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Well I went on a little fence patrol on the last night when I was staying there a few weeks ago - a must do. Hyenas being the subjects in mind here.
we started walking towards the caravan sections for obvious reasons and after after just strolling around for a couple of minutes we came to a bend inwards to the left of the fence (so if you didnt have a torch, you would walk right into it) - our luck we saw a big pair of eyes looking straight aead at us through our torchlight. Now don't forget that this was STRAIGHT ahead of us, and us not being aware of the bend in the fence figured that a big pair of eyes sraught ahead 4m in the ark was not good. In fact I don't know how my pants didn't go all the more browner right then.
So when we saw the unmistakeable silhouette of a hyena, it was real panic, but knowing what to do we stayed rooted to the spot...only to just notice those criis-cross wires in the dim light which would save us after all....

Let me make a couple of comments here.
I think I know B n D more intimately than I would have normally chosen.
In terms of tourist friendliness.. their Camp shop sores the highest ratings.. both from a staff perspective, as well as a price perspective.
It is a pity about the views of factories close to the gate.. but the drives around B n D are superb.
If you are intent on focusing on sightings above all else, maybe it is not the camp for you.
If you are looking for a bush experience with good views, friendly service and some really great drives.. give it a go.

I also love BND and used to go there a lot when my two grown up sons were babies. In those days 1985 there was a resident leopard who often came into camp as the camp was built right in it's territory and you had to be very careful doing the perimeter walk as on more than one occasion we found the tell tale sign of its tail hanging down from a tree and its coughing and sawing sounds at night around the campsite were well"thrilling!!"
After one enjoyable Honorary Rangers Conference at BND our family stayed on and were literally the only people in the campsite and we camped right at the bottom of the camping area. My eldest son Robert who was 4 (now 23) and I slept in his tiny pup tent that night and both ends were open to let the breeze through as it was very hot. Only the thin gauze mossie net was zipped up. We dozed off and I soon woke up with the sound of large animal(s) moving through the grass a couple of metres away...thought they were rhino...got out of bed and in the light of the distant ablution block I could see the 4 kudu cows. got back into bed listening to the Kudu. soon fell asleep again only to be woken by the tent moving. Looked down at my feet end of the tent and there silouetted against the flyscreen by the distant light of the ablution block was "Mrs. Spots of BND" with her large head and LONG whiskers CLEARLY visible. My heart jumped into my mouth. as she was 1 foot from my toes!! The conversation went something like this. I shouted bravely, "VOETSEK" Leopard growled and departed. Rob woke up and said "Daddy what's that I want to wee!" I said bravely,"It's nothing son but we are not going to the Ablution Block!!!!" Next morning we had a wet sleeping bag (Rob's) hanging to dry over the fence and I enjoyed showing my boys the clear sandy leopard spoor in the ladies loo of the ablution block!!! there was a lot of dew the previous night and "Mrs Spots" picked up the wet sand grains outside the toilet before wandering in to probably admire herself in the mirror!! She was subsequently removed twice to the Wolhuter Trail Wilderness area about 15kms from BND only to return to her beloved home...typical cat. Then it finally happened she bit one of two German tourists late one night as they slept outside their clapped out combi after sleeping outside throughout Africa and on their last leg of their epic trip behind a fence this happened. It was then decided to remove her properly to Shingwedzi where she apparently survived for about a month and after many territorial fights she disappeared forever. This story appeared in the 2nd issue of Getaway. There was also a small gap in the fence near the dam wall at BND . One day a family went out at dawn from their hut for a game drive. They came back at 8h30 and parked there car behind their hut and walked around to the front on the perimeter fence side and walked straight into a Lioness sitting quietly on their Stoep!!! The camp was in chaos. the gates were closed and one of the Rangers were called either Johan Van Graan of Malelane or Mike English of Stoznek Section. They tried chasing her out but she led them on a merry dance!! and sadly for safety they had to shoot her near the swimming pool. Exciting Camp Berg En Dal!!!!

Hyena at the fence of B&D, made by Rob.



Leopard near B&D, made bij Cathy

{Hyena photo resised by DQ}

Jose and I had a very pleasant week in BnD last week.

There was nothing to complain about

The camp is big and spacious, very green, and well laid out with good spacing between the units so you do not feel cramped or overlooked by your neighbours.

We had a guest cottage - basically this is two bungalows joined together by a short corridor, There are two bedrooms - one with two single beds and one with a double bed - in one of the sections; the other section is an open plan living area with kitchen area, a large lounge with a table and chairs and two more single beds. The kichen has a sink, a two-ring electric hob, a toaster and electric kettle and a big fridge freezer. There is crockery and cutlery for 8 people.

The connecting corridor has separate toilet, shower room and bathroom with wash basin.

The locking entrance door leads directly into the double bedroom. The living room has a large sliding glass door which opens onto the large lapa, with table, chairs and braai.

The two bedrooms have individual aircon units (high on the wall so not adjustable) and the sitting room has an electric ceiling fan.

The whole place is built from unfaced red bricks, with a high thatched roof.

The bungalows were of similar construction - we didn't look in any of them but they looked to be roomy and comfortable - one or two of the perimeter ones were right on the fence, with just the Rhino Trail separating the lapa from the perimeter fence.

The main complex had reception, offices, a "standard" shop - a bit cramped compared with, for example, Pretoriuskop but well stocked - snack bar and restaurant. There is also a large boma complex where they hold functions (such as rowdy forum meets ) and a small open-air auditorium where they show evening wildlife films on a large TV.

We had a quick look at the camp site and it looked to be reasonably well shaded - it was virtually empty so difficult to envisage accurately.

The staff were unfailingly polite and helpful, and on the two evenings when we ate in the restaurant the buffet food was good. I was amused to notice that, with one exception, none of the dishes in the buffet was labelled so it was try-it-and-hope-for-the-best or ask the staff. The one exception was the "Fresh Fruit Salad"

There were lots of birds in the trees, and we saw a few Vervets in the camp but we were never troubled by them.

All in all it was a very pleasant and peaceful camp; one particularly nice aspect is the entrance - after passing the gate you continue along a road with trees and bushes on both sides all the way to the reception car park. It gives the impression that you are still in the bush instead of a camp.

Vonnie

we've seen the following from our bungalow within 5 days (and we were not there a lot) in January a year or two ago:
Elephant, white rhino, lion, wilddog & hyena. Also zebra, waterbuck, hippo & impala at the dam.

I'd rather not name everything on the drives, as it was too many.

Right time & place?

Greetings from Berg en Dal

Sorry to hear about your misfortune with sightings in December Vonnie. When you do feel brave enough to try Berg en Dal again, please let me know so that I can make the arrangements with the animals to stand parade. Some days I do have some luck getting them out of the bush.

Went on a sunset drive on 17th (as a passenger with friends). Kenneth was our guide. It was actually quite good, with brown-headed parrots nesting near the Majulu bridge, spotted eagle owls all over, three puffies, elephant, duiker buffalo, rhino (difficult to miss around here) with a calf, missed the lion, but got really lucky with a big male leopard trying to sniff a warthog out of its culvert 100 meters from the camp gate.

Greetings till the next time.

Just returned from our 2 weeks visit in krugerpark,it was an awesome experience with lot of great sightings,our last day we stayed in Berg en Dal and shortly after a swim in the pool of the camp (I was still around to make some birdshots) we heard a splash in the water,it appeared to be a boomslang who hided in the tree above the pool and chased a frog which just had jumped in the pool,my wife screamed snake snake in the pool and warned the 2 girls that were still in the pool,the boomslang misted the frog and climbed up in the tree again,after a while when we were eased down a bit he made another go for the frog and came down out of the tree again,again he missed the frog and climb up again,a few guests who had joined the pool saw it happen,but for us the swimming was enough for the day,we informed the reception about this incident,but I dont think they did anything with the information,I dont know if someone had a similar kind of experiece and if/or these snakes are dangerous for human,as I read in books that the are very venomous

Paul [/b]

Wow Paul .. that must have been exiting to see .. Yes .. snakes are dangerous and in SA we have quite a few of them .. The boomslang being on of them .. a venoumouse snake to humans that can be fatal ...

I'm sure that once you reported it to reception they would have done something about it .. The snake will have a posed a threat to the guests and would have been removed and released in a safer environment.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us ...

A boomslang (tree snake) is a back fanged snake and needs to get a decent bite to inject venom which is very poisonous, but it rarely bites humans, and is far more interested in the frog, unless interfered with.....

Wow!
I consider that a GREAT SIGHTING!
I wish I was there!!!

Did the boomslang have any trouble getting out of the pool?

I've heard many stories of creatures dying when the fall in our pools and cant get out...

There was very little danger to people. Like Bush Baptist said, he/she was just after a good meal!

The boomslang is a beautiful snake!

cheers,
Free Spirit.

Hi Free spirit,

The boomslang did not have any problems with the swim and getting out,the waterlevel in the berg en dal swimming pool is the same as ground level so within a minute he was up in the tree again (he climbed quite fast as well),

Regards,
Paul

Hi All
Going to camp for the first time in Kruger, and heard somewhere that you need that a "blueplug" for your electrical lead? Is this true? Or will my normal lead and plug be sufficient?

Welcome Die to the forums!

Completely correct, you need it. Have a look in the FAQ for more hints and tips, or The topic on electricity.