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When camping in Satara over December, you cannot be without a fan....there is little shade and it is extremely hot in a tent, especially when trying to take an afternoon nap!

Hi folks
After 20 odd years of going to KNP, I recently found this site, and thought I'd give it a shot.

I'm going to KNP at the end of April, and taking my caravan up.

Its the first time with the caravan in Pretoriuskop, and wondered if anyone could direct me to a great camp site, as it is fairly empty then.

Close to fence and ablutions would be great.

Cheers
Mark

There's a map of Pretoriuskop here: Camp Map
I'm not sure the sites are marked, like in Letaba and Lower Sabie.

We have been saying for years now that we want to get the camping spot under the biggest tree in Pretoriuskop
But it is always occupied, we come to late
The spot is on the extreme left hand side in the corner of the camping area at the fence, opposite to the reservoir.
But we found all the sites nice and most had some shade

I am also a caravanner, and there is definitely a couple more around.

There are 3 camping areas in P/kop.
One in the bottom corner of the camp (where the sites on the fence are usually occupied).
The other 2 is between the gate and guest houses also on the fence.
The small one as on the map has no power and is more suitable for tents.

The bottom one is close to ablutions shared with the huts.
The other also has ablutions relatively close by.
The sites are reasonably level at the top area, and most are sand.

Get tent(s) that are easy to set up and break down again.
Most dome tents are set up in a jiffie, yet are high enough for standing inside.
Make sure you have torches with you for when you walk to the ablutions and when you leave make sure the tent(s) are closed against unwelcome visitors like spiders or monkeys.
You can buy air mattresses with build in pumps, which you just switch on, saving a lot of effort.
That is, if you have electricity.
You will need an extension cord of at least 25 meters and a "Blue plug".
The plug you can buy in any camp store, but at a higher price than outside the Park.
In some camps the ground is rather hard, a hammer to knock in the tent pins would be handy there.

Bring braai gear and wood or charcoal if you want to braai, not all the camps have wood and charcoal for sale all the time.

Camp at the fence if you can, that way you can look at the wildlife parading by, just feet away from you!

And maybe a thing to remember, if you are dressing in the tent with a light on, your shadows on the tent can be rather revealing!

Only one thing: Take ME with

Only joking! Don't pack too much of clothes, hair-dryers, curlers etc. I've noticed that ladies tend to overpack their suitcases with things they won't need. But you should know this already Waiting for bricks to start falling on my head

A decent flash- or spotlight. Not just for the camping bit but comes in handy all over the camp at night.

Only open your sleeping bag just before you go to bed. Gives the creepy crawlies no time to get comfortable inside before you do.
Also pick/lift it up from the ground in the morning. If it isn't lying on the floor things like scorpions etc. finds it harder to get in.

Take some insect repellant with (again something I'm sure you know by now)

Pack the things you're gonna need first at the campsite, like the tent, last into the car. That means easy access and a quickly setup site.

There is power .
There is water , but you need to fill your tank at it , there are no permanent conenctions .
There are camp sites that you park on to stay , and you have to pre book these .
You can only stay/sleep in a camp on a camp site with your trailer, not just anywhere in the park .

All the camp sites have abloution facilities that are shared by the campers with toilets/showers and baths .

Hi , there is no electricity at balule , it all runs on gas and parafin .
In letaba you will need a longish extension , plus a special adaptor for the smaller type of plug in points used at a lot of camping places .

There is another thread on malaria in the "other" forum , check it out .

The so called special adapter is also called a "Blue plug". You can buy it in the camps, but buying it outside Kruger will save you some money. In Letaba you will need an extensioncord of 25 meters for a lot of places.

In Balule you will need none. You'll enjoy that camp!
Hint: There is a hyenaden about 2 km's south of Balule, with a couple of young ones. (Born the end of may I think.)

Hi Werner,

You'll be able to find some info and a few pics in this thread: Punda Maria

The camp has a lovely shaded campsite. There are sites with and without electricity. When we were there two years ago it was nice and quiet and we got a great spot at the fence. Someone saw lion at the birdhide recently.

Punda is a lovely and quiet smaller camp in a beautiful part of KNP.
There are good drives close by the camp, especially the Mahonie Loop, and you should plan on making a full day trip up to Pafuri and Crook's Corner.
The Nyala Drive (S64) is spectacular — be sure to drive all the way out to the end.
And the Luvuvhu river road is another favourite, lots of loops to take you right down to the river, where you're likely to see nyala, baboons, storks and many other birds, as well as lazy crocs.
I also really enjoyed the hippo at the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo at Crook's Corner.

If you haven't already, have a look at the Punda Maria thread under Camps and roads.

Werner, make sure that your extensioncord is a loooong one.
At least 25 meters.
there are spots with and without electricity, but there are also spots where you are supposed to have electricity, but you can't plug in as it's broken.
So make sure you plug in early before there are no working outlets left.

Perfectly correct DQ, just double the length to be safe. I have needed an extension cord up to 50m at times in Kruger. At Punda actually.

I am not too sure of the Scout layout.
We have a Sprite Swing and love it!
We love caravanning in Kruger and find if we can park near a shady tree we don't even need to erect the awning.

Main thing to consider is do you have a tow vehicle that will easily cope with the van, especially up the passes from the Lowveld to Highveld.
You need to be able to manoeuvre the van around easily.
There are usually people around the camps willing to help with this task