Please explain what is meant by the terms lowveldt and bushveldt. Are there any other flora or geographic terms common to African hunting to add to the list?

My understanding is that the highveldt is basically the plateaux which occur in South Africa and Zimbabwe and the lowveldt are the basins which occur in South Africa. I don't know if bushveldt is the equivalent of lowveldt or not.

I have a long neck, and I'll stick it out. Here's my try at explaining lowveldt and bushveldt:

Lowveldt: This is the geographically or topographically low lying area to the east of the "escarpment". The whole of the Kruger National Park (KNP)lies at relatively low elevation, and is therefore in the "lowveldt" There is also a strip of varying width to the west of the KNP which contain the well known Sabi Sand, Londolozi, Klaseri, Thimbavati and other private reserves and farming areas, including the town or village of Phalaborwa is also in the "Lowveldt". Lowveldt is therefore at low elevation above sea level. OK!

Bushveldt: This one is very difficult and sure to attract lots of attention from "know better than me" South Africans, and of course those who have hunted here at least once! "Bush veldt" means exactly what the name says! Veldt - or translated as "un-plowed natural area" that contains bush. Now the whole of the "Lowveldt" also contains bush, hence the name "Jock of the Bushveldt" for the dog that had such adventures along the transport wagon routes from the nowadays Maputo to Johannesburg. The old farmers, like former ZAR President Paul Kruger, often made an excursion every winter to the "bushveldt" to hunt. They actually went to the Lowveldt. The term bushveldt came to have a mystique, a romanctic connotation about hunting and excitement. Then the KNP was declared a game reserve and hunting stopped. The areas to the west of the KNP and outside the protected area became largely over-hunted and over exploited. Farmers sought other hunting areas for their annual treks. They still went to the "bushveldt", but now actually went to other areas where game was still plentiful. Ellisras (Lephalale) Marken and other villages in the western parts of the former Transvaal became known as the "bushveldt". Naturally the lowveldt also retained the name and designation of "bushveldt".

Today all the areas to the north of the real highveldt grassveldt is referred to as "The Bushveldt". But the "lowveldt" remains only the areas that are at low elevation above sea level.

Many hunters are told that they are to hunt in the bushveldt, when in fact they are hunting in ecologically degraded savannah that is nowadays seriously suffering from thorn bush invasions. They think that the abundance of sekelbos and geelhaak is why the area is referred to as "bushveldt".

Well, that is enough said to get my head bitten right of!

Could possibly add grassveldt, Karoo, koppie, vlei, pan, spruit, bakkie and a few more terms to the list?

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

All of that is secondary to knowing what the long drop loo is and where it is located.

Thanks for the answers, that is just what I was looking for.

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