Douglasdale Township

Motopo Park is one of those places where you can’t help but be awe inspired by the grandeur of the scenery. The granite topped hills where boulders balance on top of each other at all angles defy logic. There is a famous rock formation called Mother and Child that we stop to view and many others of all shapes towering into the sky. We feel like children in the land of a giants playground but here miraculously the boulders stacked on top of each other take eons to actually erode and fall.

Motopo is also a 4x4 enthusiasts paradise with off the beaten tracks leading over rocks, rivers, around lakes and to caves which we are eager to explore. We take one of these bumpy tracks to a cave recommended for its incredible rockart paintings. It’s quite a climb on arrival up a steep path with overhanging trees and beautifully honey scented flowers guiding us up to reach the entrance but when we get there it is well worth the effort. The cavern is gigantic and covered from wall to wall with the most exquisite orange hued paintings like a giant story book through many generations of San people dating back 2000 years.

We visit another more easily accessed cave where the paintings are not so clear and well preserved but where the cultural museum is located and have an interesting guided talk by the curator on the history of Motopo and its original first peoples.

One of the other unique activities we want to take part in at Motopo is rhino tracking. The park has one of the most stable and ever growing populations of White Rhino definitely due to the 24 hour tracking and surveillance of the many rangers who have dedicated their lives to protecting these vulnerable animals from poaching. We can’t believe how close we get to a family of three rhinos with our tracker less than 20 meters ! The mother with grown up daughter and youngster are so calm and relaxed in our presence just continuing to eat on the grasses they love so much and moving slowly and steadily away. The guardian of these particular rhino has been doing this for over 17 years and his dedication and love for the animals is apparent.

We stop for our lunch at one of the lakes in the park. There are many of them some more easily found and others a hidden surprise when driving along. We have the place to ourselves most of the time as not many people explore further than the famous historic Rhodes Grave and main lake. It feels like a magical journey as each track we take leads us down another green treed path filled with birds, antelope and monkeys popping in and out of the greenery and to glistening lakes surrounded by grasses interspersed with reeds like emerald jewels in the surrounding bush veld.

The day is ending and reluctantly we head back to our camp at Big Cave Lodge. The setting for this lodge is spectacular located on the hilltop with gigantic boulders all around including a massive one dominating the dining/lounge. Its the perfect setting to enjoy sundowners after another beautiful day in this incredible country.Read more