The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
Oryx is a genus consisting of four large antelope species called oryxes. Their pelage is pale with contrasting dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight. The exception is the scimitar oryx, which lacks dark markings on the legs, only has faint dark markings on the head, has an ochre neck, and has horns that are clearly decurved.
The Lebombo Mountains, also called Lubombo Mountains, are an 800 km-long (500 mi), narrow range of mountains in Southern Africa. They stretch from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal in the south to Punda Maria in the Limpopo Province in South Africa in the north. Parts of the mountain range are also found in Mozambique and Eswatini.
The East African oryx, also known as the beisa is a species of antelope from East Africa. It has two subspecies: the common beisa oryx found in steppe and semidesert throughout the Horn of Africa and north of the Tana River, and the fringe-eared oryx south of the Tana River in southern Kenya and parts of Tanzania. In the past, some taxonomists considered it a subspecies of the gemsbok, but they are genetically distinct; the diploid chromosome count is 56 for the beisa and 58 for the gemsbok. The species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
Nicholas F. Oppenheimer is a South African billionaire businessman. He was formerly the chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and of its subsidiary, the Diamond Trading Company, and former deputy chairman of Anglo American. He is the third richest man in Africa.
The Highveld is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country's most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially the Gauteng conurbation, which accommodates one-third of South Africa's population.
The gemsbok or South African oryx is a large antelope in the genus Oryx. It is native to the arid regions of Southern Africa, such as the Kalahari Desert. Some authorities formerly included the East African oryx as a subspecies.
The Soutpansberg, meaning "Salt Pan Mountain" in Afrikaans, is a range of mountains in far northern South Africa. It is located in Vhembe District, Limpopo. It is named for the salt pan located at its western end. The mountain range reaches the opposite extremity in the Matikwa Nature Reserve, some 107 kilometres (66 mi) due east. The range as a whole had no Venda name, as it was instead known by its sub-ranges which include Dzanani, Songozwi and others. Of late it is however known as Tha vhani ya muno, meaning "mountain of salt".
The Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve is a 3,000-acre (12 km2) breeding and reacclimation center administered by the Israel Nature Reserves & National Parks Authority, situated in the Southern Arava near Yotvata.
Mokala National Park is a reserve established in the Plooysburg area south-west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape, South Africa on 19 June 2007. The size of the park is 26,485 hectares. Mokala is the Setswana name for the magnificent camel thorn, a tree species typical of the arid western interior and common in the area. There is currently 70 km of accessible roads in the national park.
Mapungubwe National Park is a national park in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is located by the Kolope River, south of the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers and about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the NE of the Venetia Diamond Mine. The National Park borders Mapesu Private Game Reserve to the south. It abuts on the border with Botswana and Zimbabwe, and forms part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area. It was established in 1995 and covers an area of over 28,000 hectares. The park protects the historical site of Mapungubwe Hill, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe, as well as the wildlife and riverine forests along the Limpopo River. The Mapungubwe Hill was the site of a community dating back to the Iron Age. Evidences have shown that it was a prosperous community. Archaeologists also uncovered the famous golden rhino figurine from the site. It is one of the few places in Africa that has both meerkats and Nile crocodiles.
Atherstone Nature Reserve is a 23 500 hectare reserve situated close to Dwaalboom, in the Limpopo, province in South Africa. The reserve consists mainly of vast savannah plains with bushveld and Kalahari grasslands eco-systems. Besides antelopes, zebras and giraffes the black rhino and elephants are one of the highlights of Atherstone.
Blouberg Nature Reserve is a protected area situated close to Vivo, west of Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province, of South Africa. It covers an area of 9,360 hectares from the eastern portion of the Blouberg mountain range down to the savanna near the Brak River, and is founded by Peter Dix but was sold and now managed and administrated by the Limpopo Provincial Government.
The Nata Bird Sanctuary, the only protected reserve in the northeastern periphery of Sowa Pan in Botswana, is a community-managed project, with assistance from the Nata Conservation Committee and national and international organizations. Founded in 1988, it opened for operations in 1993; it encompasses an area of 230 square kilometres (89 sq mi), with the objective of conservation of wildlife. The community project is managed by a Trust titled the "Kalahari Conservation Society", which has members drawn from the four villages of Nata, Sepako, Maposa and Manxotae in the vicinity of the sanctuary.
Buffelspruit Nature Reserve is a smallish nature reserve in the far north of the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The Limpopo burrowing skink is a lizard species found in the Limpopo River valley in South Africa.
The Tswalu Kalahari Reserve is a privately owned game reserve in the Northern Cape, South Africa. It is South Africa's largest private game reserve, covering an area of over 111,000 hectares.
Mapesu Private Game Reserve is a game reserve in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The reserve adjoins the Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site, with which it shares a 12.5 km Northern border. The main entrance gate to the reserve is located approximately 7 km east of Mapungubwe's entrance gate. It was established in 2014 and covers an area of over 7,200 hectares. The reserve protects various bird, mammal and tree species and is slated to become part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area in phase 2 as part of the proposed Limpopo Valley Game Reserve.
Wahlberg's Kalahari gecko, also known commonly as the Kalahari ground gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Lekgalameetse Provincial Park is a conserved mountain wilderness of 18,718 ha, situated west of Ofcolaco and Trichardtsdal in the northern Drakensberg of Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was envisaged by the Lebowa government during the 1980s as a 25,000 ha reserve called The Downs Nature Reserve, which would cater recreational activities, camping and hiking. Current amenities include self-catering accommodation, a bush camp with log cabins beside a stream, farmhouses serving as guest houses, and a camp for school outings.
