Limpopo National Park

IUCN Category II - National Park

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The Limpopo National Park (Portuguese Parque National do Limpopo ) in Mozambique was established on 27 November 2001 following the merger and the protected status of former hunting grounds. Together with the Kruger National Park in South Africa and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and some smaller protected areas it forms the transnational Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The national park is named after the main river in the National Park, the Limpopo.

  • 6.1 General sources
  • 6.2 Notes and references

Location

The Limpopo National Park is located in the southwest of the country in the province of Gaza. In the west it borders on South Africa's Kruger National Park. From the north the course of the Limpopo forms the natural boundary of the park to the east. The southern border is the border of South Africa's Lepelle ( Olifants River), which flows into the Massingir Dam and then hits the current flowing through the National Park Shingwedzi, which forms the border of his hand from there to the confluence with the Limpopo.

History

On 27 November 2001, a year after the announcement of the project for the creation of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, the Limpopo National Park was established by the decree of the Mozambican government. With financial support, including from Germany, South Africa and the U.S., the infrastructure has since been created and local residents are trained as park rangers and guides. The development is done closely intertwined with that of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

In 2002, the first 45 km border fence between the South African Kruger National Park and the Limpopo National Park were eliminated. By 2010, the remaining fencing will be demolished between the two parks. This fails currently still on problems with cross- border crime and illegal border crossings. In December 2005, opened the border post Giriyondo between the South African Kruger National Park and the Limpopo National Park.

In the area of today's national parks live about 27,000 people and operate agriculture. In contrast to previous understanding of national parks in southern Africa animals and people will live in the national park together in the future. Especially along the Limpopo, a transition zone is established. The living here is population through various programs benefit from tourism in the national park. Only about 7,000 people from the western park areas are to be resettled.

Landscape and vegetation

In the Limpopo National Park bushland prevails, sometimes called Sandvelt, a species-rich bushland on sandy soils, among others, Afzelia quanzensis, crushing nuts and Myrobalan. Mainly along the tributaries of the Limpopo in the north and in the area between the Shingwedzi and the Machampane in the east occur vast mopane and acacia woodlands. All along the Limpopo and partly also of the Shingwedzi the landscape is dominated by agricultural land in parts of the population settled here where all the trees have been removed.

Wildlife

The wildlife in the area of ​​today's Limpopo National Park was wiped out by the struggle for independence and the subsequent 16 years of civil war for the most part. Since the establishment of the National Park is with the resettlement of 10 different species from South Africa's Kruger National Park tries, among other giraffes, elephants, zebras, wildebeest and warthogs to settle.

Infrastructure / tourism

The headquarters of the park administration is in Massingir. The infrastructure is still largely under construction. The park is divided into several zones with different intensive use. It is a national park to be created in which the animals also find refuge areas with low numbers of tourists.

Park entrances

The park currently has 3 inputs.

  • Massingir gate, about 8 kilometers from Massingir in the south of the park
  • Mapai gate in the northeast of Mozambique
  • Giriyondo gate in the southern half of the Kruger National Park (South Africa)
  • Planned: Parvui gate in the north of the Kruger National Park (South Africa)
  • Planned: Shingwedzi gate at Shingwedzi from the Kruger National Park ( South Africa)

The park is passable for the most part only with the SUV.

Accommodations

The infrastructure is still under construction, next to a privately operated camp exist only tent sites, self-catering in the National Park.

  • Lodges Machampane Camp ( private camp in the National Park )
  • Campismo Aguia Pesqueira

Swell

General sources

Homepage of the Limpopo National Park

Limpopo River Olifants River (Limpopo) Shingwedzi River African bush elephant
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