Greetings from the Pafuri Triangle…wish you were here!

The Pafuri Triangle is in the northernmost corner of South Africa’s Kruger National Park — wedged between the borders of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The Pafuri Triangle covers just 1% of the Kruger Park’s surface area, but comprises 70% of the park’s biodiversity. A sanctuary for herds of elephant, elusive leopards, and thousand-year-old baobab trees, Pafuri is one of the most beautiful spots in Africa.

In 1969, the native Makuleke people were forcibly removed from this pristine wilderness by the South African government, to make way for the Kruger Park. Fifteen years ago the land was returned to the Makuleke, who currently partner with private companies to preserve the environment and promote tourism in the Pafuri Triangle.

In June 2011 I participated in a four-day hiking trip through Pafuri, courtesy of Wilderness Adventures. Walking through Kruger Park, rather than riding in a safari vehicle, allowed me to experience this wild part of the world in a whole new way. You learn to appreciate the small things, like dung beetles and lion cub prints, as much as the big things, like face-to-face encounters with bull elephants.

Seeing the beauty of the African bush on foot — and getting intimately close to the world’s largest land mammals — is an experience I won’t soon forget.

Written by Heather Mason at 2summers.net.

Read more about Heather’s experiences in the Pafuri Triangle at her blog:  www.2summers.net