Punda Maria Rest Camp

[Graham_5000]

There is a notice on the PM SANParks page that the pool is closed for maintenance? It was amazing in December having recently been done up. Are they doing more work?

The area that needs maintenance is the safari tents. The hot plates barely work, the doors don't close properly, everything is rusted in the kitchens, there are one or two leaky areas. I love the tents so much but might rethink them if they aren't attended to soon.

That said, it's still my favourite camp and I'll always try and visit once a year.

[Elsa]

Graham, the notification re the pool could possibly be an old one that just hasn't been updated?
so we would need someone who has stayed there recently like yourself to update us?

EDIT: I have had clarification the pool is open and available.

There is ongoing maintenance done where possible but if there is something that needs attention to be drawn to management the best thing to do is to send a mail asap to [email protected] where it will be directed to the correct department and action taken.

[PietSkiet]

We just returned from our first stay in Punda and enjoyed it so much. Love the camp.

The pool is fully operational. The boys enjoyed their swim, even though the water was freezing cold.

Do agree that the maintenance on the units is necessary. We stayed in one of the family units and the general maintenance is not good at all.

We usually received a survey after a stay to complete, but nothing this time around?

[Ramsbottom]

Hi
Has anyone any information on wether the new tent is in operation yet.
We have nights booked but not until January but like to get myself organised and request certain units early.
So not sure how the numnberring going to be affected by adding in the new tent.
Thanks

[Elsa]

Ramsbottom I have had a response to say:

The new Tent is not opened yet as we still busy with the final touch-ups, we will let you know as soon as it is open
In the meantime, you are welcome to request the other available units.

They will let us know as soon as it it completed and on line.

And in response to @Graham's post

With regard to our swimming pool, it is not under maintenance, it is open.

[Grit1962]

We are just planning our next stay in December/January. This year will be the first time not camping.

For Punda we are not sure if a Safari Tent or a BD3 is the better choice.

Has someone been in one of these tents lately as we have seen pictures on Google that show a tent in a very bad state of maintenance with broken BBQ, ripped tent, broken lights and kitchen doors, and so on...

Do the BD3 have an own BBQ each or do they use the communal ones? The pictures on the accommodation index are not clear about this.

Thank you for your help.

Grit1962

[Elsa]

Grit, none of the bungalows have their own braai stands, all use the communal braais on the other side of the road.
We actually enjoy that and find it a very nice way of meeting other guests and chatting about one's sightings of the trip.

[carolv]

Grit1962

We stayed in a Punda Maria Safari tent in October 2022 and it was in a dreadful state of repair. The adjacent tent also looked in a bad state. It is rare we have had to raise such concerns at a camp but we did on this occasion. When we return in April this year, we have opted for a bungalow.

[Grit1962]

Thank you Elsa and carolv.

So we will avoid the Safari tents and book a bungalow.

[Astanax]

Hi everyone,

We tried to get Safari tents at Punda for late December, but every single tent was booked out for the entire month after only a few hours when bookings opened.

Is there any news on when the new eighth tent will be available?

[Elsa]

Warm welcome to the forum Astanax

December is a very busy month but is strange that all the tents are booked.
but do keep an eye on availability as some may well come up with cancellations.

I will need to find out for you if/when the new tent is available.

[bilco2014]

Hi, we stayed in family cottage 23 (FU6) in Late Oct (22-25) 2022. There was a serious downpour and the rain water flooded the cottage. The Lintel was cracked allowing the water to pour in. The Cottage 24 was even worse hit.

Can anybody let me know whether this has been repaired as we plan to book for next year soon?

Thanks

[Elsa]

bilco2014, sorry your accommodation was not up to scratch at your last visit.

You can try sending a mail to

[email protected]

[email protected]

[Astanax]

Warm welcome to the forum Astanax

December is a very busy month but is strange that all the tents are booked.
but do keep an eye on availability as some may well come up with cancellations.

I will need to find out for you if/when the new tent is available.

Thanks Elsa! We booked the bungalows but would really prefer the safari tents, being amongst the birds in the bush is the best part of Punda!

I’ve been watching for cancellations but haven’t seen anything, so was hoping that new tent might become available at some point.

[anne catherine]

Happy new year everybody

I have reserved a BG2 for four nights in Punda Maria for next february.
Seems there is no ustensils for cooking in these bungalows,but i think i saw one pic of these BG2 recently(don't remember where )showing ustensils in the BG2.

May somebody confirm if there is ustensils or no?

I can eat at the restaurant for meals,but would want to know if i should take a little saucepan in my luggage for coffee