WHAT’S NEW
ABOUT US
WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN
A dream that started off on a maize and game farm named Boschpoort, belonging to the Wessels family, below the beautiful Waterberg mountain range of just over 2 000 ha, later became the internationally well-known Mabalingwe Game Reserve famous for its Big Five game.
Boschpoort remained a maize and game farm from 1972 to 1986 until the realization of the reserve started in 1987 when Basie Wessels (who passed away in a tragic plane crash on the reserve in 2008) decided to develop Boschpoort into a holiday resort. On 10 March 1989 the first five chalets were completed.
Basie’s son Hannes, an architect and now business owner, developer and game farmer by profession, moved back to the Reserve in 1994 and continued to develop the now known Mabalingwe alongside his father. During this time Mabalingwe has grown to over 8 800 hectares.
Today almost all family members are involved on the reserve.
In 1989 hippos, white rhinos and sable antelope were introduced to the reserve. In 1996 a herd of elephants were rescued from the Kruger National Park and brought to Mabalingwe. In 1999 a buffalo breeding project was started in Hoedspruit where disease-free buffalo were bred and later also introduced to the reserve. Lions were introduced in 2000 and slowly but surely the reserve grew to more than 40 different mammal species and 220 bird species.
The more our passion grew for Mabalingwe, the more our passion grew for the animals that inhabit the beautiful reserve. Boschpoort Safaris was registered in 2012 as a company that solely focuses on the management and conservation of wildlife in the greater Mabalingwe on behalf of Ludum game consortium.
ACTIVITIES
OUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Since the development of the Predator Park, we became more aware of the issues regarding conservation and wildlife than ever before. We came face to face with the realities of the bone trade and canned hunting, dealt with cases of animal cruelty like illegal snaring and grew more concerned about the different endangered species and how we can get involved in repopulating these animals.
Our vision is to repopulate areas around the world where there was a decline in the population of the now endangered species and restore the balance in animal diversity.
Our aim is to not only repopulate but also to educate individuals on conservation, how they can get involved and to leave an imprint that will contribute to keeping our planet’s wildlife alive and thriving.
PARTNERS
