Marakele National Park

The mountain section is spectacular for its scenic beauty; the plains section is less interesting as wildlife is hidden in the thick vegetation, so spotting animals is not easy. Road network is limited so it is often crowded

Scenic and Serene Marakele National Park

Marakele National Park, one of the SAN parks is best for the scenic beauty, wildlife, birds and should not be missed if you are in South Africa. It is easily reachable. Food, accommodation and other traveler requirements are available at the nearby town Thabazimbi. You can spend 2+ days inside the park to fully enjoy the beauty of this park. The accommodation inside the park is very good and one should stay and enjoy the nature and wildlife. It is having rough roads that would test your driving skills as well. Wild lifes that are spotted during the visit include Giraffe, Rhinoceros, Impalas, Zebras, Ostriches, Vultures etc., The memorable scenic places include the drive on Mbidi road and the site of the valley, while driving down from the top Lenong Viewing point.

Wonderful, but best spent in a tent or caravan.

I go often to Marakele National Park, always as a camper. This is the only way to truly enjoy Marakele.

There are three things that stand out about Marakele, and that make the park unusual. Firstly, there is the campsite that is unfenced, and that is often visited by numerous mammals and lots of birds. It is not uncommon for white rhinoceros to wander through the campsite, and often you can hear them at night munching on grass outside your tent. Secondly, there is access to the mountain areas with several species of birds that are not easy to see elsewhere, and large flocks of Cape Vultures. Thirdly is the variety of habitats and the large number of bird species that can be seen there, especially in summer.

While there is plenty of wildlife, and it is worth seeing, the number of species is lower than some of the other parks, such as Pilanesberg, and the thick bush can obscure game viewing. But, that is also part of the charm, and the challenge of the park. The Waterberg Mountains creates some stunning scenery, and the open campsite gives good access to wildlife that wanders through. The birding is excellent, and never disappoints.

park is a bit small

Nice experience, great lodge.

A memorable experience

Our first safari so nothing to compare it to but we had a lovely trip - enjoyed everything with no complaints

Beautiful landscapes, few animals

We visited the Park 4 years ago, so i don't know what's the current situation..
We spent a day in the park with our car, exploring a large part of it.
The park is divided into 2 zones, the first is flat, with a "bush" where you can easily see impala, wildebeest, warthog (and according to the rangers at the entrance, not seen rhinos ...).
In the second area the road becomes bumpy, the landscape becomes more mountainous and they told us that we should be able to see the "big four" (except the lion), but on a full day of search we have seen just some kudus and zebras ...
You could see on the road very recent traces of the passage of elephants and rhinos (droppings and broken branches), but it's amazing that even waiting for a long time we didn't heard or saw anything ...
Maybe because of the dense and narrow vegetation near the road ... but also from the high ground with binoculars we couldn't see anything on the move.
However the views are spectacular in the mountains, including the long, steep climb up to the top of the massif of Waterberg, where you should be able to see the colonies of griffon vultures.

Greatest experience ever

Every thing during our stay was fantastic. From the accommodation (tlopi tented camp) to the warm welcome from every employee we met, not forgetting the wild life and great sceneries.
Thanks to our guide Tinyiko, we almost saw all the big fives. We had the chance, the first evening and next morning at the camp, to see a group of more than 20 elephants of all ages, come and stay two hours by the pound side, drinking, bathing, playing. It has been the most beautiful show we ever saw.
The evening dinners cooked on the braai was perfect, with the wild as soundtrack for this three nights / four days stay.
We would highly recommend this national park to anyone dreaming of wildness, peace and beauty.

If you are in the vacinity it may be nice to spend two or three hours here. It's in quite a nice part of the country as far as the scenery goes. But please keep in mind this is a subjective rating and others may have had a greatly different experience.

Marakele- worth the trip

Marakele , has been one of my favourites national park i've been to .
the park in , 2 parts : once is more rocky mountain, with stunning view on surrounding, and the other part more flat .
The wildlife for ones who loves mamal has been great : kudu, white rhino, antelope is really lovely.
The tented camp is great and well situated , You can enjoy, very early morning , animals coming to drink, while you'll hear sometimes fishing eagle.
i overall rate it as excellent, and also considering that kind of camp and price range.