Mokala National Park celebrates diverse cultures
ON JUNE 19, 2007, Mokala National Park, a reserve, was formed in the Plooysburg region, south-west of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape. The park covers a total area of 26,485 hectares.
The splendid camel thorn, a tree species typical of the dry western interior and widespread in the region, is known in Setswana as Mokala. The national park currently has 70km of access roads for you to drive on, and the roads are in such good condition that you won't see any potholes … anywhere.
Mokala is about an hour's drive from Kimberley, and is a great stopover between Cape Town and Johannesburg off the N12 and is malaria free. The park is best known for its rare animals, including the roan, sable, and tsessebe, as well as the aardvark and aardwolf.
When you drive through the park, you will be able to see animals like buffalo, antelope, gemsbok, the big-daddy eland, red hartebeest, springbok, black-backed jackal, and many different bird species.
Visitors can participate in a variety of activities at Mosu Lodge, including guided morning, day, sunset, and night drives. A guided game drive and a bush braai (minimum of five people) is included in this activity.
Reservations for the bush braai must be made at least two weeks in advance. Visitors can also go on guided drives to see rock art engravings to learn more about the local cultural heritage.
For overnight guests, including those staying at the Motswedi camping site, Haak en Steek Cottage and the Tree Top Cottages, other recreational amenities include swimming pools at Mosu Lodge and Lilydale Rest Camp.
Entry into the park is R52 for adults and R26 for children under 12 years old.
As part of Heritage Month, the park on Wednesday celebrated the diversity of cultures.
Five different cultures were represented – Tsonga, Afrikaner, Xhosa, Venda and Tswana – by the park personnel. They were required to present the following to a panel of judges as part of a competition: Traditional dishes, attire, dances, and co-operation.
Five impartial judges were requested to evaluate each event that and they were completely floored by the ubuntu spirit they encountered.
The Tsonga culture was represented by Sarah Dikghetsi. She noted that there are many Tsonga people living in the park. She remarked, as a Tswana person, "I learned a lot from them. I conducted some research into the Tsonga culture and found a lot of things I never knew."
Dikghetsi believes it is crucial to be knowledgeable about both one's own culture and other cultures.
“I consider myself to be extremely cultural, and by going to this event I learned so much about a culture that is not my own. I believe that everyone should respect the cultures of others.”
She also suggested that locals visit and take a look around her park. “They must visit us to learn more about what we have to offer; they will be greeted with smiles and open arms.”
After all the fun and games were concluded, the day was then ended with the following words: "It is not my culture, or your culture, but OUR culture!"
