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How good are the braai facilities at the Skukuza day visitors' area?

Very nice - table to sit at with bench, view onto river - also a wash up area and toilets.
Only problem is you have to walk quite a distance from your vehicle to the picnic spot but they do help with trolleys.
If you want a swim, last I heard it was R20 per person entrance into the poor area.

Very good actually, it's now one of our favourite picnic spots (and we've not even used the pool yet, although it certainly looks very inviting!).

The picnic spots have been designed in such a way that there's a bit of bush between each, so it feels very private. The ones overlooking the river are obviously the nicest and you can be entertained by baboons running about outside the fence (and the usual vervets inside the fence unfortunately).

Also, Skukuza day visitors seems to have the best Slushies in the park *drool*

I'll dig up a photo or two later and add them here.

I once gave 2 members of the day visitor's area a lift back to Skukuza. They were relieved. They told me that when their lift does not arrive that they had to hike back the 2 or 3 km's back to their home in Skukuza.

The reason they were so relieved was that they had met with the resident leopard on a couple of occasions while walking back.

Talk about danger pay.

I would just like to make a couple of comments about the new day visitor's area at Skukuza.

Firstly, well done to the designers. It is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the planning and that they have tried to cater to everyone's tastes and needs.

There is always a lot of controversy around the need for a swimming pool. Anyone with small children will give one a thumbs up. I liked the fact that the pool was separate from the rustic picnic area, meaning that if anyone wanted peace and quiet, it would be possible.

The actual "rustic area" was delightful, with a number of well shaded areas with views or privacy. Unfortunately I did not take time to explore the area completely because of time limitations. (That is somewhat unusual for MM )

The services and ablutions were more than adequate, with boiling water, washing up facilities and hot plates available.
The ablutions were spotless.

A warning: I am not sure how wheelchair friendly some areas might be. This is because the designer has tried to keep everything as natural as possible. I know that I would hesitate to take my elderly mother to some of the picnic spots.

The Kiosk served the basics, and the staff were very friendly. When I say basics, I mean just that. It was pretty much ice creams, drinks and sweeties.

Now the down side


Some primitive throw back had left all their uneaten food spread over what should have been a lovely secluded little eating area.
Explorer and I started eating, when I looked down at my feet. The sight of the disgusting mess left me wanting to vomit.

Unfortunately, no matter how much care and planning is taken, it only needs one selfish, lazy, inconsiderate, uncaring primitive primate to spoil it for others.
Because there is a focus on privacy, people will get away with this kind of behaviour.

One thing that I thought was a mistake was the unshaded parking area. It would also have been nice to have the vehicle close to the picnic site. Ferrying a lot of stuff is quite onerous if your party includes those who cannot.

When we were there in April we tried to solve the problem of transporting all the breakfast goodies by loaning the trolley the attendants used, but found that the paths were not very wheel-friendly.
But on the bright side it was a lovely spot to enjoy breakfast while watching the visiting bushbuck

Don't even try going there on Christmas Day, it is totally chaotic.

Hard to go anywhere on Christmas day Foxy
Best place over Christmas is G'teng. Its so quiet and peaceful

Skukuza Day Visitor Area,Pics.

We always enjoy this picnic area, especially like the semi secluded eating areas, mostly had very good experiences here.
But I do agree about the distances to carry all ones cool boxes, hampers etc can be quite difficult, especially in the heat.

The best thing about the day visitors area is that it is separated from the rest camp. I like the layout and the fact that the swimming pool is also separated, and most of all that there is swimming pool (we have kids).
The only negative from my side is the variety in the shop and the stock levels - not even bread for our brunch!

I've noticed that a lot of effort and money has been spent in replacing the old picnic benches that where rotting away at the Skukuza Day Visitor's Centre. That's a great idea, but I think the concrete stuff they replaced it with is a very impractical solution. It's not very nature friendly or long lasting. Some of the tables are already cracked. Also, the small round tables only allow space for 3 people - or else it gets crowded with no space left on the tables. A family of five cannot have a comfortable breakfast around the same table. Rather send the concrete back and replace it with proper picnic benches (that can seat at least 6) made from recycled plastic planks. Those will look better, have more space, and will last longer than the concrete (or wood).

We were there last week for a picnic and were very pleased to see the whole area looking spick and span, much better than previous years.

With regard the new concrete tables and benches, the spot we lunched at, had 2 tables more or less next to each other so more room for a bigger group.
I can't remember if that was different or if they were all like that.
We were a family of 4 and altho we didn't have an elaborate meal the size of the table did seem a little small, but as I said we could have spread some of the things out onto the other table if necessary.

I did notice one of the tables had already been cracked, so maybe they are not a long lasting solution.

Has anyone had a picnic at the Skukuza day visitor’s area recently? Is it as popular as Tshokwane?