Matopos is an area of granite boulders and dense woodland forest in the south western part of Zimbabwe. It is famous for its wildlife, and some of the wildlife here, are to a very large extent, dependant on a little animal called a Rock Hyrax or "Dassie".
The Rock Hyrax is a small animal, it looks almost like a big rat, or a mini version of a south American Capybara, it lives in rocky areas, and spends almost all its time hidden between the rocks from ground and aerial predators.

Some of the predators include the leopard. It has been proven that Matopos contains the highest density of leopards anywhere in the world, but finding one is extremely difficult in the dense woodland. Here, up to 90 percent of the leopard's diet consists of Hyraxes. Matopos also supports a large snake population, the African Rock Python's spoor is often seen on the gravel road when driving through the park, and these pythons are also largely dependent on the Hyrax population.

… teaches us things that you won’t find in any textbook! And so it is that kind of quality time spent in the bush that I personally cherish the most when on a tour. This blog entry will thus be about some personal observations rather than about the tour itself.

Phumi and I (Steff) are both qualified guides and we have had our share of amazing sightings that make you speechless but I am sure he would agree with me, we never stop learning and that makes our job so satisfying.

On our SAa17 Rainbow Route we encountered some extraordinary moments of nature and I will remember them forever.

The coastline of South Africa is pretty amazing. Stretching more than 2,500 kilometres from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast southwards to the tip of Africa and then northeast to the border with Mozambique on the Indian Ocean.

When you talk to people they always say that they love the bush or they love the beach, but it is possible to love both? On the Sunway Safaris MOa14 Mozambique & Kruger Beach & Bush 14 day accommodated tour you get to experience both. During the first few days on tour you visit Hluhluwe area and do bush walks and game drives to see as much wildlife as possible. Hluhluwe is situated between iSimagaliso Wetland Park & Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park on the elephant coast.

As successful leaders in the tourism industry of southern Africa, Sunway Safaris is acutely aware of the need to reduce impacts on the environment and encourage sustainable tourism through the protection of eco-systems and communities.

PEN is a section 21 (not for profit) company that works to provide access to the basic needs of vulnerable children, adults and the elderly in the Tshwane / Pretoria community, Gauteng, South Africa.

“With a dedicated and committed team, PEN dreams of Igniting change, Healing communities and Nurturing togetherness. 175 full time staff-members, committed to the people who live and work in the city, builds loving relationships with the community which includes children, teens, elderly, parents, students, homeless people, sex workers, drug addicts and every person that cross our path” More information can be found by visiting www.pen.org.za

Sunway Safaris have chosen to partner with PEN to help them achieve their organisation’s goals. This twins with our ambition to foster interest in tourism & hospitality and more importantly, the concept and values of conservation.

We sponsor the entire trip for the students and leaders which consists of collecting the group in Tshwane, driving them to the Pilanesberg National Park, entry fees, camping fees and all meals.

The annual 2019 PEN trip transported 19 learners and 4 leaders from Pretoria’s inner city to Pilanesberg National Park in order to expose them to both tourism and conservation elements.