Mokopane: Wildlife Viewing and Cultural Heritage

Mokopane offers an unusual contrast between wildlife viewing and a place of significance to human evolution. On the outskirts of the town is the Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre; northeast of the town, in the Waterberg region of Limpopo Province, lies Makapans Cave. These attractions offer different experiences: the centre focuses on wildlife and guided activities, while Makapans Cave is significant to our understanding of human evolution. You can plan your trip around whether you want to focus on wildlife viewing, cultural heritage, or both.

Wildlife at the Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre

The Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre covers 1,395 hectares. The site includes a zoo-like environment, breeding enclosures and an open-range area. It is home to many African species as well as species from other continents. The different parts give the centre a broad focus on wildlife and breeding. If you are interested in different animal species and observing them, you will find a distinctive focus for your trip to Mokopane here.

Feeding Tour or Game Drive?

The morning feeding tour offers a hands-on wildlife experience: accompanied by staff, you can visit the breeding enclosures to feed buffalo and sable antelope. Advance booking is required. A maximum of ten people are allowed per vehicle, and only one group takes part in each tour. Check availability with SANBI before your trip.

A game drive focuses on observing biodiversity. Groups travel with staff into the nature reserve. The drive lasts an average of about 1.5 to 2 hours. It must be booked in advance; here too, a maximum of ten people are allowed per vehicle, and only one group takes part in each tour. The duration is an average and depends on how the tour is conducted. When choosing between the options, consider whether feeding specific animals or observing the diversity of the reserve better suits your interests.

There are no shops, restaurant or canteen at the Centre. Take care of any necessary shopping before you arrive, and check these operational details with SANBI before your trip.

Conservation and History

The centre's history is also part of its profile. It was founded in 1979 and opened to the public in October 1981 as an outpost of the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria. Since its proclamation in December 2007, the centre has been part of the Makapan Valley World Heritage Site, one of the three component sites of the Cradle of Humankind. Wildlife viewing and cultural heritage come together here in different ways: through the tours described above, and through the history of the protected area.

Makapans Cave offers another focus. The cave is located in the Waterberg northeast of Mokopane in Limpopo and is significant to our understanding of human evolution. If this subject is important to you, you can include it in your travel plans alongside the wildlife experiences at the Conservation Centre. You can weigh up the two interests separately: guided wildlife viewing on the one hand, and the significance of a cave site to human evolution on the other.

Plan Your Stay Around Your Interests

When looking for a holiday apartment in Mokopane, it helps to decide what you want to focus on during your trip. Do you mainly want to make time for the guided activities at the Conservation Centre, or are you particularly interested in human evolution and the area around Makapans Cave? You can also consider both.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Bela-Bela, Lephalale, Behoudeniskloof, Bulge River, Elandsbosch, Mookgopong, Marken, Eckstein.

Return to the main travel guide: Waterberg.