South Africa Guide
Mpumalanga
Kruger restcamps and bushveld camps
1 Berg-en-Dal
12km northwest of Malelane Gate 
013 735 6106/7 In the southwest corner of the park, Berg-en-Dal is set attractively among koppies in a shallow grassy basin (its Afrikaans name means "hill and dale"). Built in the 1980s, the camp overlooks the Matjulu stream and dam, and has modern, fully equipped chalets that break with the Kruger tradition of thatched rondavels. The chalets are landscaped among indigenous bushveld vegetation and are widely spaced to provide privacy. Facilities include a beautifully positioned swimming pool, a shop with a good range of food, a licensed restaurant reputed to give excellent service, snack bar, filling station and laundry.The focus of the camp is the Rhino Trail along the perimeter fence (with Braille facilities), meandering under riverine trees along the Matjulu dam, where there are resident crocodiles and nesting fish eagles. Game includes white rhino, leopards and lions, and plenty of kudu. Sable and mountain reedbuck are among more unusual sightings. Some say this is the best camp from which to set out on a morning walk, because of the high likelihood of encountering white rhino, and the pretty scenery.
2 Crocodile Bridge At the Crocodile Bridge Gate on the north bank of the Crocodile River 013 735 6012 Crocodile Bridge is the least impressive of Kruger's restcamps, and its position at the very southern edge of the park, overlooking sugar-cane farms, does nothing to enhance your bush experience. However, old hands say this is a tremendously underrated camp as there is a high density of general game, and you have an excellent chance of seeing the Big Five.The camp is reached via Komatipoort, 12km to the south on the Mozambique border. Accommodation includes camping, two-bed permanent tents and en-suite bungalows sleeping two to three, with cooking facilities. Amenities are limited to a laundry and filling station, and a shop selling basic supplies.Try the tarred H4 north and dirt S25 east for elephant, rhino and buffalo. For cheetah, among the best places are the open plains along the S28 Nhola Road. If you're pushing north to Lower Sabie, it's worth taking the drive slowly, as this area, dotted with knobthorn and marula trees, is known for its herbivores, which include giraffe, kudu, steenbok, wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and waterbuck as well as ostrich, warthog and the magnificent black sable antelope. You should also keep your eyes peeled for predators such as lion, cheetah, hyena and jackal.
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Lower Sabie 35km north of Crocodile Bridge 013 735 6056/7 Often fully booked and very busy, Lower Sabie occupies game-rich country that places it among the top three restcamps in the Kruger for animal-spotting. The surrounding open savanna and the camp's position on the banks of the Sabie River attract game to drink and graze, and the terrain around here is rated among the most beautiful in the southern Kruger. Within kilometres of the entrance gate to the camp, a number of waterholes and dams populated with crocodiles and hippos make good spots to park and watch for game coming to quench their thirst. In the thorn-thicket country hard by the west of the camp, you'll find promising terrain for catching sight of elephants moving between the trees as well as white rhino grazing on the sweet grasses, which also bring herds of buffalo and, in their wake, lions. Accommodation includes camping, safari tents, bungalows and guest cottages, some with river views. There's a restaurant, a cafeteria, a shop, a swimming pool, a filling station and a laundry.
4 Pretoriuskop 013 735 5128 or 5132 Due west of Lower Sabie, but not directly connected to it, Pretoriuskop is reached via Numbi Gate, 9km to its west. Set in an area of sourveld, characterized by granite outcrops, tall grass and sickle bush favoured by mountain reedbuck, sable and white rhino, the camp is in an area stalked by lions, wild dogs and side-striped jackals. However, given the dense bush, game viewing is disappointing, and all you're likely to spot are larger species such as kudus and giraffes. While this isn't the best camp for game, it's worth doing the Voortrekker Road (H2-2) from Numbi Gate to Crocodile Bridge and stopping off at the historical plaques along the way, commemorating various explorers and traders.Accommodation consists of en-suite cottages and guesthouses, bungalows and cheaper huts and camping with shared ablution and cooking facilities. The camp has a restaurant, a snack bar, a shop, a laundry, a semi-natural rock swimming pool – one of the most beautiful in Kruger, with a surrounding garden and picnic area – and a filling station. Around the perimeter fence at night, you're almost certain to see patrolling hyenas, waiting for scraps from braais.
5 Orpen Right by an entrance gate, 45km east of Klaserie 013 735 6355 Orpen is recommended mainly if you're arriving late and don't have time to get further into the park before the camp gates close. Orpen is very good for game viewing though, far preferable to its southern counterpart, because the substantial Timbavati Private Game Reserve lies to the west of Orpen, so you're already well into the wilderness once you get here.The camp is small, peaceful and shaded by beautiful trees; it's a lovely drive from here along a river to get to Satara, the nearest big camp. Facilities include a filling station, a shop and a swimming pool, and accommodation is in bungalows and en-suite guest cottages, with communal kitchens.
6 Tamboti Turn left 2km after Orpen and continue for 1km 013 735 6355 Tamboti is Kruger's only tented camp. You sleep in budget (R275) or semi-luxury (R625) safari tents in a tranquil position on the banks of the frequently dry Timbavati River, set among apple leaf trees, sycamore figs and jackalberries. From the tents, elephants can often be seen just beyond the electrified fence, digging in the river bed for moisture, hence the camp's popularity (you'll have to book ahead to be sure of getting a place). The Timbavati River roads (S39 and S40) can be rewarding for game.Each walk-in tent has its own deck overlooking the river, but best of all are numbers 21 and 22, which enjoy the deep shade of large riverine trees, something you'll appreciate in the midsummer heat. The tents have fridges and electric lighting, while all kitchen, washing and toilet facilities are in two shared central blocks (bring your own cooking and eating utensils).
7 Satara Forty-six kilometres due east of Orpen Gate 013 735 6306/7 Satara ranks second only to Skukuza in size and the excellence of its game viewing. Set in the middle of flat grasslands, the camp commands no great views, but is preferable to Skukuza because it avoids the feeling of suburban boxes on top of each other. Very busy in season, accommodation ranges from camping, through bungalows and cottages arranged around lawned areas shaded by large trees, to secluded guesthouses; besides a shop, filling station, laundry and AA vehicle repair workshop, there's also a swimming pool, restaurant and cafeteria, where you can eat in a virtual blizzard of noisy birds.About halfway along the tarred road between Satara and Skukuza, the area around Tshokwane picnic site can be good for lions, hence the number of motorists here. The area around Satara itself is usually good for sighting grazers such as buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, impala and elephant. Rewarding drives are the Timbavati River Road (S39) and the drive east of Satara along the S100, which snakes along the N'wanetsi River towards the Lebombo Mountains marking the border with Mozambique.
8 Olifants 013 735 6606/6607 With a terrific setting on cliffs overlooking the braided Olifants River, Olifants has a charmingly old-fashioned feel and is reckoned by many to be the best restcamp in Kruger. It's possible to spend hours sitting on the benches on the covered look-out terrace, gazing into the valley whose airspace is crisscrossed by Bateleur eagles and yellow-billed kites cruising the thermals, while the rushing of the water below creates a hypnotic rhythm. Of the thatched, en-suite rondavels, numbers 1–24 boast superb views overlooking the valley; it's worth booking well in advance to get one of these. There are also more exclusive guesthouses. You can eat at the restaurant or the snack bar, and there's a shop and a laundry.The river marks the division between rugged, rocky veld with ghostly fever trees growing along the riverbanks to the south, and, to the north, mopane woodland which attracts the large antelope such as eland, roan, sable and tsessebe. This is also promising country for spotting elephant, giraffe, lion, hyena and cheetah, and you should look out for the tiny klipspringer, a pretty antelope that inhabits rocky terrain which it nimbly negotiates by boulder-hopping. A highlight of the area is some of the dirt roads which loop along the Olifants River.Mountain biking is a new venture at Kruger, available only at Olifants. Only six people at a time, accompanied by armed field guides, can go on the trails (hence it's best to book in advance through Olifants directly or SANPark), and the scenery is wonderful. The morning or afternoon ride costs R300, while the full-day 24-kilometre Mozambique Border Trail (consisting of three different routes graded for difficulty and technicality) is R600.
9 Letaba 013 735 6636/7 Letaba is set in mopane shrubland along the Letaba River, 34km north of Olifants. Old and quite large, the camp is beautifully located on an oxbow curve, and though very few of the rondavels afford a view, the restaurant does have great vistas; you can spend a day just watching herds of buffalo mooching around, elephants drifting past and a host of other plains game. There is the full range of accommodation and the camp offers the usual shopping and laundry facilities, a swimming pool, a vehicle-repair workshop, and an interesting museum with exhibits on the life of elephants, including displays on bulls with inordinately large tusks.
10 Mopani 013 735 6535/6 Some 42km north of Letaba, Mopani is one of the newer camps in Kruger and overlooks the Pioneer Dam. The dam, one of the few water sources in the vicinity, attracts animals to drink and provides an outstanding lookout for a variety of wildlife, including elephant, buffalo and antelope.A sprawling place in the middle of monotonous mopane scrub, the camp is designed more for driving than walking. There's modern en-suite accommodation built of rough-hewn stone and thatch – bungalows, cottages, guest cottages and houses, a restaurant – above average for Kruger – and a bar with a good view across to the dam. Other facilities include a shop, a laundry and filling station; the swimming pool provides cool relief after a long drive.
11 Shingwedzi 013 735 6806/7 A fairly large camp featuring a campsite, square, brick huts and a few older, colonial-style whitewashed, thatched bungalows, one cottage and a guesthouse, Shingwedzi, 63km north of Mopani, is sited in extensive grounds shaded by pals and mopane trees. The dining room has a terrace, frequented by starlings and cheeky hornbills jostling to pounce on your food. From the terrace you get a long view down across the usually dry Shingwedzi River. Look out for the weavers' nests with their long, tube-like entrances hanging from the eaves outside reception and the cafeteria. Facilities include a shop, a filling station and a swimming pool, and night drives are on offer.
12 Punda Maria 013 735 6873 Kruger's northernmost camp, Punda Maria, 71km beyond Shingwedzi, is a relaxed, tropical outpost near the Zimbabwe border. To aficionados, this is the real Kruger, the park's wildest and least visited camp, regarded as unpretentious and peaceful. There's less of a concentration of game up here, but this isn't to say you won't see wildlife (the Big Five all breeze through from time to time) – it's simply that you have to work that much harder at spotting game in the woodlands and dense mopane scrubland.The real rewards of Punda are in its landscapes and stunningly varied vegetation, with a remarkable nine biomes all converging here, which also makes it a paradise for bird-watchers. The landscape around Punda has many craggy sandstone cliffs, the hilltops crowned with giant baobabs, some as old as 4000 years. Accommodation is camping, or in safari tents, with communal cooking and ablution areas, or en-suite fully equipped bungalows, two of them family bungalows. The camp has a very simple restaurant, a small shop and a filling station, a swimming pool and bird hide. From Punda Maria you can go on a guided visit to the spectacular historical and archeological site of Thulamela with its majestic location – overlooking the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers. The stone ruins are reminiscent of Great Zimbabwe, and the inhabitants of Thulamela traded with those of Great Zimbabwe from the fifteenth to mid-seventeenth centuries.
13 Bateleur About 40km southwest of Shingwedzi restcamp 013 735 6843 Bateleur is well off the beaten track, in the remote northern section of the park on the banks of the frequently dry Mashokwe stream. The camp has a timber viewing-deck, excellently placed for views of game coming to drink at a seasonally full waterhole. The nearby Silver Fish and Rooibosrand dams also attract game as well as birdlife in prodigious quantities. There are three six-bed cottages and four four-bed cottages; each has its own kitchenette and fridge, with electricity provided by solar panels.
14 Biyamiti On the banks of the Mbiyamiti River, about 41km northeast of the Malelane Gate and 26km west of Crocodile Bridge Gate
013 735 6171 Biyamiti's proximity to Crocodile Bridge Gate is one of the main advantages of this very southerly camp. Another plus point is that the terrain attracts large numbers of game including lion, elephant and rhinos. There are ten two-bed guest cottages and five one-bed cottages, all with fully equipped kitchens.
15 Sirheni 013 735 6860 Sirheni is on the bank of Sirheni Dam, roughly 54km south of Punda Maria. It's a fine spot for bird-watching, beautifully tucked into riverine forest, with some game also passing through the area. The big pull, however, is its remote bushveld atmosphere in an area that sees few visitors. There are five four-bedroom cottages and ten guest cottages, all en suite and equipped with kitchens, and the camp's two bird hides are a great pull.
16 Honeyguide 4km from Orpen Gate 011 341 0282 
www.honeyguidecamp.com One of the more reasonably priced camps, and the only one to offer tented accommodation at each of its two locations, Khoka Moya which takes children and is contemporary in design, and Mantobeni, which has more of a traditional safari camp feel. With a lack of tended gardens, the camps maximize the bush feel, and although they don't have views of a river or a waterhole, they make up for it with attentive staff and superb rangers and trackers. Each tent is enormous and has its own bathroom with double showers and basins. Tea is brought to your tent early in the morning while you snuggle under duckdown duvets. The best thing about Honeyguide is that there is an imaginative children's programme, and great tolerance of children of all ages. Rangers will take your kids off your hands and make casts of animal tracks in the bush, teach them about wildlife and in the evenings sit them on cushions around the campfire. Meals are plated, and all beverages, including wine, are included in the price. Another plus is its location: just 4km down a dirt road from Orpen Gate. Price: R2600
17 Gomo Gomo To the north, accessed from Orpen Rd 013 752 3954 www.gomogomo.co.za Gomo Gomo's draw is its position on a river which doesn't dry up, and good game viewing. The decor and thatched chalets are unexciting and it lacks the glamour and style of the upmarket lodges, but if your criteria is around spending less, this is an excellent choice. There are five chalets and four tents, some of them designed to take families.Price: R1450
18 Umlani Accessed from Orpen Rd, close to Orpen Gate 012 346 4028 www.umlani.com Eight reed-walled huts overlooking the dry Nhlaralumi River, each with an attached open-topped bush shower, heated by a wood boiler (there's no electricity). Umlani (the name means place of rest) isn't fenced off, the emphasis being very much on a bush experience, and windows are covered with flimsy blinds so that you get to hear all the sounds of the night. Showering in the outside shower and looking up at the stars is a highlight. The decor is simple, as is the food, though it's delicious and you don't end up overstuffed. Altogether, Umlani delivers a much more satisfying experience of the wilds than many other places, which are more like hotels in the bush. Price: R2250
19 Chitwa Chitwa Game Lodge 011 883 1354 www.chitwa.co.za Beautifully set on the edge of the largest pan (lake) in the Sabi Sands, where you'll definitely see animals coming to drink as well as resident hippos and crocodiles. Chitwa Chitwa provides both luxury and the chance to spot big cats, but keeps its rates lower than high-profile neighbours to the south. It's the prettiest of the northern Sabi Sands lodges, and each sublimely comfy suite has a fireplace and a view of the water. The food is good and guests are occasionally treated to a sit-down breakfast out in the bush after their morning game drive. Two swimming pools allow kids to use one, and adults to enjoy lengths in the other. Rooms vary in price according to the level of luxury. Price: R2000 to R4000
20 Djuma Game Reserve 013 735 5118 www.djuma.com Djuma's Bush Lodge is a relaxed place set in mixed woodland with eight, smallish A-frame thatched chalets decorated in simple but tastefully pared-back style. Service and guiding couldn't be better. For a hip, contemporary African feel with township art and funky fittings, Djuma's Vuyatela is one of the most imaginative of Kruger game lodges, each five-star suite also having its own plunge pool and mini-bar. Moreover, there is a library, gym and wellness centre for massages and beauty treatments. Good Internet access at both lodges, and children accepted at Bush Lodge. Djuma is one of the more socially minded establishments, with traditional village trips organized during the day between game drives, and they support preschools in Dixi village. Bush Lodge prices start quite a bit lower than Vuyatela. Price: R2750
21 Nkorho Bush Camp 013 735 5367 www.nkorho.com A small, family-operated outfit in thinly wooded grassland, Nkorho scores on affordability. The lack of pretence and the homely atmosphere give Nkorho the feeling of being on a friend's farm. There are six simple, comfortable, rectangular chalets with showers, catering to a maximum of sixteen guests. The communal areas comprise an open-air lounge area, a bar with a pool table and an African fantasy of a boma – constructed from gnarled tree trunks – where evening meals are served around a large open fire. The swimming pool overlooks a productive waterhole. Price: From R1675
22 Mala Mala 011 268 2388 www.malamala.com The most fabled and exclusive game lodge in Southern Africa, which offers terrific game viewing, memorable food and great rangers – and rich and famous people in your vehicle. Nonetheless, the atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, Main Camp has thatched suites set along a river, a small gym and gracious gardens. Children are accepted and often a family is given its own Land Rover and guide. Guests get a certificate at the end for "capturing" the Big Five. Main Camp is the most affordable, while the other camps on the property, Sable and Rattray's, are more exclusive and consequently more expensive. Price: R3895
23 Nottens Bush Camp 013 735 5105 www.nottens.com Two decades old and still resisting the temptation to expand, this family-run outfit is one of the most popular and attractive small camps. Dinners are served at a communal table, with other meals either on a massive deck that acts as a viewing platform for the plain in front of the camp or, in winter, in the boma around a campfire. Accommodation is for a maximum of 18 (children over 8 welcome) in pleasant chalets lit by paraffin oil lamps, and with tin roofs. The lack of electricity is part of the camp's philosophy of bringing guests into contact with the bush. Price: R2900
24 Sabi Sabi 011 447 7172 www.sabisabi.com Sabi Sabi has four different lodges, of which the largest, Bush Lodge, can't fail to please – the suites with indoor and outdoor showers, patios and gardens are fantastic, it's game rich, it's an easy drive from Hazyview, and the food buffets are extraordinary. Bush Lodge, though, has a hotel feel, with room for forty guests, television, mobile phone reception, Internet and a raft of Land Rovers waiting to take guests out on safari. But if you're just here to see game and don't actually want the wild, this is a perfect choice. Children are welcomed at Bush Lodge where they can also watch DVDs. For the very wealthy and childless, Earth Lodge is extraordinary, disguised, as you approach it, by bush and grass-covered hummocks. It's ultra-luxurious, contemporary eco-chic with a meditation garden, and an easel and paints in every suite, along with your very own butler to select something terrific from the large wine cellar; it's also much more expensive. Price: R4500