D'nyala Nature Reserve, lies just 15 kilometres south east of

Lephalale Lephalale (formerly Ellisras) is a coal mining town in the Limpopo province of South Africa immediately east of the Waterberg Coalfield. The town was established as Ellisras in 1960 and named after Patrick Ellis and Piet Erasmus who settled on a ...

, in the

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

, province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and is about 8.000 Ha in area. It is named after the huge and lovely

Nyala tree ''Xanthocercis zambesiaca'', the nyala tree or mshatu, is a species of legume in the family Fabaceae which is native to the southern subtropics of Africa. It occurs in seasonally hot, low-lying river valleys of Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, So ...

(Latin: Xanthocercis zambesiaca) that grows in the area up to 30 metres high with massive gnarled and crooked trunks from which its leaves grow directly. On the west is the Mogol River and on the east the Tamboti River. The reserve was used from 1989 until 1992 for discussions between the brutal Apartheid government of FW de Klerk and the ANC.

Wildlife

Include:

white rhino The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies ar ...

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

tsessebe The common tsessebe or sassaby (''Damaliscus lunatus lunatus'') is the southern, nominate subspecies of ''Damaliscus lunatus'', although some authorities have recognised it as an independent species. It is most closely related to the Bangweulu ts ...

, eland and others, and there are a variety of predators like the

brown hyena The brown hyena (''Parahyaena brunnea''), also called strandwolf, is a species of hyena found in Namibia, Botswana, western and southern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and South Africa. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Parahyaena''. It ...

jackal Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...

and smaller cats. The nyala antelope and the

are other members of the mammalian population of the reserve, which totals 60. Lowland Nyala

Vegetation

The reserve contains some magnificent specimens of the

Baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...

tree.

References

{{coord, 23, 43, 5.12, S, 27, 48, 28.71, E

Wildlife

Vegetation

References

See also