Sustainable and Inclusive Community Heritage Tourism in the Makgabeng- Blouberg Region, Limpopo Province, South Africa
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Sustainable and Inclusive Community Heritage Tourism in the Makgabeng- Blouberg Region, Limpopo Province, South Africa Nondumiso Radebe Student Number: 367272 School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa in the fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science November 207 DECLARATION I declare that this is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of Master of Science in the University of the Witwaterpsrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or examination in any other University. …………………………………………………………………… Signature of the Candidate This…6th …day of November 2017 i DEDICATION I dedicate this work to the memory of my late Father and Brother… and to my Mother and Grandmother for all their prayers. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following people and institutions without whom this project would not have been possible. First and foremost, the National Research Foundation and the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation for the grants awarded to me for the start and completion of this research. My research supervisor, Dr Catherine Namono whose role at times went beyond that of supervision. I am grateful for the guidance, support and encouragement. People who assisted in conducting the field work for this study; Mr Jonas Tlouamma for the knowledge he shared with me, Mr Felix Mosebedi for his interpretation services and Ms Getrude Seabela for all the trips we made to the Makgabeng together. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .......................................................................................... i DEDICATION .............................................................................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................. viii ACRONYMS .............................................................................................. xi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................. xii 1. Chapter One: Sustainability of Community Based Heritage Tourism Projects ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives ............................................................ 2 1.3 Heritage Tourism Initiatives by the Rock Art Research Institute .......... 3 1.4 Makgabeng-Blouberg Community Based Heritage Tourism Project .... 4 1.5 The Makgabeng-Blouberg Environment .............................................. 5 1.5.1 Geographic Location ...................................................................... 5 1.5.2 Geology ......................................................................................... 7 1.5.3 Climate .......................................................................................... 7 1.5.4 Vegetation ..................................................................................... 7 1.5.5 Agriculture ..................................................................................... 8 1.5.6 Fauna ............................................................................................ 8 1.6 Past Inhabitants of the Makgabeng-Blouberg region ........................... 9 1.6.1 The Thabananthlana Route ..................................................... 11 1.6.2 The Gorge Route ......................................................................... 12 1.6.2.1 Canyon trail ........................................................................... 12 1.6.2.1 Adventure hiking trail ............................................................. 12 iv 1.6.3 The Milbank Route ....................................................................... 12 1.6.4. The Leipzig Route ....................................................................... 12 1.7 Present Day Makgabeng.................................................................... 13 1.8 Makgabeng – Blouberg Tourism Industry .......................................... 14 2. Chapter Two: The Use of Heritage Resources in Sustainable Heritage Tourism Development ............................................................ 15 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 15 2.1.1 Understanding Cultural Heritage and its Management ................ 16 2.1.2 The Constitution of Communities ................................................. 19 2.1.3 The Emergence of the Heritage Tourism Sphere ........................ 20 2.1.4 Integrating Sustainability into the Development Sphere .............. 25 2.2 Sustainable Community Development ............................................... 29 2.3 Challenges with Sustainable Development ........................................ 31 2.4 Using Sustainability Models ............................................................... 32 2.5 Summary............................................................................................ 35 3. Chapter Three: Collaborative Partnerships for Sustainable Development .......................................................................................... 37 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 37 3.2 Collaboration Theory ...................................................................... 37 3.3 The Nature of Collaborations .......................................................... 39 3.4 Effective Collaborations ................................................................ 41 3.5.1 Situating Collaboration Theory ................................................. 42 3.6 Successes Through Collaborations ................................................ 44 4. Chapter Four: Consultative Engagements with Makgabeng- Blouberg Region Communities ............................................................ 46 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 46 4.1.1 Sampling .............................................................................. 47 v 4.2 Analysis of Community Perceptions ................................................... 49 4.3 Socio-Demographics .......................................................................... 49 4.3.1 Gender ..................................................................................... 50 4.3.2 Age ........................................................................................... 51 4.3.3 Employment ............................................................................. 53 4.4 Heritage Management ....................................................................... 55 4.4.1 Heritage Awareness ................................................................. 56 4.4.2 Ownership of Heritage Sites ..................................................... 57 4.4.3 Significance of Heritage Sites ................................................... 58 4.4.4 Type of Significance Associated with Heritage Sites ................ 60 4.4.5 Visitation Rates ........................................................................ 61 4.4.6 The Use of Heritage Sites ........................................................ 62 4.4.7 External Visitations to the Heritage Sites .................................. 65 4.4.8 Visitation Control ...................................................................... 66 4.5 Heritage Tourism Development ......................................................... 68 4.5.1 Perceptions on Heritage Tourism ............................................. 68 4.5.2 Tourism Benefits to the Community.......................................... 69 4.5.3 Other Crafts .............................................................................. 71 4.5.4 Craft demonstration to tourists ................................................. 72 4.6 Environmental Management .............................................................. 74 4.6.1 Community Participation ........................................................... 74 4.6.2 Preservation and Management of the Heritage Sites ............... 76 4.6.3 Natural Environment vs Heritage Sites ..................................... 77 4.7 Discussion .......................................................................................... 78 5. Chapter Five: The Dynamics of Community Based Heritage Projects ................................................................................................... 80 vi 5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................ 80 5.1.1 Kamberg Rock Art Centre ............................................................ 81 Challenges at Kamberg ........................................................................ 83 5.1.2 Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre .................................................. 85 Challenges at Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre .................................... 86 Discussion ............................................................................................... 88 5.1.3 Kakadu National Park .................................................................. 89 5.1.4 Tsodilo Hills ................................................................................