Beautiful Bontle

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It seems only fitting that we should start the report back on our recent visit to Marakele National Park at Bontle, the beautiful little bushveld campground set on the plains below the imposing Waterberg mountains, and that we called home during our three night stay.

Bontle actually means “beautiful” in Setswana, and surveying the place from beneath a shady tree you can’t help but agree. Just outside the camp a waterhole attracts a constant stream of birds and animals, with a range of low hills to the south forming a beautiful backdrop to the scene.

View from Bontle

View from Bontle

Wildlife has open access to Bontle, which is unfenced. While you don’t have to be concerned about being trampled by an elephant or eaten by a lion (these species occur elsewhere in Marakele, but not in the Kwaggasvlakte-section where Bontle’s located) you may well find yourself at close quarters with a variety of birds, various species of antelope, warthogs, zebras, giraffes, monkeys, baboons, bushbabies, springhares, jackals, ostriches and even white rhinos when you pop your head out your tent!

Better safe than sorry
Female Golden Orb Web Spider
Warthogs at home in Bontle
Warthogs at home in Bontle
Ostrich at home in Bontle, Marakele NP
Ostrich at home in Bontle, Marakele NP
Southern White-crowned Shrike
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Ostrich at home in Bontle, Marakele NP
Well camouflaged Agama
Bontle’s also home to other beauties – this is a Brown-veined White butterfly
Bontle’s also home to other beauties – this is a Wandering Donkey Acraea
Bontle’s also home to other beauties, like this African Monarch
Green, or Red-billed, Wood-Hoopoe
Warthogs at home in Bontle

The campground accommodates 36 tents and caravans (all the campsites have electric plugpoints) around three communal ablution blocks (one of which is accessible to campers in wheelchairs). Ten safari tents are fairly recent additions to the offering at Bontle. Four of them sleep 4 guests each and the others 2 each. One of the two-bed tents have also been built with the needs of guests in wheelchairs in mind. The little kiosk at the entrance gate and reception office, about 1.5km from Bontle, conveniently stocks firewood, ice, sweets and cold drinks. Stock up on fuel and groceries in the nearby town of Thabazimbi.

Our camping setup at Bontle, Marakele National Park – April 2016
Bontle Campground
Bontle Campground
Bontle Campground
Bontle ablution block
Bontle Safari Tent
Bontle Safari Tent

This was our first stay at Bontle (managed by South African National Parks); on previous visits to Marakele we stayed at Tlopi Tented Camp in the bigger portion of the Park where the “Big-5” roam. But now that we’ve had a taste of Bontle’s beautiful tranquility it is hard to imagine that we’ll be able to resist the urge to return for very long.

Welcome to Bontle!

Welcome to Bontle!

More on Marakele in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild!

 

 

28 thoughts on “Beautiful Bontle”

  2. Pingback: Exploring Marakele | de Wets Wild

  7. iAMsafari.com

    Nice post Dries! Last trip we didn’t make it to Waterberg, but it has always stayed on our bucket list, so thanks for the heads up on Bontle. Already looking forward to the rest of your report!

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  8. colonialist

    Long may these unfenced camps exist, although with (a) The sheer stupidity of some people who don’t even know (as one tiny example) that ostriches can be dangerous; and (b) The tendency of officialdom to get nanny-ish and tying things up with all kinds of regulations, they may become extinct.

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    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      Die Kwaggasvlakte deel waar Bontle gelee is is nog vreeslik droog, Tina – die deel van die Park dieper in die berge lyk darem of dit meer water en goeie weiding het om deur die winter te kom.

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