Pockets of Hope Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kruger

The Kruger National Park is the flagship of South Africa's national parks and the cornerstone of its conservation efforts. The park is huge, covering some 19,623 square kilometres. It is situated in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km from north to south and 65 km from east to west. It was first established in 1898 as the Sabie Game Reserve by the then-President Paul Kruger, to protect South Africa's wildlife from overhunting and habitat destruction. In 1926 it became the Kruger National Park, South Africa's first national park. While the park is home to the fabled "Big Five" (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo, and rhinoceros), it has a wide variety of other game and over 500 bird species have been recorded in the park.

However, the Kruger National Park also plays a vital role in regional conservation and it is a member of the cross-border conservation initiative known as the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. This transfrontier park is a collaborative effort among South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, aimed at creating a large-scale conservation area that transcends national boundaries and allows wildlife to move freely across international borders. This approach helps maintain genetic diversity and supports large-scale conservation efforts especially for bigger mammals such as elephant which require extensive ranges.

Answer: Kilimanjaro

Probably one of the most recognisable images of Africa is the ice capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro rising majestically above the savannah. Mount Kilimanjaro, the "Mountain of Whiteness" or "Shining Mountain", is the highest free standing mountain on earth. Its highest point, Uhuru Peak, reaching 5,895 meters above sea level, makes it the highest point on the African continent. It is a stratovolcano with three distinct peaks: Kibo, the highest and the only one with a permanent ice cap, Mawenzi, and Shira. Kilimanjaro National Park was created in 1973 as a designated national park encompassing the mountain's upper reaches and its surrounding forests with the aim of protecting the unique ecosystems of Mount Kilimanjaro. The park was opened to the public in 1977.

The park is located in northeastern Tanzania, near the town of Moshi. It covers an area of about 1,688 square kilometers and now encompasses not only the mountain's peak, but also its surrounding forests and lower slopes. Climbing and trekking activities on the mountain, which is Africa's member of the Seven Summits, the highest point on each continent, are an important source of revenue for Tanzania. The popularity of these activities means that the park faces several challenges, including the impact of climate change on Kilimanjaro's ice cap, deforestation, and managing the environmental effects of heavy tourism.

Answer: Ranomafana

The Ranomafana National Park owes its existence to the discovery in 1986 of the exceedingly rare and critically endangered golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) by Dr. Patricia Wright, in the rain forests of southeastern Madagascar. This discovery highlighted the unique biodiversity of Madagascar and the need for its conservation. It led to increased efforts to protect the unique montane rain forest ecosystem and the varied wildlife contained within. The culmination was the establishment of Ranomafana National Park in 1991. The park's name comes from the Malagasy word for "hot water", a reference to the hot springs found in the area. Located in the southeastern region of the island, approximately a 7 hour drive from Antananarivo, Ranomafana covers over 400 square kilometers comprised mainly of dense rain forest.

The park is home to a rich array of plant and animal species, including no less than 12 species of lemurs as well as chameleons, and a vast diversity of birds and amphibians. The park forms part of the 'Rainforests of the Atsinanana', a World Heritage Site designated in 2007 that consists of 13 specific areas in six national parks in the eastern part of Madagascar.

Answer: Etosha

In the Oshindonga language of northern Namibia, Etosha means the "great white area" and a great white area it is indeed. It refers to Africa's largest salt pan, the Etosha Pan, which covers an enormous 4,760 square kilometres around which the eponymous national park is based and which makes up nearly a quarter of the park. The Etosha National Park is situated in the north-central region of Namibia, with the park's main entrance, the "Andersson Gate," situated near the town of Okaukuejo, about 435 km north of Namibia's capital, Windhoek. The park was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. In 1958 it was deemed to be a 'Wildschutzgebiet' and was awarded the status of national park in 1967 by the Republic of South Africa who governed what was then South West Africa.

The park covers some 22,270 square kilometres and its eastern side is dominated by the Etosha Pan, while dolomite hills are the main geographical feature of the western half of the park. The pan is the remnant of a prehistoric lake and typically remains dry for most of the year. However during the wet season, it is fed with seasonal water from the Ekuma and Oshigambo Rivers and parts of the pan form a shallow lake. This creates a temporary wetland in a normally arid area that attracts a variety of bird species, including pelicans and thousands of flamingos.

Answer: Ras Mohammed

Situated on a headland on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula where the desert meets the Red Sea, Ras Mohammed National Park is is the first and oldest national park in Egypt. The park, established in 1983, takes its name, which means 'Head of Mohammed', from a wind eroded cliff overlooking the Red Sea. The park covers over 480 square kilometers and includes both land and marine areas.The diverse ecosystems found in the park include coral reefs, mangroves, salt marshes, sand dunes and desert.

The marine area, which extends into the Red Sea, is famous for its coral reefs which are home to a wide variety of marine life, including over 200 species of coral, hundreds of species of fish, sea turtles, and dolphins. Ras Mohammed has unique geological formations,which include granite and sandstone mountains, fossilized coral reefs, and evidence of tectonic fault activity with its resultant visible fissures. The park is also a magnet for migratory birds, such as white storks and ospreys, which use the area as a stopover point during their migration.

Answer: Hwange

Hwange National Park is the largest national park in Zimbabwe, covering about 14,651 square kilometres. Located in the western part of the country, near the border with Botswana, the area was formerly the royal hunting ground of the Ndebele king, Mzilikazi. The park's establishment as a game reserve in 1928, under the name of "Wankie Game Reserve" was a result of growing awareness about the importance of conserving wildlife and natural habitats. The area that became Hwange National Park in 1930 was relatively isolated and less suitable for agriculture, making it an ideal candidate for a protected wildlife reserve. Its varied landscapes, from woodlands to grasslands, supported a wide array of wildlife which reflected a broader vision for conserving Zimbabwe's wildlife heritage.

Hwange is home to a wide variety of animals, including elephants, lions, leopards, African wild dogs, buffaloes, giraffes, and many species of antelope as well over 400 recorded species of birds. One unique feature of Hwange is its network of man-made waterholes, designed to provide water during the dry season, which attract large herds of animals. The park is the elephant stronghold of Zimbabwe and has one of the largest concentrations of elephants in Africa.

Answer: Chobe

The Chobe National Park is Botswana's first proclaimed national park. It is named after the Chobe River and covers over 10,700 square kilometres of the northern Kalahari desert. It is famed for its massive elephant population which number in the thousands. So if it's elephants you want to see, Chobe is the place to go. The park also boasts big herds of Cape buffalo, some seriously large lion prides and a stellar list of bird life with over 450 recorded species. The area was first protected as a game reserve in 1961 and was then proclaimed a national park in 1968. Chobe is located in the north of Botswana near the town of Kasane, which serves as a gateway to the park. Chobe is also part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, one of the largest trans-boundary conservation areas in the world, that spans five Southern African countries: Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The aim of this collaboration is the creation of free corridors for wildlife to roam across national borders.

Besides the riverine areas near the Chobe River, the park is also home to a mixed woodland with Kiaat, Zambezi teak and the distinctive mopane trees. In the south of the park, large amounts of acacia savanna and widespread areas of grassland predominate. However, one of the hidden secrets of the park can be found at Savuti (or Savute) in the remote northern corner where the landscape is shaped by the remnants of the ancient super lake that, millions of years ago, once covered the northern parts of Botswana.

Answer: Bwindi

The wonderfully named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the southwestern part of Uganda on the rim of the Rift Valley. It lies at the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift Valley, at elevations of up to 2,607 metres. The just over 330 square kilometres of dense and ancient rain forest it covers is, however, vitally important to conservation. They are home to a stable population of around 320 mountain gorillas. To put it in perspective, this is about half of this species' remaining population in the wild. The word "Bwindi" means "darkness" or "impenetrable" in the local Runyakitara language and the park's terrain of steep slopes, valleys, and ridges covered by ran forest makes it an apt name. The park was first proclaimed as a reserve in 1942. A year later this was upgraded to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and, in 1994, it was recognized as a World Heritage Site in Uganda.

However, Bwindi is not just about mountain gorillas. The park also contains over 120 mammal species, 348 bird species, 220 butterfly species and 27 frog species as well as about 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns.

Answer: Bazaruto

The Bazaruto Archipelago National Park is a protected marine area located in the Bazaruto Archipelago off the southern coast of Mozambique's Inhambane Province near the town of Vilankulo. It covers an area of approximately 1,430 square kilometres and includes the islands of Bazaruto, Benguerra, Magaruque, Santa Carolina and Bangue, along with their surrounding marine environments. The park was established in 1971 to protect the unique marine and coastal ecosystems of the Bazaruto Archipelago with its diverse ecosystems that include coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, and sandy beaches.

The park is home to the largest dugong population on the eastern coast of Africa. Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are a marine mammal closely related to manatees.The park's extensive seagrass beds provide an ideal habitat and they are one of the few places in the western Indian Ocean where dugongs can still be found in significant numbers.

Answer: Serengeti-Mara

Every year a miracle of nature happens in southern Tanzania and northern Kenya. Over a million wildebeests, half a million gazelle, and some 200,000 zebra cross the Mara River in Kenya's Masai Mara National Park in the months of June to August to graze and breed, before returning to Tanzania's Serengeti National Park in late October to November. This is known as the "Great Migration". To preserve and facilitate this marvel, the Serengeti-Mara Transboundary Conservation Area was formed in 2011 by linking the two parks to create a conservation area of over 30,000 square kilometres. Serengeti occupies the larger portion in the south and Masai Mara the smaller section in the north.

However, both parks had been established by their respective countries much earlier. The Serengeti National Park was established by Tanzania in 1951 and covers an area of approximately 14,763 square kilometres in the southern part of the country near the town of Arusha. The park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Kenya's Masai Mara National Park was established in 1961 and it covers about 1510 square kilometres in southwestern Kenya about 270 kilometres south of Nairobi.