About Tundavala Hunting Safaris

The Waterberg (Northern Sotho: Thaba Meetse) is a mountainous massif of approximately 654,033 hectares in north Limpopo Province, South Africa. The average height of the mountain range is 600m with a few peaks rising up to 2,000m above sea level.

Waterberg (Thaba Meetse) is the first region in the northern part of South Africa to be named as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

Vaalwater town is located just north of the mountain range. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion to yield diverse bluff and butte-landform. The sandstone formations could retain groundwater sufficient to make a suitable environment for primitive man.

The ecosystem can be characterised as a dry deciduous forest or Bushveld.The first human ancestors may have been at Waterberg as early as three million years ago, since Makapansgat, 40 kilometers distant, has yielded skeletons of Australopithecus africanus.

It is suggested that Homo erectus, whose evidence remains were also discovered in Makapansgat, “may have purposefully moved into the higher areas of the Waterberg for summer game”. Bushmen entered Waterberg around 2,000 years ago. They produced rock paintings at Lapalala within the Waterberg, including depictions of rhinoceros and antelope.

Early Iron Age settlers in Waterberg were Bantu, who had brought cattle to the region. The Bantu created a problem in Waterberg, since cattle reduced grassland and caused invasion of brush species leading to an outbreak of the tse-tse fly.