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We will be camping in Maroela early December and, other than the EJ report, can't seem to find much info on Maroela.

Looking for the following information:

-Are the camp sites demarcated? If so, how?
-Are camp sites allocated?
-Are deep freeze faciities still available?
-Is the camp well lit at night? (We have arranged for late arrival and will have to set up in the dark).
-What length extension cords are necessary?
-Resident mammals / birds to look out for.
-Best routes for best sightings?
-Can Maroela residents use the pool at Orpen?

Thanks to all that respond.

Can't wait............31 more sleeps!!

No the campsites are not demarcated but you should have no problem finding a spot to setup


no you just book in and find a spot, even if you arrive late there should be places to setup, maybe not at the fence though


Yes they are still available


No the only lights are from the other campers or fom the kitchen/washup area.


I would take as long a one as you have, just in case.


The s39/40 are great for sightings as is the H7, we found from there up (towards olifants)usually gave us more sightings.


Im not completely sure but i know many people do

Enjoy!it is a special camp

Hi T from another newbie.

Maroela is amazing. But for Campers.

Get there early and set up next to the fence and overlooking the riverbed(mostly dry). Else anywhere overlooking the fence is amazing.

The sightings at night I've had from inside the camp (admittingly more early morning 11pm-3am) includes elephant, lion, hyena, Jackal, porcupine, ciwet, and Wildcat.

Also like woodlin said try Satara (my fav).

Maroela is such a lovely small camp!
Out of all the camps I have been to as a camper (have been to all except Balule.... )
I rate this my 2nd favorite Camping camp, very close after Tsendze!
There are lovely spots with LOTS of shade, it's not too big which thus limits the noise from others.

Furthermore, the communal freezers are great, and.... if you're 5 minutes late no stress
Maroela? A MUST for a camper.... and then not to speak of the lion, rhino, wilddog, caracal, jackal and all other amazing things I have seen crawling in the area....!
WOW we campers need more such camps, with just 10 or so campsites...

To illustrate....

I agree Maroela is the better option between itself and Balule. If it is peace you are looking for then this is the place where you will find it. I just LOVE the place.

Will be my first time camping! Absolute newbie!
So I have a couple of questions:

1. will my little corsa lite car be OK on the dirt roads in the area? considering there is no rain in June it seems fine?

2. Is the shop at Orpen well stocked so that I don't have to pack food?
No fancy things needed. just meat and beer and fruit or whatever

3. I am driving from Shingwedzi. it is some 226km the distance. which means if my average speed is 30km/hour I get there in just less than 8 hours.
Has anybody done this drive? and is there enough time to do this drive and set up camp before dark?

Cheetah 2111

1. You will be fine in any car in Kruger.....even a small car, just drive slow through the ditches

2. Generally the shop at Orpen is well stocked, even though its a small shop, last time I was there it was really well stocked. Not sure about the meat though...... maybe buy that outside Kruger...?

3. Driving from Shing down to Orpen is quite a drive! I'd leave as the gate opens, and have few stops, mainly sticking to the tar road.

I also found the small shop at Orpen to be well stocked.
Even the meat was in good supply.
I agree that it may still be better to buy the meat outside the park as there is communal fridge facilities at Orpen but if you are coming from Shingwedzi I don't know if you will be able to do it as it seems to me that you will not have packing space in the corsa.

It must have been a real tough decision to leave Shingwedzi for Maroela.
Shingwedzi is my favourite camp.

Just came back from Maroela - what a treat...

If rustic small camp is what you're looking for - this is one of the best. Obviously just for camping.

We heard hyena and jackal every night and one early morning had a lion roar as well. The stars were also magnificent at night.

Well worth a visit if you're a camper.

We were in Maroela in August .
Ellies on the fence, bushbuck and warthoggies too but just before we arrived there was a buffalo killed by several lions about 15 metres from the fence..
They were behind thick bush and every so often you could spot them, but the roaring and growling all through the night was very impressive .. and rather scary .
But the day we left we were glad we did as the stench from the rotting flesh was not so nice ..
But I am sure the hyenas and jackal we saw would make short work of the remaining flesh .
So go and enjoy yourselves as there is a lot of game in that area Maroela is very close to the Orpen cam so check it out .

Expect to be woken by the sound of lions roaring

The H7 is basically the only road to travel from that side.
But it is a great road
There are around 20 lion prides that have territories along the H7!
So it is lion country

It is also a good place to seek wild dogs!
Sometimes they hang out in the Talamati region, sometimes near Maroela on the H7, sometimes on the s39 to Timbavati.
But they are in the area!
A pack of 14 of them

The H7, and S39 is a great place to seek leopard also!
You just need your luck

Luck providing, you have a good chance at all the cats and dogs really

My magic sighting taken at the Maroela turn off.

Nungu, here is our camp site in Maroela in September last year, in the far corner, under a beautiful Jakkalsbessie tree, right next to the fence - fantastic ! We arrived at 09:00, just intime to find the previous campers moving out - so be there early !

Len

We got to camp around 9:00.
It was the one right next to the look-out platform in the far corner.
We saw bushbuck, warthog, ellies, the obligatory hyena, and kudu from our "stoep".

And when we packed up 3 warthogs "reversed" into the storm pipe that exited next to the Jakkalsbessie tree.... we were surprised to actually see them go all the way up the pipe past the steel grids higher up in camp - amazing.
Later they casually came out the pipe, gently strolled around the fence and walked in the gate all the way to where we were packing up and hung around waiting for us to leave - probably to see if they can get any scraps.

In the meantime a breeding herd of Ellies made their way around the corner of the camp and into the riverbed.
Luckily the wind was in our favour and we had about 15 minutes to watch a baby, that couldn't have been more than a few months old, about 10m from us.
The moment the matriarch saw/heard us she just lifted her trunk and without any audible sound the whole group immediately started walking across the riverbed to the other side.

I just love camping at Maroela!!

Here's a pic of our last camping trip to Maroela.