The Makuleke Story

Situated between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers, the Makuleke area is rich in history. Thulamela, lying just south of the Luvuvhu River, is Pafuri’s own Iron Age stone-walled site dating back to 450-500 years. It is an offshoot of the Great Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe cultures and trade routes are found here which have been used for hundreds of years

The story of Pafuri Camp is inextricably bound up with that of the Makuleke people. In the 1820s, the Makuleke, a Tsonga-speaking tribe, moved into the area from further south and took control of the ivory trade which was prevalent in the area. The chief, Nkuri, sent his son, Makuleke, to settle the confluence of the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers; this point is considered the heart of the Pafuri and the Makuleke people’s ancestral home. In 1834, migrating Voortrekkers attempted to take over the land but were repulsed. However, European influence slowly but surely grew. There were Swiss missionaries, hunters, illegal traders and labour recruiters illegally recruiting people to work on the mines in Johannesburg. Most of them took advantage of the poor policing and isolation of the area and began living alongside the Makuleke.

Years later, in 1969, the Makuleke people were forcibly removed from the area so that the Kruger National Park could be extended to the border of Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), creating an expanse that stretched unbroken for 300 kilometres. For almost thirty years, the Makuleke people remained outside their ancestral land until, in a groundbreaking restitution ruling in 1998, the area was returned to them. In a farsighted decision, they decided to keep their land within the Kruger Park and to manage it accordingly, turning to Wilderness Safaris with its own brand of sensitive ecotourism for help and management assistance.

The result is a highly successful partnership, where the Makuleke benefit from skills transfers, job creation, training, and community development projects and in return Wilderness Safaris is able to operate in perhaps the most remote, pristine and diverse area in Kruger and to share this with their guests.

The Makuleke people continue to live in Makuleke Village in Ntlhaveni, some 100km south-west of their original property, but are fully involved in building, protecting and developing their Concession as an exciting alternative to the many private lodges further south – and indeed as a future model for community-based conservation and tourism in the country and elsewhere in Africa.