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Definately in my top3 kruger camps list.
The stars at night are awesome also , apparently there is a venda word that sounds like shingwedzi which means the stars.

January is a great time to go , the river is normally flowing (better since the floods cleared a lot of silt out) .
If you are lucky it will be full enough to have damed up on 1
side of the low level bridge , with water flowing over , and making a mini water fall on the other side , the crocodiles
then lie with there mouths open and the water flowing over them , waiting for fish to swim over the bridge and down into there open mouths .
Spooky going over with them all facing up at your vehicle.

Went over it 1 time and there was a croc lying submerged on the bridge , looked like a log , until we got closer and it quickly
shook and got off the bridge , got a mean fright from that "log".

It is a very peacefull camp , and the drive along the river is awesome .

Game viewing from the pool is good. Many species were seen during the daytime. Hyaena can be spotted from the pool most of the night.

Super camp imho.

Staff:
Bungalows:
Restaurant and view from there:
Red Rocks and Kanniedood Dam:
And to top it all the pool:

There is no doubt I will be back!

I have to agree that this is a wonderful camp. There was an absolute abundance of birds around our bungalow all the time. Saw the biggest tusker I have ever seen on the S134 and a whole herd of ellie's were bathing in the Kanniedood Dam. Absolutely breathtaking! The view from the restaurant of the (often dry) riverbed is also unlike any other. All in all, a great camp!

Shingwedzi's back gate.

Lovely restcamp, enjoyed the pool and the look-out point from the restraunt.

Agree with you about the crocs along the river crossing Bucky pretty scary
It rained all through the night and the camping area was totally flooded a few people had to sleep in the ablutions.
We were in a hut so it didnt bother us at all it was nice and refreshing after the hot, humid day!!

Pics from the bridge just north of Shingwedzi:

Before the rain:

After the Rain:

You should have been there in July 2000, LL.
It was interesting to sit in the restaurant and watch the cars "fording" the river through the water .
And that was months after the floods, so I guess the water had been even higher
That was my only visit to KNP during winter and there was more water and more lushness than on my other visits (in November and March).

Yes, the first day it was lovely and sunny (very humid). It started raining at about 7:30pm that day and went on through-out the night.

The next morning the river was totally full and flowing very fast, carrying loads of logs and other debrie. It was amazing to witness such a change!

Unfortunately the second photo seems to have stopped working. But it sounds very similar to the 2000 floods - though we were evacuated out of the camp on that occasion as the restaurant was about to flood. I have posted some pictures previously.

I think Shingwedzi is one of the best camps in the park, especially mid summer onwards when there is water in the river. You then get superb birdlife; fabulous close views from the causeway, as long as its not flooded!

Richard

Just back from Shingwedzi and saw the most amazing leopard sighting at Kanniedood Bird hide. Birdlife still amazing. There are so much water in the veld, and it is so lush that gameviewing was generally difficult, but still rewarding.

The new chalets are looking great, but I will take a while to get used to the fact that the old huts are being demolished.
I've got used to them over the years.

You have three very nice loops near Shingwedzi: Kanniedood Dam, quite a lot of game, Red Rocks, with a very nice lookout point and also good game and the Mphongolo loop to Bushcamp Sirheni also with very beautiful spots, big trees and good game.
It is not as crowded as in the South of the KNP.
Mostly when you see leopard or Lion, you probably are on your one on that moment and that''s absolutely special.
No frustration or waiting time before you get a glimpse of the animals.
The North of KNP gives you more that Nature perception because it isn't so crowded as in the South KNP.
You will love that area.

Absolutely true. I sat alone next to a leopard near Kanniedood bird hide for at least 20 minutes before another car showed up on 19 Jan 2006.

Currently it is extremely dense and many gravel roads were closed, making game viewing more difficult, but not less rewarding.

Shingwedzi is a magical place.
It is very popular, but as everybody says, this far North, the park is not crowded.
You can expect spectacular game viewing in this area.
You must go on a night drive.
Although the gravel roads may have been closed during the rainy season, you can expect that they will be open and in good condition during winter.
The loops mentioned in other posts are the best places for game viewing.
You can definitely expect to see leopard.
You can also expect to still see resident birds.
We have seen the brown headed parrot there even at that time of year.
You won't be disappointed.

We went on a Night Drive from Shingwedzi during the month of August. We had some amazing close-up sightings of a spotted hyaena clan and the nocturnal birdlife was great as well! We have yet to see a big cat close to Shingwedzi though.

One of my favourite photographs, taken at just outside of Shingwidzi, one of my favourite camps!