History
Around the late 1880s, one of the opponents of the game reserves scheme, a certain Mr De Beer, demanded to know the location of the South African government’s proposed wildlife park. At the suggestion of JC Krogh (the magistrate of Wakkerstroom), President Paul Kruger identified a site on the banks of the Pongola River, in the south-eastern part of the Transvaal (now located in northern KwaZulu-Natal).
This area was eminently unsuitable for a game reserve. It was too small, too mountainous and didn’t contain any significant stocks of game, but it was strategically important.
Squeezed between the southern boundary of Swaziland and the northern border of British-controlled Zululand, the Pongola Reserve gave the Transvaal an access point from which they could conceivably reach the sea. Thus, by proclaiming the Pongola Game Reserve, the Transvaal Republic could entrench themselves in this ambiguous border area and potentially gain some valuable territory.
De-Proclaimed
Despite the apparent urgency with which the law of 1889 was passed, it took several years before any concrete steps were taken. Eventually, the Pongola Game Reserve was declared in 1894. The services of a ranger, HF Van Oordt, were secured and the necessary farms were purchased.
The Pongola Game Reserve, with a total area of 17 400 ha, was now official. Sadly, the history of the Pongola Reserve would prove to be ignominious. The reserve was simply too small to support any significant herds of game and the entire enterprise was neglected from its very inception. It was de-proclaimed in 1921.
Privately Owned
The ‘new’ Pongola Game Reserve is privately owned and overlaps in part over the previous reserve. An area, originally part of the ‘old’ reserve and adjacent to the private reserve has now been re-proclaimed.
The Pongola Game Reserve is home to giraffes, wildebeest, zebra, impala and hyena, while hippo and crocodile inhabit the waters of the Pongolapoort Dam/Lake Jozini. Rare animals include wild dog and white rhino.