Journey Into the Far Northern Reaches and Find a Place Lost in Time
Price:From R 14,450 per person
(Rate based on size of group)
Includes:3 night accommodation inside one of the Kruger National Park camps, 3 Breakfast’s, & 3 Dinner as well as Private Guide, Private Open Safari Vehicle, Personalised itinrerary and Conservation Fees.
Experience an authentic Kruger National Park Safari with your own Private Safari Guide, private Open Safari vehicle and personalised itinerary whilst staying in one of the nostalgic Kruger National Park camps inside the park.
Our personalised overnight Kruger National Park Safaris have been designed to offer our clients a truly authentic Kruger National Park Safari experience with one of the most sought after private Kruger guides – Andrew Wagner.
(this is typically the departure point to Kruger when you are in South Africa)
Guests have a variety of options in travelling from Johannesburg to the Kruger National Park. We can offer any one of these based on your preference and include in your Safari package.
Here are some of the options available:
DAY 1:
Departure time on the day is dependant on how we have booked your mode of travel or transfer to the Kruger National Park but we will plan your itinerary to ensure that you are on the Open Safari Vehicle and entering the Park just before 12h00 midday. As soon as we enter Kruger we are on Safari and will already be on the look out for game that is feeding over the midday. We are likely to encounter many of the general game species on our journey to our overnight camp. These include good sightings of Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe and many of the antelope species. Our destination for the next two nights is Letaba Camp in the Central to Northern region of the Park. The route to Letaba passes through some of the best Lion country in Kruger and will take us the full afternoon to get there. We will stop for a comfort break at an old outpost known as Tshokwane where we can have a leg stretch and grab a cuppa coffee as well as Satara Camp where we will be spending our last night.
We will aim to arrive just before the camp gate close and check into our bungalows before dark. Dinner will be at the camp restaurant from 19h00 and we will discuss the days sightings as wells as the next days route and expectations.
DAY 2:
Day 2 is aan early morning wake up call and another day of exploring and journeying further North for the day. We will wake at sunrise and after our morning coffee ritual and taking in the sounds of the dawn chorus, we will head out of camp in a north direction making our way towards Mopani camp.
Mopani Camp is roughly 60km away and the terrain changes from open shrub savanna with dense stands of mopane trees and bushwillow to open grassland and vlei around mooiplaas and a beautiful riperian zone of Appleleaf trees along the Tsenzde river. This is a particulalry great area for very large Elephant bulls and we will also start to see some of the very first Baobab trees dotting the horizon. The area around Mopani also offers us a chance to find Cheetah and the rarer Tsessebe antelope.
Breakfast is at Mopani Camp and the restruant offers wonderful views overlooking Pioneer dam with regual herds of Elephant coming down to swim.
After breakfast we wil do a look around Mopani and the head back towards Letaba camp stopping at each of the water holes and taking the Tsendze Loop for a alternative view. One thing that becomes aparant in this region is how few vehicles and travellers you will see and by this stage the peace and wind open space of this region will start to captivate you.
On arrival back at Letaba its time to realx and enjoy and extra long leg stretch around the camp are some good old R&R. Letaba Camp is well known as the camp you never have to leave. With stunning views of the river from the retsruant, to the dense shady canopy and lanscaping that makes up the camp, its one of our personal favorites and is indeed filled with that special Kruger atmosphere. At letaba Camp you also have the Elephant museum which pays tribute to the Magnificent Seven tuskers of Kruger and their incredible mammoth like tusks are on display to see.
The afternoon drive leaves Camp around 15h30pm and will head out to the western side of Letaba camp towards Masorini and the ancient ruins of a time and community dated back to 200 AD. Along this route we will follow the Nhlanganini creek and a few scatter pans in search of Wilddogs, Spotted Hyena and great sunset views.
Guests will again return to Camp at camp closure and then either return to their Bungalows or we go straight onto having drinks and dinner at Letaba’s Camp restaurant. After dinner it’s a night walk and personal time to relax.
At the core of out extended Overnight Safaris in Kruger is to journey and see as much as possible of this unique and remarkable landscape. By this stage of your journey you will have already encountered and incredible variety of landscape and bio-diversity and have been truly exposed to the wonder of Kruger. What you will see and experience over this time just cant be compared to single day safaris.
DAY 3:
It’s an early morning wake up call and with Coffee and rusks as we take in the sunrise and early mornings sounds from camp. As soon as the gates open we are off and heading north to our next camp for the night – Letaba Camp. The route that takes us to Letaba begins in the grasslands of Satara and we will either use the old main road which is a glorious dusty track through endless grassy plains which lead up to Balule bush camp at he low level crossing of the Olifant’s river and making our way to Olifant’s camp. If the river is to high we will continue along the main northern road that follows the Ngotso spruit and has many fantastic water points along the route to Olifant’s camp. The terrain changes with a wonderful transition of landscape from grassland to rugged bushveld. The route offers us everything possible from Big 5 to plains game, a surplus of birding activity and beautiful plant and terrain diversity. The usual encounters include Elephant, Zebra, Wildebeest, Impala, Giraffe and perhaps an early morning Lion or Leopard on the move.
Olifant’s Camp is our breakfast stop and from the high cliff top you will have stunning views over the might Olifant’s river below as it meanders east towards Mozambique. After breakfast and a leg stretch around the camp taking in the views we head back out into the bush making our way to our next overnight camp.
Things change considerably now as the savanna transitions to Mopane shrubland. This completely different eco-system has less grassland and is dominated by dense stand of Mopane Tree. The distance from Olifant’s to Letaba camp is not to far and we will either follow the dirt track from the confluence of the Olifant’s and Letaba rivers or alternatively follow the old main road. By this time of day its starting to get warmer and a lot of game will be making its way down to the Letaba river and offering good sightings of Waterbuck, Hippo, Kudu and Elephants. The birding is also fantastic with a wide variety of shoreline species as well as thicket and woodlands species.
We will aim to arrive at Letaba Camp around lunchtime and enjoy lunch on the restaurant patio overlooking the Letaba river. We will check into our bungalows from 14h00 and take some time out until heading out at 15h30 for a sunset drive along the banks of the Letaba River. Late afternoons are great for river front activity with most species making their way down to the water and the cooler shaded areas.
Andrew will take you to a few of his absolute favourite spots to enjoy the afternoon golden light and the beautiful moody scenes created by the large trees and lower mopane shrub that dominate the area. Special sightings include Leopard and Lion as well as big Elephant Tusker’s and a few fantastic birds like Verreauxs Eagle Owl, African Fish Eagle, Saddle-bill Stork and many of the Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and Waterbirds.
We will enjoy as much of the sunset as possible before returning back into camp at gate closure time and either heading straight to dinner or freshening up first. After dinner its down time.
DAY 4:
Our final early morning wake up call for our last sunrise coffee befpre we head out. This morning we will make our way on last loop of th emost notorious Lion road in Kruger but even without them its such a beautiful road. The last day and your departure time will determine our route back but we susually follow the most diret route takibng us past Tshokwane for breakfast amd then onto Skukuza camp abd your final departure point around.
The above is an example itnerary and is flexible around our client travel requirements.
*Note – We will assist you with planning and booking your transport and transfers but any flights will need to be done by yourself.
Having taken hundreds of Safaris into the Kruger National Park we know from experience what’s important to pack. Here are a few items we recommend that you don’t leave home without:
We recommend light functional attire preferably in natural colour shades to blend in with our environment and not stand out visually to game species. Summer can be hot and the direct sunlight dangerous so please remember a good hat as well as sunscreen. During the hottest summer months (Nov/Dec) the daytime temperatures can reach 35 degrees Celsius from 10h30 and from 13h00 the temperature can reach upward of 40 degrees. The summer months are also our rainy season so the afternoons can experience thunder showers but all vehicles are equipped with waterproof ponchos as well as canvas flaps that can enclose the vehicle.
During the winter months in the Kruger National Park, we will usually experience blue skies on most days but with a daily average temperature of 18 to 26 degrees Celsius. The early mornings on Safaris can be cooler with temperatures from 5 to 8 degrees and late afternoons again dropping below 18 degrees. Winter Safaris are fantastic because the visibility is very good but we do recommend that you have warm clothing as the wind on the back of an Open Safari Vehicle can make things chilly. On our Safari vehicles we do provide fleece blankets.
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