African Wildlife & Environment Issue 84 2023

DESTINATIONS

Pretoriuskop is the oldest camp in the Kruger National Park. and boasts an amazing history. It is located on higher lying ground in a part of the park that receives the most rainfall. This results in a cooler camp than others in this part of the lowveld, especially in summer with its intense heat. PRETORIUSKOP CAMP - KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

Article & photographs: John Wesson

Last rays of light as the day draws to a close

Some 3,500 million years ago, molten rock forced its way through the earth’s crust and solidified to form the spectacular granite outcrops where Pretoriuskop Rest Camp is now nestled in the south-western corner of Kruger. The impressive granite dome known as ‘Shabeni Hill’ is not far from the camp. The Voortrekkers were a group of Dutch speaking colonists that left the Cape Colony during the 1830s, in pursuit of their vision of political autonomy in the interior, far from British influence and administration. Between 1836 and 1860, groups of Voortrekkers investigated various

possible routes through the Lowveld to the Portuguese harbours in Mozambique, to establish trade. The camp lies near one of these trade routes and takes its name from the nearby hill where the Voortrekker Pretorius is buried. The Portuguese pioneer, João Albasini was the first European trader and elephant hunter to settle in the Lowveld. Between 1845 and 1860, he established various trading posts along the routes between the harbours in Mozambique and the inland mines and centres of the ivory trade. It was Albasini who buried Willem Pretorius at the base of Pretoriuskop in Kruger National

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