Marataba
PURPOSEFUL SAFARIS FOR CONSCIOUS TRAVELLERS
Marataba, a 52,000-acre privately-managed section of the Marakele National Park, is uniquely situated where lush bushveld gives way to the Kalahari sands.
The Park has an impressive backdrop of the Waterberg Massif, considered one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world.
Staying at Marataba Founders & Explorers is all about ultimate flexibility and adventure with a generous dose of fun – and plenty of relaxation too.
Each booking has a dedicated guide, and is designed around your interests. Enjoy day and night game drives, river swims, walking safaris, river cruises, and learn about conservation, all at your own pace – or simply enjoy some down time amid these beautiful landscapes.
Marataba is privately-owned by a group of Dutch philanthropists who are committed to the optimisation of biodiversity conservation and have a dedicated shared vision – the proliferation of nature. The Park, together with Founders and Explorers, are managed by dedicated conservationists who have opted for a high-value guest-participation tourism model with low-impact on the environment.
exclusive wilderness
Located at the foot of the Waterberg Mountains in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, Marataba Contractual National Park is a 21,000-hectare, privately-owned section of the Marakele National Park. It is one of the country’s most innovative conservation models and the perfect setting for a thoughtful, and completely flexible, safari experience.
Location
where the waterberg mountains give way to the kalahari sands
Marataba is located on the north-western edge of the 2.5-billion-year-old Waterberg Massif in South Africa’s Limpopo province. The rugged cliffs are iconic and mesmerising and stand watch over the winding Matlabas River below, whilst the vast plains stretch all the way into the Kalahari system of Botswana. This wonderfully varied landscape supports an equally as varied cast of wildlife, and the area is home to the Big Five as well as a globally significant population of white and black rhino.
Our backdrop is the magnificent Waterberg Massif, the 3-billion-year-old mountain range that is ever-present wherever you happen to be. The name Marataba in fact means “place of peace at the mountain.” Over the millennia, the Matlabas River has carved dramatic gorges through the terrain, in which painted rock faces still hold the secrets of an ancient way of life.
The ever-changing colours of the mountains are a result of the sedimentary rocks, rich in manganese and oxidized iron, and in the glow of the setting sun are a tribute to the beauty of the landscape.
founders
Booked as an exclusive camp.
Founders is a tranquil retreat into nature, located on the banks of the Matlabas River offering panoramic views over the landscape and iconic mountains ahead.
The light, bright interiors are a sophisticated fusion of traditional and contemporary; four bedroom suites beckon for afternoons watching wildlife amble along the riverbank, and the living areas for sundowner G&Ts and alfresco dinners.
The safari timetable is 100% up to you, whether that’s rising with the sun and getting involved in the happenings on the reserve, or simply taking it easy with a good book and that magnificent view.
Explorers
Easy-going, adventurous and fun, Explorers is all about embracing the laid-back, outdoors lifestyle of Marataba.
Spend your days immersed in our stimulating safari and conservation activities, and swim, hike and adventure through the gorges and mountains. Then, return to camp, kick off your shoes, and come nose to trunk with the elephants as they gather at the waterhole in front of the deck.
Booked on a semi-exclusive basis (max 2 bookings in camp at one time), the 5 tents and 1 dedicated family tent are set in shady grounds, complete with a swimming pool, and make an ideal base for families and groups looking for a fun and flexible safari experience. Living in the wild at its best…
Book one side of the camp with 3 tents (minimum rate pay for 4 guests); each group has a dedicated conservation guide and private vehicles.
SEASONALITY: Open all year
CHILDREN: 8+ years
RATES INCLUDE:
Private safari vehicle and dedicated guide per booking
Accommodation (minimum 2 rooms per booking), transfers to/from the lodge airstrip, and VAT.
All meals, soft drinks, house wines & local spirits
Safari flexibility to build your stay with day & night game drives, river cruises, walking safaris (walking age 16+ years), learning about conservation and having fun at your own pace.
RATES EXCLUDE:
Conservation & Community Levy (per person per night)
Optional extra activities
Premium drinks & cellar wines, telephone calls, laundry, gratuities and items of a personal nature
Emergency medical evacuation insurance
CHILDREN:
• Children 8+ years are welcome at Explorers and Founders.
• Conservation & Community Levy: 50% of adult rate for children 8-15 years.
• Stretcher beds are available for ages 8 – 15 years; child rate applies. Maximum 2 children sharing per room. Note: stretcher beds are limited across camps.
• While both camps are fenced, wildlife may enter the camp and children’s safety remains the full responsibility of parents at
all times.
• Explorers, with its dedicated family tent, is particularly well suited to younger guests.
The impact of your stay
Marataba is a public-private collaboration that aspires to be a leading African conservation initiative by sustainably managing ecosystems and keystone species for generations to come.
We are committed to driving a financial model which supports the long-term conservation of the park while maximising sustainable socioeconomic opportunities for surrounding communities.
Everything we do at Marataba is underpinned by our guiding compass and three founding pillars:
Conservation | Communities | Commerce
Access
Fly:
Charter flights from Lanseria International Airport.
Drive:
3 – 3.5 hrs from Lanseria or Johannesburg International Airport
Contact Us
Every stay contributes through:
Management of general wildlife species
Marataba is a section of a 700km2 fenced National Park. The core wildlife management objectives of the Park are to mimic natural processes including emigration, immigration and dispersal, which are prevented from occurring naturally by fences. Additionally, the impact of and the population sizes of predator populations that are confined by the fence are also closely monitored. The data from our consistent monitoring efforts is then used to guide interventions such as capture and removal and/or reintroductions.
Management of species of special concern
Marataba is home to several fauna and flora species of special concern, including white and black rhinoceros and indigenous cycads to name a few. All species of special concern are actively monitored and holistically managed in such manner that even small changes in population trends are detectable. When required, special species such as rhino receive veterinary attention. Rhino are the only species in the Park in which we intervene, as each and every individual in the population counts in the current crisis. Our objective is to continue to enhance our important role as a centre for conservation excellence for rhino, which is able to continue to grow the continental metapopulation to the benefit of the species and generations to come.
Maintenance of area integrity
Over and above habitat loss as a result of human encroachement, wildlife crime presents a major threat to conservation areas. At Marataba, we recognised very early on that a broad approach to combatting wildlife crime is essential and have developed a strategy of collaboration with neighbouring properties, NGOs and Government agencies to enhance security and prevent organised criminal networks from infiltrating local communities and degrading security efforts.
The Greater Marakele Security Cluster is a partnership between Marataba, SANParks and a neighbouring reserve. Through the intitiative, all major access routes to the Park and surrounds are protected by access control booms. The control points are manned 24 hours a day by staff seconded to the initiative by the Biodiversity Special Projects Unit of the Department of Environment Affairs, and supported by License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras. The cameras are part of a national network and intelligence database, and feed directly in to a nerve centre. The nerve centre is also manned 24 hours a day and has direct communications with all the access control points as well as having a full time criminal analyst.
Research, data collection & monitoring
The legislative frameworks for protected areas in South Africa require strict monitoring protocols to measure the health of the environment and monitor the impact of any interventions. Our conservation team collects data on both the wildlife and their habitats, by way of census and survey data and individual identity kits for species such as rhino, elephant and carnivores, whilst data collection on vegetation involves annual condition assessments as well as aerial surveys by drones. In the event of any interventions, a full set of pre- and post-interventions data are collected, and the impacts of the interventions are carefully monitored and recorded.
Habitat rehabilitation, restoration & maintenance
Marataba, proclaimed as National Park in 2000, is one of the youngest National Parks in South Africa. Prior to proclamation, the Park consisted of commercial livestock and agricultural farmlands. The initial phases of our project focussed on the huge task of cleaning up and removing the redundant farming infrastructure, including thousands of kilometres of fencing and many buildings. We are now at a stage where the clean-up, although ongoing, has been mostly achieved and the team is now attending to rehabilitating the scars of the historical land-use practices. Rehabilitation and restoration is an active and intensive process and includes the establishment of exclusion zones to provide time for recovery under zero grazing conditions, thinning of bush densification, reestablishment of grass and seed beds, erosion control as well as fire and catchment management.
Sustainable conservation business development
Marataba is primarily a conservation project. Our conservation efforts are funded by the conservation “business units”, which include both luxury and participatory safari tourism facilities, as well as a wildlife business unit which generates revenues from the sale of ecologically surplus wildlife from the Park. Tourism is the main contributor to the project revenues and the diversity of high-end, low-density tourism offerings are specifically designed to meet the conservation objectives without unnecessary impact on the environment.
The sustainability of our project into the future does not only depend on sustainable business units, but also on long-term buy-in and beneficiation of the local communities. The Marataba Conservation and Community Foundation focuses on the stimulation of local enterprise, promotion and enhancement of environmental awareness and supporting community education through life skills training.