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Jen, I stayed in #5 and liked it very much. It is quite private and has a nice view of the river.

Cottage Update:-
Just thought I would add this to the thread as it might help others with their requests. Cottage type CO4D (double bed) is either unit 3 or 15.

Sirheni:
We stayed in number 12 for 2 nights in September.
We quite liked it.
It is next/near to the hide but people walking past never bothered us.
It had a nice view of the dam/river and you couldn't see any of the other units.
They couldn't see onto your veranda either.
Would take it again if we could.

Just a quick update...

YES there definitely is a resident leopard at Sirheni camp.
Followed him down the road on Wednesday 27th Feb for about 45 minutes.
We left camp at gate opening (5h30) and as we rounded the bend about 150m from camp he was walking down the road.
He scent marked & wandered on and off the road for ages and we were the only car - AWESOME!

We stayed in Unit 15 which is beautiful.
I had a look round camp as it was extremely quiet (only 2 other units occupied) and as previous people have stated I don't think there is a bad unit in the camp - all have a view of the dam.
We will definitely be back.

Sirheni is a very quiet and shady camp, with good views over its own dam.
Bird life is prolific and their are two hides within camp, one at each end.
There is no shop and the nearest petrol is at Shingwedzi.
Electricity to the fridge and cooker goes off at night (7pm to 7am I think), but lights and fans still work.
The fridges stay pretty cold through the night (plus I think there is a communal freezer at reception).

The whole length of the S56 follows a watercourse and is good for game viewing and birds, although there won't be much water around in July.
We have seen cheetah and elephants at Boyela waterhole and the S53 loop is also worth doing (in April there was water in the Nkulumbeni stream attracting grazers like zebra and wildebeest).

Sirheni does have a night drive.
I went on it at the end of August and its very good.
For some reason it was not listed in one of the activity lists on this website, but was on another.
Anyway I phoned up and pre-booked .. no problem.

We stayed at Sirheni at the beginning of Aug and went on the sunset drive - it was great!
We saw honey badger, civet, Genet, African wild cat, side striped jackal in addition to ellie's, impala etc.

I hesitate to post a post without pictures yet but they will come on the weekend.
Meantime I wanted to say what a fantastic time we had staying at Sirheni bush camp last Tuesday and Wednesday.
Yes a whole two nights of serene bliss.

The Northern parts of the Kruger are my personal favourite.
Hardly any cars the wonderful stillness and hot sun baked earth.
This is the second time I've stayed at Sirheni the last a few years ago was a little more exciting weather wise as we had mammoth electric storms and heavy rains, quite dramatic.
This time the first rains had come just a few days before, already lush green beneath the taller blonde grasses of the dry.
But it was hot, very hot and no more rain fell while we were there.

I am always keen to find the local inhabitants of a camp when I arrive.
The resident skinks and snakes and nesting birds and the like.
My first was a tiny bat that had taken up under our roof, no more than a Ping-Pong ball covered in fluff.
At first I thought it was a giant spider when it shuffled suddenly crawling in the thatch with its skinny black boney wings, it ears hid in fur.
Then I looked below to see if there were any droppings and sure enough the table was covered in neat little fresh mouse like droppings, then I made out a nose and little round eyes.
Fantastic, no idea what kind of bat it was but it was delightful.
I quickly remove the table covered in droppings and gave it a wash, placing at a safe distance, thoughts of Ebola fresh in my memory.
Still I was delighted it shared our hut.

Our first night drive with Allen was fantastic, he is a very good guide the best we had in the park, quite, sincere, knowledgeable and friendly.
We spotted three snake species, a large sub-adult rock python a cobra and a rinkhals, a leopard, elephant, a few genets, a family of spotted hyaena cubs, three owl species, small cute (tiny big as cherry glass) pearl spotted, scopes and an eagle owl.
Then coming back we were surprised by baby crocs sprinting into the bush, this was something I never knew.
After the rains the tiny crocs leave the main body of water and take up in puddles along the road eating frogs and insects and other little things.

Next morning we looked into each puddle first thing and sure enough you could see the little triangular heads at the surface.

On our last day as we were leaving the area we spotted a single male lion beneath a tree, in his prime healthy and solid. A wonderful farewell.

These two bulls hung around on the dust road to Sirheni camp.
They had a very laid back attitude not in the least bit worried about us.
At one stage the one on the right ambled over to say hello whilst I was otherwise engaged reading my bird book.
He came within meters of the car then stopped alongside and hung his trunk over his tusks sharing our shade . In 39-40%C they were in no hurry.
He stood there for half an hour then went back to the mud when his friend was finished.
They never strayed far from the wallow, think just too happy to indulge in mud baths after the long dry.
You can see the first green grass, this was just a few days old growth.
This sprinkle of green is what these two would call paradise and they were still loving it, bless em.

Hi all

We want to change our one night at Punda maria to Sirheni. I saw all 3 types of accommodation is still available. What bungalow number would you say is the best view?

Does anyone have more pictures of the camp?

Apparently No. 15 (which is a 4-sleeper - code C04D) is an excellent choice as regards the view.
You haven't mentioned how many are in your party, but I know this unit only has one bedroom (the other two beds are in the lounge).
I have also heard No.2 mentioned as being a very good one to stay in, but am not sure how many beds it has.

Here's some pictures off Sirheni we made a few weeks ago.
We stayed in cottage number 2.





Reception..



cottage 2








birdhide

This is a wonderful camp!!
We stayed there about a month ago and we had fantastic sightings!!
A leopard came down to the river at 9:30 in the morning and a group of elephants had a fantastic bath in front of us!!
We saw the big 5 although we saw the rhino and the lion close to Punda.
We had cottage no.7, the best cottage!

I have some photos of the leopard and also a couple of the ellies! Go check out my Travel tale: Watch out Sirheni!

Any pictures of cottage number 7 Amedeus? I have booked a CO4 for next year january. Does number 8 have a nice view or must i book number 11 or 13 thats closer to the bird hide?