No lion hunt in the Balule Nature Reserve!

A while ago it has come to my ears that a hunting permit was allowed for a lion in the Balule.
It was about Mazinio, a big and old male lion who formed a companion with Bigboy, the other big male lion.

Bigboy seen on an Amukela lodge game-drive in Balule.

For more then 9 years these 2 lions are the dominant males
over a pride of more then 20 lions.
Their territory runs from the York-Tshukude fence to the Olifants river, the fence at the R40 and further eastwards.
This year 3 new young male lions came into their territory and challenged both Mazinio and Bigboy. Altough they were able to fight them off, maybe next time the outcome will be different...
The main function of a leading male lion is to reproduce and protect the pride. Normally the hunting is done by the most experienced females, although when a big animal like a giraffe or buffalo is taken down, he might be involved.
In the wild normally (but this can vary) male lions lead a pride for 5-7 years. In this case one could say that the Balule lions have had their function.

Mazinio seen on the Marula-drive in the Balule.

From an objective point of view you could say that now is the time to allow for a commercial hunt on one lion. The revenue would be around R500,000 and that is money which could be well used for futher conservation in the Balule.
However, from a financial point of view it is not necessary to earn this extra income and therefore it has been decided not to hunt a lion in Balule. I think that it is good thing, after all why do we have a nature reserve? To preserve nature, and interefere as less as is possible.
That is what nature conservation is about.
Last night I heard the lions roar, and wandered if Mazinio was also one of them....

Best regards from the bush,
Corné van Dongen.

The history of the Balule Nature Reserve.

How the Balule Nature Reserve was created.

In the early 1990’s various landowners in the present Balule Nature Reserve came to appreciate the need to drop fences between their properties.
 These properties, most of them inherited and used for gamefarming in the widest spectrum, were not viable as cattlefarms. In the past –before the western boundary fence of the Kruger Park was erected in 1961 –  an annual migration took place between the Kruger and the private farms on the west, mainly of zebra and wildebeest.

Zebra and wildebeest, often seen together.

When this fence was removed in 1993, the old migration
did not re-establish itself, probably because there were nog longer any surviving animals in the Kruger Park populations that had retained the migratory behaviour and, more likely, the APNR (Associaton of Private Nature Reserves –of which Balule is one-) was no longer an attractive habitat for wildebeest and zebra.
By removing the fences between the farms in Balule the animal gene pool was extended, overgrazing was avoided and it allowed for movement of animals over a far greater area. The very absence of fences was aesthetically pleasing to landowners and the shared animals meant that game that had never been seen in a particular area was now present.

By the end of the decade, almost all the landowners had voluntarily joined in this venture. The hunting was curtailed and the animals became less skittish. With the presence of game-vehicles bearing tourists armed only with photographic equipment, the animals became relaxed and were photographed regularly.

Big male lion, seen in the York Nature Reserve on a game-drive.

The two reserves to the east between Balule and the Kruger Park are Olifants Game Reserve and Klaserie Game Reserve. The fence between Kruger and Klaserie Game Reserve came down first and the Kruger authorities soon realized that this was the way to go. It was recognized that the fence on the tar road between Phalaborwa and Hoedspruit was the obvious place to have the western boundary of Kruger Park. Once all the fences were correctly equipped with high voltage capacities and as soon as the authorities were satisfied that Balule was ready for incorporation, it was a matter of months before the fences were removed between the Klaserie and Olifants Game Reserves. Balule was thus incorporated into the most famous Game Reserve in the world. An impressive 40 000 hectares were added to Kruger Park!

Location.

The Balule Nature Reserve is situated in the Limpopo province, South-Africa. Southwest of Phalaborwa, and north, northeast of Hoedspruit. The Olifants River flows for about 20 kilometers through the center of the reserve. Balule forms –together with the other private reserves- the Greater Kruger Park ecosystem. Because all fences are dropped the animals are allowed to roam freely between the Kruger Park and the private reserves on its western boundaries.

Large numbers of lion, cheetah, leopard as well elephant, buffalo and rhino now move freely between Balule and the western border of the Kruger Park. More then 250 bird species occur in the area.

Beautiful colored: the Lilac Breasted Roller.

Balule is located in the subtropical lowveld. Because the lowveld has different eco-zones there is a variety in the flora, where trees dominate the bushveld. The Kruger park alone has 336 tree species and the Big-5 under trees are:

• Baobab
• Fever tree
• Knobthorn
• Marula
• Mopani
Typical lowveld acacia tree: the Knobthorn.

Balule Nature Reserve figures and facts.

The Balule Nature Reserve  (BNR) is located in the south-east of the Limpopo province.

BNR  is a registered member of the Assocation of Private Nature Reserves (APNR) which are the Private Nature Reserves (Timbavati-Klaserie-Umbabat-Balule) bordering the Kruger National Park.

The total size of the APNR is approximately 185,000 hectares.

BNR consists of several autonomous game reserves:

• Olifants West Nature Reserve.
• York Nature Reserve.
• Parsons Nature Reserve.
• Grietjie Nature Reserve.
• Olifants North.
Olifants West -Balule- entrance gate.

Most affordable game-lodge in Balule.

The Amukela Game Lodge -Dutch owner/managed- was built in 2004. This intimate and rustic game-lodge is located in the Balule Big-5 Private Nature Reserve.


For only R495 per person (or Eur 55,-) including dinner & breakfast you can stay and unwind on this unique location.


Beeing only 22 km. from Hoedspruit, 35 minutes from the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, 40 minutes distance to the Moholoholo rehabilitation centre adn 45 minutes to the Kruger Park, this lodge is perfect to use as a base for several activities.

Elephant smells the beer!

Off course you can also unwind on the terrace, under 2 big weeping boer-bean trees. From here you overlook a waterhole and
the bushveld.


Or drive the scenic route to Graskop, which takes you to some great views in the mountains: Bourke's Luck Potholes, the Blyde River Canyon, the 3 Rondavels, God's Window etc.

3 rondavels viewpoint.



The game-drive is a 3 hour drive in an open game-vehicle. Under the guidance of a professional guide you go out and look for the animals.

Lioness seen from the game-vehicle.

In the evenings -after dinner- we gather around the campfire in the boma. If skies are clear we'll put up our 254 mm. telescope.

Explore the nightsky and listen to the voices of Africa!



Jupiter and the moon, seen from the Mercury-stardeck.

You stay in traditional African-style rondawels, but with warm water and airco. Ensuite bathroom.

traditional rondavel under tatch-roof.

romantic on the inside.

Here some panorama photo's of the lodge, which gives you an idea how the layout is. On the left the boma, ablution block, bar and terrace, swimmingpool.

Panoramic view.

Swimming pool in the winter. Watch that beautiful blue sky! In the background the boma.

Pool and reception. In the back the pathway to the bridge and rondavels.

Comfortable seats at the terrace. On the back left the pool, on the right the entrance to the boma.

From the lodge you can see a variety of game: impala, giraffe, warthog, duiker, jackal, porcupine, civet but also animals of the Big-5!

Lion seen from the stardeck.

Big bull elephant, just outside the main-gate of Amukela.

Herd of buffalo, seen from the stardeck. Gathering around the waterhole.

Come and enjoy the african bush combined with Dutch hospitality, good food and great sightings! Contact us on: info@amukela.com