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A Walk with the Dinosaurs


 
 

Modjadji's Kraal is the spectacular home to the Rain Queens, hereditary rulers of the Balobedo Baga Modjadji people, and also to one of South Africa's greatest natural wonders, the Modjadji cycads, or as they are known in horticultural terms, Encephalartos transvenosus.
 

The Reserve is situated about 30km north-east of Tzaneen, a town in the Northern Province of SA. It was declared a national monument in 1936 and proclaimed and a reserve in 1979 by the Lebowa Government. It covers 308 hectares that has been fenced off.
 

The cycads here form a dense forest on the side of a steep hill and is still such a wonderful site today due to the fact that the local community protects these wonders. It is believed that these plants belong to the Rain Queen and to damage or take her plants is to bring the wrath of the gods on them, which would mean no rain. Here are some pictures from our recent visit to this amazing reserve during September 2000.
 

General Pictures Reproduction by seed Damage & regrowth

Note: This article is reprinted here with permission from the author, Pieter Saayman. Please feel free to email any comments or suggestions about the article to psk@mweb.co.za.

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