Kruger & Gorongosa National Park – Back in the Day

Blast From The Past

It’s crazy to think how much the landscape of southern Africa has changed over the years, from the urban inner city areas to the rural country and bush. I look back at grandma’s grainy Polaroids of Camps Bay beach from the 1940’s with her Marilyn Monroe swimming costume. Then cut to the present where albums show the tens of buildings that have popped up on the beachfront and the people who dress a little skimpier.

I look at black and white photos taken by my dad’s dad and see trams running through the city I grew up in but that I never got to see. Things change over time and photographs let us look back at a world we weren’t part of.

[The header photo is of Gorongosa in the mid 1900’s]

Since we’re in the safari business, we tried to collect some snaps of two of our favourite game reserves – the Kruger National Park and Gorongosa National Park. Much has changed for them too. Just take a look below and read the brief histories of both.

We’d love to see any olden day snaps of different parts of Africa that you might have – from the beaches to the bush, the city streets to the dirt roads in the country. Take a scramble through the old folks’ diaries and albums. Feel free to share them with us and we’ll post them on Rhino Africa’s Facebook – simply email tamlin@rhinoafrica.com. Watch this space for more vintage photo blogs of cities and reserves!

Gorongosa National Park

The Gorongosa National Park, near Beira in central Mozambique, sure has a history worth hearing. As tumultuous as it has been, they are on the path to recovery since the Civil War, with several significant restoration projects in place and a great new private eco-friendly luxury safari camp – Explore Gorongosa. Read more below:

Gorongosa Then & Now

The Mozambican Civil War from 1977 to 1994 greatly affected the park and led to it being shut down and abandoned in 1983 after excessive violence crippled it. Over the next 9 years, battles were frequently fought in the park, including aerial bombing which destroyed buildings and roads. The park’s wildlife was gravely affected; the people involved in the war slaughtered hundreds of elephants for ivory, selling it to buy arms and supplies. Soldiers shot thousands of zebras, wildebeest, buffalos and other ungulates for food, while lions and other large predators either died from starvation or were shot as a sport.

[Gorongosa photographs taken by Jorge Ribeiro Lume]

When the civil war ended in 1992, widespread hunting in the park continued for two more years. Large populations of elephants, hippos, buffalos, zebras, and lions were reduced by 90%, while the birdlife numbers stayed fairly unaffected. A rehabilitation plan was launched in 1994 with the aid of the African Development Bank, European Union and International Union for the Conservation of Nature. New staff were hired, guards were trained to stop illegal hunting and about 100 kilometers of roads and trails were reopened.

The Mozambique government and US-based Carr Foundation signed a 20-year agreement to restore and co-manage the park. They have been working together to rebuild the park’s infrastructure, restore its wildlife populations and boost the local economy. A 60-square-kilometre wildlife sanctuary was erected, buffalo and wildebeest were reintroduced and the Chitengo Safari Camp was restored. Several thousand visitors now enter the park each year, most staying at Chitengo Safari Camp.

Another great option is Explore Gorongosa which opened in 2009. This seasonal luxury tented camp is the first private eco-tourism venture in the park. It is essentially a series of migratory camps offering guests either walking or river-based safaris in the untamed wilderness. Explore Gorongosa is the only operator offering private safaris in Gorongosa National Park. Each season offers something different, and seeing as the camp is constantly moving, each new setting brings a new range of wildlife experiences!

Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa and one of the world’s biggest wildlife sanctuaries. Think of the size of Israel or Wales and you’ve got it. The Kruger Park’s history goes back as far as 1898. Read more about it below and take a look at these pics! Nothing like the 5-star luxury tented experiences of today.

 A Basic History of Kruger

A motion was passed in the Parliament of the former South African republic to create a game reserve, which the President of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger, proclaimed in 1898 a “Government Wildlife Park”.

This park later became known as the Sabi Game Reserve, which was initially created to control hunting and protect the diminished number of animals in the park. The first tourists started visiting the Sabi Game Reserve during 1923.

Sabi was combined with the adjacent Shingwedzi Game Reserve (1903), now in northern Kruger National Park, and other farms, to become the greater Kruger National Park in 1926. The first tourist cars to enter the Kruger National Park came in 1927.

During 1959, work was started on completely fencing the park’s boundaries, so to curb the spread of diseases, facilitate border patrolling and the movement of poachers. In 2002, Kruger National Park, Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique were incorporated into the a peace park, the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park.

Read more about Kruger’s history here!

Note: These pictures were sourced from africageographic.com

Keen to see these two game reserves in the modern day?

Contact one of our expert travel consultants to find out more and to book your African safari.