13 Dec Welgevonden Game Lodge Awaits your Arrival
Welgevonden Game Lodge Awaits your Arrival
Our game lodge, the luxurious 5-star Fifty Seven Waterberg, is situated in prime big game territory – Welgevonden Game Reserve, a private reserve that features a select collection of exclusive game lodges, of which Fifty Seven Waterberg is a prime example of some of the best bushveld hospitality on offer in South Africa.
Enduring Name
Fifty Seven Waterberg was formerly known as MolenVliet, but Welgevonden has retained its name for decades, some time before its proclamation as a conservation reserve in 1993. Prior to this, Welgevonden was one of a group of independently owned farms in the scenic Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province.
Together, the then owners of Welgevonden and adjacent farms decided to combine their efforts and their land into one large, like-named reserve, where game, its habitat, and vegetation that was indigenous to the area could once again flourish. Exclusive luxury lodges would follow later; they had not been part of the initial plan.
All have thrived since those days. In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve as a World Heritage Site, with Welgevonden and Fifty Seven Waterberg’s wildlife lodge sharing in this prestigious status.
Protective Measures
Game and the environment were and are still being protected here, largely because of the initiatives and policies in place at Welgevonden and the reserve’s lodges – private status, limited, pre-booked guest numbers, with no general public access or self-drive private vehicles permitted in the reserve.
Innovative, preventative, and pro-active measures are taken to ensure that the wildlife here remains safe and potential poachers are caught before they are able to inflict death and destruction on our precious big game species, particularly the Big 5.
Born of Partnership
Welgevonden was born of a partnership of farmers, so it is not unusual that we have taken other partners aboard in our latest poaching prevention initiative done in collaboration with IBM’s IoT (Internet of Things) technology, service provider MTN, Wageningen University, and the Netherlands Research Institute.
Much of the poaching activity that takes place in southern Africa is aimed at the region’s two species of African rhino. Smaller wild animals, such as antelope, wildebeest, and zebra are often found in the company of rhino. By nature, they are also very alert to danger and quick to react to potential threats and the presence of furtive humans, poachers. Fitted with sensory transmitting collars, their usual behaviour when alarmed enables rangers to respond immediately, before any actual big game and rhino poaching takes place.
Game viewing at our private lodge has always been sensational. Together and with the support of our guests who love and appreciate the Waterberg bushveld, we strive to keep it so, for guests’ sake and the sake of future generations, in combination with the survival of our unique wild animals, roaming freely and safely in a pristine natural environment. May we expect you soon?