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History, Horseback Safaris, Mashatu, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Tuli Circle, Wildlife

Tuli Block

The Tuli Block (sometimes called the Tuli Enclave) is a narrow strip of land formed at the confluence of the Shashe and Limpopo rivers where Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa meet. The land in Tuli is primarily privately owned 'game farms' that have moved from hunting to photographic tourism. The eastern side of Tuli has been declared a wildlife reserve known as the Northern Tuli Game Reserve.

Geographically, the Tuli Region is quite different to most of Botswana, with rocky outcrops and red sand that is littered with stones and pebbles of all sizes.

History

The Tuli region has had human settlement going back to before 800 AD and archaeological studies suggest intense pastoralism from 900 AD into the 1800s. Beginning in the late 1880s, a large scale influx of European settlers moved into Tuli with periodic attempts at cattle farming. Large predators, especially lions, were severely persecuted during this time and for decades thereafter.

In 1885, Chief Khama III of Bechuanaland (Botswana) agreed to have his lands become a British Protectorate with the intention of gaining protection from incursions by the South African Boer farmers in and around the Tuli region. Ten years later, Khama III ceded the land to Cecil Rhodes' British South Africa Company (BSAC) as further protection.

Rhodes intended to build a portion of his Cape to Cairo Railway through the Tuli, but later determined that Tuli's rocky terrain combined with multiple rivers and gorges made it unsuitable for the routing. The eventual route lies to the west of Tuli over flat land.

Exploration for gold turned up nothing and the inhospitable land was not very good for livestock, so Rhodes sold the land off to private farmers a decade later. These farmers also found the land unsuitable for anything but sparse grazing of livestock and so wildlife tourism eventually became the most logical use for the land.

The Tuli Circle

The 10-mile radius Tuli 'circle' was originally established by agreement between farmer landowners and local tribesmen as a 'no-go area' for cattle grazing. The intention was to help prevent the spread of rinderpest (an infectious viral disease) from local cattle to oxen that were much needed for pioneering treks north.

This circle of land effectively moved the international border separating Botswana and Zimbabwe westward away from the Shashe River, with Zimbabwe gaining ownership of the land inside the circle.

The land within the Tuli Circle is protected within Zimbabwe's Thuli Parks and Wildlife Land and is also a part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Northern Tuli Game Reserve

The Northern Tuli Reserve is comprised entirely of privately owned land. In 1964, some of the landowners banded together to create a wildlife sanctuary and the Limpopo Game Protection Association was formed, with most farming and hunting ceasing. Unfortunately, by this time, much of the area's wildlife had been drastically reduced in number and most of the large predators were extinct within Tuli.

By 1986, many more conservation-minded landowners had joined the association and the new Northern Tuli Conservation Association was formed, with the purpose of conserving wildlife, and all hunting ceased by 1987. Today there are thirty-six member properties that make up the Northern Tuli Game Reserve.

Much of the area's mammalian fauna have since recovered, but some species did not return, including the white rhino, African wild dog, roan, sable, gemsbok (oryx), buffalo, tsessebe, reedbuck, and giraffe. Giraffes and wild dogs were reintroduced to the reserve in 1984 and 2008, respectively. However the wild dog population has suffered severe human persecution and there are no resident packs in the reserve.

Wildlife tourism is the focus and the land is organized into several sub-reserves including the Mashatu Game Reserve and several other small private reserves covering 281 square miles (728 sq kms).

The reserves are part of the greater Limpopo River drainage, which flows to the east and is fed by two major feeder rivers, the Shashe and the Motloutse. The Shashe forms the border on the east with Zimbabwe and the Limpopo forms the boundary on the south with South Africa. The Motloutse flows through the western side of the reserve.

Both the Shashe and Motloutse are seasonal sand rivers, but have deep pools of permanent water for most of the year, while the Limpopo flows to varying degrees all year.

Horseback Safaris

Several operators offer horseback riding in Northern Tuli Game Reserve. These are generally multi-day safaris where guests explore and see wildlife on horseback during the day and overnight at various lodges and camps in the reserve.

Wildlife

Tuli is sometimes called the 'Land of Giants', for it concentrations of elephant, lion, eland (world's largest antelope), giraffe, and ostrich (world's largest bird). There are some giant trees in Northern Tuli as well, including the iconic baobab and the Mashatu (or nyalaberry) tree.

Elephants are a speciality in Tuli and the reserve has the largest population of elephants on privately-owned land in Africa.

The reserve has healthy populations of lion, leopard and cheetah and all are seen frequently. Other predators include caracal, African wild cat, serval, bat-eared fox, honey badger, spotted hyena and black-backed jackal. Crocodiles are sometimes seen in the permanent pools in the Limpopo river.

Commonly seen herbivores include giraffe, eland, greater kudu, zebra, wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, steenbok, warthog, klipspringer, common duiker, and bushbuck. There are troops of vervet monkey and baboon along the rivers.

Bird watchers will have great success in the reserve, with over 350 species recorded, including the world's heaviest flying bird, the kori bustard.

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History, Horseback Safaris, Mashatu, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Tuli Block, Tuli Circle, Wildlife