Mokala National Park

The predecessor to the Mokala National Park was the Vaalbos National Park, also in the Kimberly district. We went there a number of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it! The Vaalbos has subsequently been ‘lost’ to a lands claim and in 2007 Mokala National Park, which lies about 50 km south-west of Kimberly, was officially opened to replace Vaalbos. We were excited as this was our first visit to Mokala! Mokala is the Tswana name for the Camel Thorn tree (Acacia erioloba).

Our drive from Orania was uneventful. We arrived at the Mosu Rest Camp reception at 16h30 to book in at the Park, but with school holidays and the Motswedi Campsite only having 6 sites, there were no campsites available. We made a reservation for the next two nights and then took a slow drive through the park to the Lilydale exit gate. En route we detoured into the Motswedi campsite and left the trailer with Suzi there; we were coming back the next day after all… We parked Ufudu just outside the Lilydate gate for the night. Or so we thought! We had just settled, with chicken pies in the oven and glass of wine in hand, when there was a knock on the door. A guard/ranger informed us that we were not allowed to camp inside the Park. It turns out that the gate is still well within the boundary of the Park, unbeknown to us, so we had to pack up and move along for a few kilometres until we were actually outside the Park! We were escorted to the cattle grid which marks the boundary and that is where we stayed for the night. The guard came back some time later, presumably to check that we had stayed put…

We went back into the park after coffee the next morning and had breakfast at a lookout point, overlooking a water hole before going to the Lilydale reception to check in.

The Park is focussed on preservation of rare and endangered species. We were fortunate to have good sightings of most of them, but sadly no Rhino.

The Park has been involved in a Quagga Breeding Project for the past 20 years. They have performed genetic testing on museum samples and found that there is no difference between the Plains Zebra and the Quagga; its appearance is merely a colour variance. The aim of the project is to bring back the iconic quagga which was hunted to extinction in the 1800’s. Find out more at www.quaggaproject.org

We were thrilled with the number of bird species we encountered, despite it being mid-winter. As always, we did not manage to get photos of all of them…

On an afternoon drive we encountered a number of animals feeding on Harvester Termites that were out harvesting. A very special sighting was a Bat-eared Fox mother with two youngsters that were still suckling when we spotted them. We later saw the three of them again and also another individual.

After a most rewarding day it was time to wind down in camp. The Motswedi campsite consists of only 6 stands, each with its own ablution facility: separate shower/basin and toilet, as well as kitchen consisting of a 2-burner gas stove, gas fridge/freezer, lockable cupboards and comfortable working surface. All the sites overlook a muddy waterhole.

On our third morning we watched a Gemsbok in camp butting an Umbrella Thorn (Arcacia tortilis), causing the pods to drop for him to eat. Later we went to the Mosu Reception and had a long chat with the Park Manager, Deon Joubert. He is also a pilot and flies the Park’s Bantam, so needless to say Roger and he had a lot to talk about!

We left Mokala in the afternoon of the third day with every intention of returning in spring. We want to go on a night drive because we just have to see aardvark and aardwolf! Apparently winter is not the best time for night drives; it is too cold for both humans and animals.