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The most famous cheetah spot near Shingwedzi used to be the Lamont waterhole just North of Shingwedzi. Just be careful as you keep your eyes open for cheetah in the area next to the waterhole, as elephant has the habit of sneaking up behind you from the cement reservoir.

Hi

Chances of seeing leopard on the S135, underneath the bridge over the shinwedzi river, on the tar road to camp at the turn off to the S134 road very good. Might be the same animal.

Have seen Cheetah's walking past the swimming pool next to the fence. At one stage Shingwezi lion population were 56. Do not know how many are left now.

Leopard,,Anywhere around Shingwedzi is good but S56 to Babalala in the middle section at the beginning is almost a dead cert (drive slowly and early!!) Kanniedood Dam just outside back entrance to camp is great.

Wild Dog ...hit the Red Rocks road and try and pick up the large Shangoni pack which is found mainly in the far west way off tourist roads but occassionally enter their far eastern part ot the territory on the western side of Redrocks near Tshanga....Good Luck!! The birds are GREAT at Shingwedzi at the moment ...have just got back last night...VERY HOT as well

Hi seapit1
50% of my leopards sightings (3 out of 6) in Kruger occured on the Mphongolo road (S56) just north of Shingwedzi. In july 2002 a cheetah spent a whole day on the dry riverbed of the Shingwedzi, visible from the camp ! But never seen any lion around Shingwedzi (4 visits). Will be there again in june 2007.
For me Shingwedzi is a must on any Kruger visit.

Hi TXDrifter ..

Are you looking for a bungalow or Guest Cottage? Reason I'm asking is that the Shingwedzi Camp has advise me now that Bungalow 28 is BD2D but 29 is a guest cottage (FQ6).

Yes it does, but I handle it as follows:

Get up at 04:00, (you have +- half an hour in pitch darkness, almost like a nightdrive on your own) have a game drive up to +- 09:00 and return for breakfast.

After breakfast we have a swim and at +- 12:00 it starts to sizzle, so we have a light lunch and take a nap (You need it if you sleep no more than 4 hrs a night).

We get up at 16:00 again and take a drive up to 18:30, when we either braai or go for a swim again. We love to go for a late night swim, as the water is still lukewarm and we have seen many a predator from the pool at night, as the camp has gone silent as most people are asleep already. The nightsounds are great at that time of the night.

At about midnight we go to bed, and then it is up again at 04:00. This ensures prime sightings and as you sleep in an air conditioned unit, you do not feel the heat during the day.

Yes you are right there are only two ablution blocks for camping but they are both quite big. I have never waited for either shower or toilet when i've camped there.
The camp site is close to the pool but the noise is not bad. The restaurant is a fair distance away and screened off with bushes, you should not hear or see anything happening there.

There are lots of spots along the fence - but there is really nice shaded one on the fence really close to the ablutions. Not sure if Snoobab will agree with me?

The one DB mentioned is very nice, there is also a large Mopani tree on the fence line kind of in between the pool and the ablutions which is also very nice and shady.

I camped more or less between the first ablutionblock and the kitchenblock. There is a clump of trees there, and a large palm just across, keeping you mostly out of the wind. Not near the fence though.

The staff there is wonderfully helpful setting up the tent.

We noticed a few of these "staff people" in the V of the Mopani tree I mentioned earlier, they seemed quite excited about something so the Honorary Ranger on duty went to investigate. There was a hole in the V which they had been using for a pantry/store it seem. He ended up pulling out a bar of soap, a few silver coins and a host of other nik nak articles that had been stolen from unsuspecting campers. No real food was found.

WTM is correct .. not a lot of shade .. however .. there are some shady spots close to the swimming pool next to the fence. Very sought after however .. so be there early to try and get the best spot.

Hi mountainview
If you go back about 7 or 8 post in this thread you will find a post by myself and one from DB indicating the shady spots along the fence in the camp site.

Shingwedzi - High water bridge.



Shingwedzi - causeway.

We spent 3 days camping at Shingwedzi. It is not my favourite camp but it is still very nice. The camping area is very open with very little privacy. You feel like you are camping on a rugby field. The campsites near the swimming pool are better. Staff accommodation or something of the sort is located next to the camping area - there was quite a bit of noise pollution at night and early morning from that region - this is something camp management should address. The one night a staff meeting of sorts was held and a very loud amplified voice and music were heard for more than an hour. Someone probably complained because teh level dropped dramatically.

The roads around the camp, especially the road to Kaniedood, are very productive - we saw many many elephants, nyala, sharpe's grysbok, hyeana, bushbuck, many water birds, crocs.

The food at the restaurant is good, the shop is quite well stocked with meat, drinks etc although, like all shops in the park, very expensive. Rather bring in your own supplies if you are like most people on a budget. They are busy building new chalets so there is some noise but if you're out game viewing all day it will not be an issue. Building is restricted to about 8 am to 5 pm.