathrada, Abram Onkgopotse Tiro, Ruth Mompati, J. B. Marks, Aziz Pahad, and Essop Pahad, among others.

Law and government

The Provincial Government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receives in the province during the national elections. The assembly elects a premier, who then appoints the members of the executive council.

Geography

Much of the province consists of flat areas of scattered trees and grassland. The Magaliesberg mountain range in the northeast extends about 130 km (about 80 miles) from Pretoria to Rustenburg. The Vaal River flows along the southern border of the province.

Climate

Temperatures range from 17° to 31 °C (62° to 88 °F) in the summer and from 3° to 21 °C (37° to 70 °F) in the winter. Annual rainfall totals about 360 mm (about 14 in), with almost all of it falling during the summer months, between October and April.

Borders

North West borders the following districts of Botswana:

• Kgatleng – far northeast
• South-East – northeast
• Southern – north
• Kgalagadi – northwest

Domestically, it borders the following provinces:

• Limpopo – northeast
• Gauteng – east
• Free State – southeast
• Northern Cape – southwest

North West Province is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Economy

The mainstay of the economy of North West Province is mining, which generates more than half of the province's gross domestic product and provides jobs for a quarter of its workforce. The chief minerals are gold, mined at Orkney and Klerksdorp; uranium, mined at Klerksdorp; platinum, mined at Rustenburg and Brits; and diamonds, mined at Lichtenburg, Christiana, and Bloemhof. About 85% of all money-making activities take place between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom. The economic heart of the province is Klerksdorp. The northern and western parts of the province have many sheep farms and cattle and game ranches. The eastern and southern parts are crop-growing regions that produce maize (corn), sunflowers, tobacco, cotton, and citrus fruits. The entertainment and casino complex at Sun City and Lost City also contributes to the provincial economy.

Demographics

Dominant home languages in the North West

• Tswana
• Afrikaans
• English
• Ndebele
• Xhosa
• Zulu
• Pedi
• Sotho
• Tsonga
• No language dominant

The majority of the province's residents are Tswana people who speak Tswana, as in neighbouring Botswana. Smaller groups include Afrikaans, Sotho, and Xhosa speaking people. English is spoken primarily as a second language. Most of the population belong to Christian denominations. (Figures according to Census 2001 released in July 2003).

According to the 2007 community survey 90.8% of the province's population was Black (mostly Tswana-speaking), 7.2% as White (mostly Afrikaans speaking), 1.6% as Coloured and 0.4% as Asian. The 2007 community survey showed the province had a population of just over 3 million. The province's white population is very unevenly distributed. In the southern and eastern municipalities, the white percentage in double figures such as the Tlokwe and Matlosana where the white percentages were 27% and 12% respectively.

The province has the lowest number of people aged 35 years and older (5.9%) who have received higher education. Since 1994 the number of people receiving higher education has increased. After the disbanding of the bantustans, many people migrated to the economic centres of Cape Town and Gauteng.

Education

The province had two universities: the North-West University, which was formerly called the University of Bophuthatswana (founded in 1979), in Mmabatho; and Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (founded in 1869; became a constituent college of the University of South Africa in 1921 and an independent university in 1951). These two universities have now merged and the new institution is called North-West University.

As part of the Department of Education's proposed plans for higher education, the existing four higher learning institutions will be merged to form two. During 2003, as part of the Year of Further Education and Training project, three mega institutions, Taletso, ORBIT and Vuselela, were established to provide technical and vocational training to the youth. These institutions have been incorporated into many of the former education and technical colleges and manpower centres.