HISTORY
The story of Mokala starts with another reserve, Vaalbos National Park. Vaalbos was proclaimed in 1986 and covered about 220 km2 next to the Vaal River west of Kimberley. In 2002, a successful land claim for the property was lodged and the animals had to find a new home. SANParks bought a 196 km2 tract of land south-west of Kimberley from Wintershoek, a big game and hunting farm, which officially became Mokala National Park in June 2007. The animals had been moved the year previously.
I know what people think when they read, “It’s a place that will make you appreciate the smaller things in nature.” Because what the poor writer is actually saying is that he didn’t see anything interesting…
But this sentiment really is true in Mokala. You get excited when guineafowl go kek-kek-kek up to the waterhole, because you know no lion or cheetah will show up to steal their limelight. (The Big Five animals in the park are buffalo and white rhino.)
The landscape is lush and green when I visit Mokala in January 2022. During my previous visits, this part of the Northern Cape was parched. At one stage, the animals had to be fed lucerne because the veld was so barren. But there has been lots of summer rain over the last two years.
