The Red Cross Big Five Marathon

The Red Cross Big Five Marathon - South Africa
 
AREA DESCRIPTION
" Goodbye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees..." wrote Kipling in his famous story "The Elephants Child". The national park represents the best of South Africa's spectacular nature with high mountains, ravines, savannas, forested savanna, rivers and lakes. The nature spreads out around the impressive Waterberg, one of the planet's oldest massifs and at the same time one of the few places in South Africa that combines a spectacular landscape with an abundance of wildlife including Africa's big game. Can you think of a more spectacular setting for a marathon.

Entabeni Game reserve
The tour includes game drives in 4x4 vehicles in the private Entabeni Game reserve, in The Limpopo province, which lies between Johannesburg and the Kruger National Park. From our safari lodge, with its spectacular view to the mighty Entabeni-monlith we have the opportunity to view all the "Big Five" as well as numerous other species such as Giraffe, Hippopotamus, Crocodiles and the many splendid species of Antelope, not to mention the abundance of birdlife. We use exclusive lodges that are placed in the middle of Entabeni and we need only to step outside to be on a safari. 

The magnificent countryside in South Africa's northern Limpopo province close to Botswana and west of Kruger has long been known as Waterberg. The earlier settlers christened the territory "Waterberg" due to the countless lakes, swamps, waterfalls and rivers, which are a characteristic of this wilderness in contrast to the surrounding dry savanna. In the high season (December to February) dark thunderclouds gather over the plateau resulting in short, powerful downpours in the afternoon, which fill the many small and large streams, causing the redstone dunes to glimmer in the sun as the water makes its way to the Limpopo.

In 2001 the 15,000 square kilometre Waterberg Biosphere Reserve received international status as a part of UNESCOS global biosphere network. The landscape is typically savannah with a wet plateau in the middle which results in many different biotopes and with that also a unique diversity of species. Waterberg is not an individual reserve men consists of several private reserves, Entabeni being the largest and most diverse. Beautiful sandstone monoliths, ravines, and waterfalls lie all within Entabeni's borders. Entabeni is also known for a exceptional number of different antelope species, where nearly all of South Africa's species are represented. In addition there are an exceptional flora consisting of ancient cycads, protea and rare deciduous trees. The territory lies outside the malaria zone and therefore there is no reason to take anti malaria medicine.

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