Safari to Soutpansberg

historic home of the Venda people

The Soutpansberg Mountains lie in an east to west arc across the otherwise flat and arid plains of the Limpopo area of South Africa.

The mountains take their name from salt pans on their northern side, which continue to be commercially exploited to a limited extent to this day.

These lands are the traditional homelands of the Venda people, the historic descendants of the important archaeological sites at Mapungubwe.

For most people this area is not a destination in its own right, but more of a stopover on the way to somewhere else.

People travelling up the main A1 highway to Zimbabwe often overnight in the selection of roadside lodges in and around the town of Louis Trichardt.

Safari travellers are more likely to stop in at one of the more remote and interesting lodges hidden away in the mountains further west, most likely when travelling to or from the Pont Drift crossing into the Tuli Block area of Botswana.

The stand-out accommodation option is Leshiba Venda Village, a quirky little place which is tucked away high in the mountains, offering excellent walking and a reasonable range of wildlife, as well as a connection to the local Venda people.

an interesting stop on the way to the Tuli Block