Cresting a kopje and descending to a rock pinnacle that juts out over the Palala River valley in the Waterberg region of Limpopo, we approached the same spot, known as Lepotedi, that Clive Walker and Dale Parker stood on in March 1981. We visualised a pristine wilderness stretching as far as the eye could see and beyond.
Four decades later and that vision has been realised in the form of the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, which, at 50 000ha, is the largest private game sanctuary in the region. Lapalala is at the heart of the 650 000ha area designated in 2001 by Unesco (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) as the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.