An ascending piercing call, and suddenly the red-crested korhaan shoots straight-up like a shuttle. And, just as suddenly, he tumbles back down towards the ground, as though his been shot. And, then gently gliding to land. It is his way of advertising undisputed control over his territory, and to attract his love. It’s rather impressive to spectate, and as we know, positive first impressions are powerful!

A window to a new day realises some fascinating sightings from male lions roaring, to elephants splashing under the summer sun! What really caught my attention though, was one of Africa’s deadliest snakes, a black mamba slithering past us at top speed (they can reach speeds of nearly 20kms per hour). And not just slithering but with a third of its body raised off of the ground – a defence mechanism. 

Not knowing what else was in store for us we eagerly headed off again in search of my dog.  I couldn’t quite believe our luck! It wasn’t long, and we spotted them! But again they were sound asleep! It wasn’t looking promising for me. 

And then suddenly, in the distance from out of no-where we could see two dogs meandering towards us along the water’s edge. Unexpectedly, approximately twenty odd dogs before us jumped and rallied about. They were hurdling around our vehicle in what was the most spectacular ‘greeting ceremony’ I could ever have imagined. These two young dogs, had left the pack to start their own. It didn’t work out for them! But that didn’t matter!

Muzzle to muzzle, we watched the dogs running and darting about making contact with each another. Twittering and whimpering with excitement, they welcomed their friends back home! We embraced this emotional encounter with awe! 

Thrusting through the reserve it’s certainly fascinating to absorb how the terrain drastically alters within short distances from Kalahari scrubland with its acacia species to bushveld. As a result Stephanie Kulak describes how it’s not at all unusual to see what would be a rare or non-existent sighting in another game reserve! From springbok grazing with impala; brown and spotted hyena together; or the pied & arrow-marked babbler. Another unusual feature is the largely unexplored limestone cave at Derdepoort Main road with large-leaved rock figs jutting out. These gnarled, yellow-white smooth trees have earned the reputation of being a true rock splitting fig! 

The area is also rich in cultural history reflecting times of turmoil and peace. Many explorers, traders, missionaries and Mzilikazi with his followers passed this way during the making of South African history.

Contributing to this history was a great short-story teller, Herman Charles Bosman who taught in Madikwe near Abjaterskop gate. He wrote many of his best work here. Some of his finest literature being the imaginative, humorous and romantic tales of the Boer herdsman Oom Schalk Lourens. And driving through Madikwe Game Reserve one can easily imagine his Oom Schalk sitting under a kareeboom contemplating life. It is with this and the humble warmth of the Tswana people and by no means forgetting the call of the African fish eagle, that one is welcomed to Madikwe Game Reserve.

Contributing to this history was a great short-story teller, Herman Charles Bosman who taught in Madikwe near Abjaterskop gate. He wrote many of his best work here. Some of his finest literature being the imaginative, humorous and romantic tales of the Boer herdsman Oom Schalk Lourens. And driving through Madikwe Game Reserve one can easily imagine his Oom Schalk sitting under a kareeboom contemplating life. It is with this and the humble warmth of the Tswana people and by no means forgetting the call of the African fish eagle that one is welcomed to Madikwe Game Reserve.