SANParks.org Forums

Hey M Collard.

I was about to welcome you when I saw you joined in 2006 Welcome to the posting side of life though
As far as Pels goes I'm sure the birder will give you better advice than I could. But your guides at Pafuri will probably know quite a bit about it! My friend saw Pels on the S99 loop around Punda Maria. Drive slowly and have a look

As for the wild dogs ... the more days in the South the higher the chances of seeing doggies! But when in Satara, drive Westwards in the hope of finding the Orpen pack! Keep a look at the sightings board to see where they are being seen.

Seeing Honey Badger takes pure luck! But I have seen them in satara camp at night with a spotlight before!

Some people post a lot, some post a little less.

Pafuri River Camp ( outside the park ). Actually that is inside the park, it is just a concession. (The Makuleke consession.) I am jeaulous of that, it is prime birding there!
Not only that, Pel's have been seen at the bridge near Pafuri picnic spot. At the picnicspot chat with the groundskeeper, Frank Mbasa. He is a very good birder, and may give you some lifers.
He is easy to spot, wears a yellow ribbon on his bins, and teaches his son to bird, and mimic birdcalls.
Olifants next to the smal rivers can be a backup for Pel's.

Dogs: Actually your best bet is at Skukuza! But while at Satara make sure you do the H7 to Orpen a few times, they are seen near Orpen very often.

We spotted HB on the S44 and a bit further up the road near Babalala, but you need a ton of luck.

Want to see sable? Roan? Big tuskers?

It's worthwhile taking a morning walk from Balule while you're at Olifant's and specifically mention that you would like to see the Pels. That's how I got mine.

I think you should try and arrange a few nights at Tamboti tented camp (near Orpen). We have seen the large Wild Dog pack mentioned earlier in above posts, several times. In fact, so often that we are starting to know individual dogs .
Also for honey badger tamboti is a good call. This is probably an unfortunate situation, but the local honey badgers often pay the tent's rubbish bins a visit during the night. I even saw one chasing a civet away from the rubbish bin next to our tent!

I went through the online booking system to make my reservations for KTP
Luckily I am anal and realized by the next day I had gotten one date wrong
I cancelled that date and requested a refund on my credit card
Made another booking and that credit was not used
I am planning to book 5-6 days in KNP is there a mechanism online where i can apply my credit or do i have to call central reservations?
At a last resort hopefully i can apply the credit to game drives

You will indeed have to mail with reservations@sanparks.org
Explain the situation, but don't forget to include your booking number and client code. That makes it easier to look it up.

hello
Me and my friend will be in Kruger from the 19-22 of September, 2012.
We want to know if we should book the accommodation in advance, and if so, how much in advance??
I saw that already, some of the camp sites are not available on this dates. Is it possible that the availability will change more close to the date?
Also, we are travaling alone by car, but we want to do some kind of daily guided tours as well. Is it possible to go on this kind of tour from each of the camp sites? and if so, how can i book them?
Thanx!!!!
Any kind of advice will be very helpful

Firstly, a very warm welcome

Kira, I would book immediately.
If you don't get the booking that you like, you can see what comes up and change it.
The units for the disabled often become available a week or two beforehand, so if nobody wants them, they are often there for the taking.

Drives and walks are easy to book once you know where you will be staying.
If you are going to be camping, I would suggest only staying in one camp, as the packing up and moving takes such a long time.
If you are not camping I would strongly recommend the tented accommodation at Croc Bridge, Tambotie, Lower Sabie, or Skukuza. Croc Bridge is one of the camps with a permanent tent for the disabled.

Thank you all so much!!!!
I'll book the camps today

One more question, if we are planing on sleeping in huts/bungelows, what would be better for us, sleeping every night in a different camp ( I was thinking about Letaba and then Thamboti, Pretoriuskop and the final night in lower sabie) or should we be focusing on one or two camps??

I know that there is probably answers to all of my questions in the forum, but unfortunately i'm in the middle of some important exams so i hardly have the time to search and read about this before my trip so i'm apologizing in advance....
Thanks again for the great advices

Kira, you don't have to apologise for asking questions. Most of us enjoy sharing information. It is often confusing trying to sort through all the sometimes conflicting advice.

It is a very short time that you are staying and I would suggest staying in the south, particularly this time of the year. The south is pretty much animal saturated, as animals are usually searching for water sources. I would also advise 2 camps to minimise on packing and unpacking....

Lower Sabie would be first prize. If you cannot get their tented accomodation, I would go for their economy huts. They are remarkably spacious. They also have aircon, which migh be needed as the weather can reach the high thirties.

Croc Bridge would be another suggestion. Skukuza also has good tented huts.

If it is available, I would do 2 nights Lower Sabie and 2 nights Tambotie. Tambotie is a completely different experience. If you love it, you really love it.

I seldom recommend north of Olifants to newbies in the dry season, unless they are keen birders.

Hi all,

14 days to go and i have a few questions:

1. how dangerous is it to visit the park with the anthrax outbreak that i saw near mopani...?
I seariously need your thoughts about this...
ill be at BnD, Skukuza And LS...

2. im gonna arrive late on (at about 19:20) to malelane heading for BnD on the first night.
can i arrive late to the gate and someone escort me to the camp? are there escorts like every half an hour or just as persons come in?
should i notify the gate? the camp? and how much in advance?
is there additional cost for such escort?
I asked about this a year and a half ago but couldnt find the answers...

3. shoping tips and advices - (you know what ill post this in a seperate thread... )

thanks in advance for all the help - looking forward to another great trip!!
homer. s.

Hello Homer.s
to answer your questions
(1) dont worry about the anthrax its way up north
(2) you can organise for an escort to Berg en Dal . It does cost a little extra and they dont automatically have them so you have to let the camp know
Best to ask ecojunkie about it as I am sure she is all clued up or com-ntact berg'n dal to organise someone to be there to show you in

And have a great time .
Shops .. well the camps have shops and have quite a good selection of goodies but can be a little expensive .. But you are allowed to pop out of the park At malelane and the litttle town has some very good shops Just make sure you permit is stamped so you can come in again and not have to pay twice .

Call the gate or camp and let them know when you will arrive - do this beforehand to warn them, and then on the day as you travel to confirm time. They will charge you for this, but not sure of the current price. You can only do this up to 9pm.

When we came in late a couple of months ago, we were charged R200 per vehicle

OK - the anthrax outbreak is in the north as Hugh says and also in an enclosure that guests don't have access to.

That said anthrax can spread and can develop any where in the park. The best advice is to avoid touching the carcass of any dead animal (which you shouldn't be able to do if you follow the general rules of the park) or going too close to one.

In general try to avoid being bitten by any wild animal, they carry other diseases as well. Be especially aware of baboons and vervet monkeys at rest camps, picnic spots and lookouts. They have learnt that humans mean food and will get close enough to steal. This is not meant to frighten you, just remind you to be aware of your surroundings.

Hope you have a great trip.