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Can anyone tell me if Balule offers morning walks?

I will be visiting the camp in two weeks time and ask because when I did the Olifants Trail in November last year, our guide took us just downstream of Balule Camp on the Olfants River where we found a pair of Pel's Fishing Owl and nearly stepped on a leopard in the process.

I'm not expecting the leopard to be waiting with open arms in the same place, but am hoping to get another sighting of the Owls.

Thanks in anticipation.

There are walks there, but you need to book them in Olifants.
In Olifants they will pick up the guests from there, and then drive on to Balule to pick you up.

we are planning a trip to Kruger towards the end of July and have booked into Balule camp for 5 days.
Is anybody out there who can give me an idea of what it is like, best areas for game and bird viewing etc. We have stayed at Pretoriuskop previously and are not familiar with the areas further north. Are the campsites grassed and shady.

Hi fellow Eastern Caper!!

Balule what can I say...its My favorite Camp in Kruger especially if you camp. Parafin Lamps....AAAAAA for atmosphere and a very noisy leopard that some nights never shuts up as he coughs along the bush between camp ad the Olifants River. Good drives are down to Bangu Windmill one of the BEST waterholes in Kruger for atmosphere. There is a nice pride of resident lion we saw 13 together last time 1 km from camp. The camp attendant (forgotten his name and my ol man is busy with clients so cant ask him) is the best attendant..actually has every braai cleaned and washed!!! before 7am every day..hes really proud of his camp as we are of him. People like the Satara area south of Balule and it is nice but we also dig the area north right up to Mopani camp and the river areas along the Olifants River and Letaba River. Keep a watch for the Pair of Pels Fishing Owls between Balule and Olifants Camp along the river...Book a walk from Olifants camp and go see them ...I have seen them once but my boet and folks have seen them another time as well...Enjoy this gem of a camp

Small and rustic , no shop or anything fancy , but great great atmosphere/adventure etc .

Bangu water hole is a must when staying at balule , and then further along to gudzani is great .
All the sand roads around the camp .
The sand road out towards roodewall .
Northwards along the sand just past olifants and up to letaba via engelhardt dam, then exploring about letaba camp , having breakfast there , checking out the ellie museum etc and back along the tar is a great drive .

What can I say , this area is a prime game viewing area , there are no bad roads to be taken from this camp .

Also camped there many moons ago We used to park our caravan right under the big Boabab tree (now fenced off) had many Hyenas and Lions walking past the corner making a noise. That is where we saw our first and only sightings of an
Scaly Anteater Never saw one again

Oh yes, did I forget to mention that I also managed to "electrocute" myself on 2 occasions on the fence during my stay at Balule
Now whos the monkey... hehehehehehe

Excitement is mounting !!
In 3 weeks time we will be in Balule for the very first time
What's up in the area/camp - has anyone been there in the last few weeks?
What was the game viewing like - we heard that it was very dry and the game scarce
What are the chances of seeing wild dog in that area
Are we more likely to see them further south - it is my mission on this trip to see them - I have only ever seen them in documentaries and find them fascinating
We are camping - which is the best camp spot to aim for
Any other hints and tips would be most gratefully received

Agreed with DB,

You can undertake ANY Olifants camp activity from Balule.

After my last experience at Balule, its on my "to do" list again.
I thoroughly enjoyed the camp.
I liked not being overwhelmed by too many people, the resident Hyenas, the lamps...

I would like to try the huts. They do look very comfortable and ideal for meeting basic needs.

We are planning to tag 1 night's stay in Balule onto the end of our next KNP trip in February 08. What attracts us is the rustic atmosphere, and low fences mentioned in the website blurb. As we have never stayed in this camp before, can anyone tell us whether these fences are low enough to allow game to wander around inside the camp? From the forum chats, the proximity of lions & leopards make this seem like a special place!

Hi Charlie,

i stayed there in december 2005. The fence is about 2 meters high and there were no animals (except birds) in the camp. Ok, i don´t know what goes up, when i sleep.

Close by visitors to the fence on regular base are hyenas. But they didn`t try to come in, when i was there.

Also very close ellies.

Like other camps, if a animal would like to come in, the fence would be no problem for them. Normally the fence is to keep humans in the camp.

But at all, i am a "Weichei" - soft egg, but i never felt unsafe in Balule. Go there, it is magical!

There are two large communal freezers, one in the hut section and one in the camping.
If you find yours doesn't feel cold I am sure no-one will mind you sharing the other one, they are never full
May be a bit of a walk but you never know what you may see on the way
I love Balule, have camped there many times

Just to say that we had an awesome time in Balule again (30/31/12/07 - 02/01/08) Everything was perfect, except for the heat and the bugs. We saw everything we wanted to see, including a leopard approx. 2 km's from camp, in a tree, right next to the road.

Bunnyhugger, the stars were awesome. It felt like you could touch them. Added to this, was the fireflies. With the stars and the fireflies, we did not need any crackers or rockets. It was just us and the quiet and the lions having a ball on the river road.

The park is beautiful! The bush was teeming with life, lush and green and we saw amazing things, including a baby terrapin, the size of a coffee cup and all the impi babies. The birds were too many. We couldn't even identify all of them (lbj's and all)

We cannot wait for April to go back again. It was just what we needed. What a way to end the old year and to start the new year.

Hi HB, the baobab is still there, but the camping site has been changed to the opposite side. The huts and camping site have 2 seperate entrances and you can only get from the one side to the other via a pedestrian gate.

The fence is also electrified (they use solar power and batteries), but it is still the most amazing camp, especially at night, so I think that the ele's will think twice before trying the same stunt.

The hyenas, however, are very opportunistic. All around the fence (camping side) there are big rocks against the fence to keep them out of camp, because they dig holes to get underneath the fence. So, if ever you camp in Balule again, do not remove the rocks!

We did hear the ele's around the camp in the bushes. They were a bit upset with each other, but luckily they did not get near the fence to try something or got us to hide in the ablution facility.

On our last visit (end December, beginning of Jan) we only heard the lions around camp. They were very near because we could actually hear the low grunting noises they made, which is not always so audible when they are further away.

All in all, the whole park is my favourite, but Balule is my favourite favourite.