Letaba Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

Sited on a sweeping bend of the wide, sandy Letaba River – the Sotho word lehlaba means ‘sand river’ – this is many people’s preferred base in the park. The camp follows typical old-style SANParks architecture and is one of the camps that has defined Kruger for many South Africans. Its position is ideal, enabling you to access the mopane veld to the north and the densely populated game areas further south. The camp is shady and comfortable, with large mahogany and apple-leaf trees shielding you from the sun’s onslaught, while spacious grassy areas surrounding the accommodation units allow the kids to enjoy themselves with gusto.

Accommodation

Chalets
Most of the two- and threebed units have been upgraded so few now share ablution or kitchen facilities. A newly opened day centre includes its own swimming pool, kiosk and braai places. Guest cottages sleep six in separate bedrooms and also have fully equipped kitchenettes. There are also two multiroomed guesthouses – Fish Eagle, sleeping eight, and Melville, sleeping nine. Safari tents The two- and four-bed safari tents both come equipped with a fridge but visitors use communal ablutions and kitchens.

Camping and caravanning
Letaba has a large sandy camping area with plenty of shade, pleasant communal ablutions and communal kitchens with two-plate electric hobs, washing facilities and instant hot-water dispensers.

Wildlife

The camp
Wonderful old trees – ilala palms, sycamore figs, coral trees and leadwoods – shade the camp and attract a host of birdlife, including brownheaded parrot and black-headed oriole. Bushbuck graze the lawns and it is not uncommon to see pythons in close proximity to camp. It is also worth spending time at the restaurant, with its magnificent view over the Letaba River where elephant and waterbuck, among others, are often seen drinking, especially during the dry winter months when surface water away from the main river courses dries up.

The surroundings
A pride of about 15 lions frequents the area, as does a resident leopard, making this a goodcamp from which to see these two sought-after predators. General game, such as kudu, impala, waterbuck and bushbuck, is good in the area due to the proximity of the river and dense riverine vegetation.

The Big Five
Rhino can be difficult to spot, but all other members of the Big Five are regularly seen around Letaba. The area is particularly good for elephant and buffalo, which occur in large numbers in the region.

Birds
Birding at Letaba is rewarding throughout the year; it is rich in species and some birds are particularly confiding and habituated to humans, which makes for good photography. One of these species is the African mourning dove, which is seen only in camp and not in the surrounding bushveld. All the small owls occur in camp and it’s worth asking around if anyone has seen pearl-spotted, barred and African scops owl. At night, the owl calls are supplemented by calls from both square-tailed (Mozambique) and fiery-necked nightjar, as well as water thick-knee. The floods in February 2000 unfortunately devasted much of the river frontage and affected the habitat of birds that lived in dense riverine vegetation. In summer, look out for the red-headed weaver and collared (red-winged) pratincole in the surrounding areas. Red-billed oxpeckers nest in the tall ilala palms near the restaurant.

Don’t miss!

A fascinating collection of information and displays is contained in the Letaba Elephant Hall. Also in the museum is information on the ‘Magnificent Seven’, Kruger’s legendary old tuskers.

Activities

Morning and afternoon guided bush- walks are booked at reception as are morning, sunset and night drives. Wildlife documentaries are shown in the open-air auditorium every evening, weather permitting.

Best drives

Even though this is one of the largest camps in the park, the large number of routes in the vicinity means that you will probably not encounter as many other visitors on individual routes as you might expect.

Tsendze Loop
Follow the H1-6 tar road north, crossing the high-level bridge over the sandy Letaba River and continue on, keeping an eye out for lion, which are often seen in the area during the early mornings and evenings. It is also good for kudu and waterbuck. Take the left-hand turn onto the S48 (Tsendze Loop), about 13 km from the bridge. Initially, game sightings are infrequent but after the road hits the river, things can get interesting. When you reach the H1-6 again you can either head back along the tar, or retrace your steps and repeat the Tsendze Loop. If you head south on the tarred H1-6, keep an eye out around Middelvlei Water Hole, where you often find mixed herds of zebra and wildebeest. Lion are also seen regularly in the area.

Northern Engelhard Dam
This attractive route, which meanders through lush vegetation on the north bank of the Letaba River, alternating with mopane veld, offers fantastic game-viewing opportunities. Head north on the H1-6 and, after crossing the high-level bridge over the Letaba River (look out for little swifts and bats that breed and roost under the arches), turn right on to the S62. Stop as often as you can on the short turn-offs from the road down to the river. About 5 km along the S62, there is a turn-off to the right, which leads to the Matambeni Hide, overlooking the Engelhard Dam. Time spent here can be very rewarding, especially if you want to see the hippo, crocodile and elephant which browse along the vegetated banks and occasionally swim, especially during hot summer afternoons.Birds such as greater flamingo, Kittlitz’s plover, comb (knob-billed) duck, little bittern and others are common. Also look out for the collared (red-wing) pratincole that breed near here. Back on the S62, it continues on to a great viewpoint overlooking the dam where a collection of water birds, crocodile and hippo are usually seen. The road then climbs the slopes of Longwe Hill (479 m) to Engelhard Lookout, which looks west over the Engelhard Dam and Letaba Valley.

Mingerhout Dam Road
Head north along the H1-6, but turn left onto the S47 (Letaba River Road) before you reach the high-water bridge over the Letaba River. The road hugs the southern banks of the Letaba, crossing the little N’wanetsi Stream where you can often see terrapins and a particularly bold three-banded plover, which comes within metres of your vehicle if you sit patiently at close range. The road continues on to the Mingerhout Dam, where a little turnout provides you with a good view over the dam and river. Unfortunately, this lookout is a little too far from the action to get good photos or great animal sightings. Lion, elephant and buffalo are seen relatively often along the S47. From the dam, the loop heads south into a bland mopanecarpeted landscape, although there is a chance of seeing large buffalo herds as well as elephant. At the T-junction with the S131, turn left to return to Letaba, or go right and continue west for a longer full-day drive to Masorini.

Phalaborwa/Masorini
A number of different routes head west towards the Phalaborwa Gate, allowing you to explore various options, particularly on weekends when the main H-9 tar road can be busy with day visitors. The H-9 follows the course of the Nhlanganini River and, although the scenery is a little monotonous, every so often it is broken by loops to pretty water holes and granite koppies. It is well worth taking the S69 loop to Nhlanganini Water Hole 2 km from the crossroads with the main H1-6/ H1-5 running north–south. This often offers interesting sightings, including saddle-billed stork and other water birds. By taking this loop, you will miss the turn to the S131, however, and should continue along the H-9 at least as far as the right turn onto the S96 immediately after the pretty 414m granite koppie, Shilawuri. Here you have two options. Stick to the H9, or continue along the S96 and head north to the S131 dirt road that runs parallel to this. There is very little advantage to this, unless the H9 is too busy for your taste, in which case the S131 is generally much quieter. The S131 passes two attractive little water holes – Nwanetsi and Shivhulani – around which you are bound to see a variety of game, such as impala, warthog, kudu and buffalo, as well as water birds such as three-banded plover, African jacana, hamerkop, African spoonbill, moorhen and red-billed teal. At the T-junction with the H14, head south past the attractive Shikumbu (494 m) granite koppie, keeping a lookout for klipspringers along the way. At the T-junction with the H-9, head east towards the Masorini Archaeological Site or west to the Phalaborwa Gate (see also page 167).

These routes can be a little frustrating as game can be difficult to see in the thick vegetation, but you often see elephant and large herds of buffalo. Lion are common, while the attractive granite koppies are some of the bestklipspringer habitat in the park.

Letaba River Route
The S46 route begins by skirting the southern banks of the Engelhard Dam and continues south along the Letaba River. It is possibly one of the best early morning or evening drives in the north of the park, and you have a good chance of seeing a wide variety of animals and birds all along the route. Along the way, you are likely to spot leopard, lion and hyena in the mornings and evenings, while herds of elephant, impala, kudu, waterbuck, warthog and bushbuck are common in the thick bush throughout the day. Take the various turnouts overlooking the Engelhard Dam, where you are likely to see hippo, elephant, crocodile and a host of birdlife, such as comb (knob-billed) duck, black crake, little bittern, squacco, goliath and grey heron, black-crowned night heron, moorhen and others attracted to this large permanent water source.

The S46 veers west and heads back to the H1-5 tar road, passing through mopane shrubveld. You can continue along the river, however, by taking the S44 south. Where this splits to the S93– right and S44–left, follow the S44 on to the Olifants Viewpoint which, as its name suggests, overlooks an attractive sweep of the Olifants River. There is a new Phalaborwa entrance gate plus a new network of roads in this area – ask at reception.

This is an extract from the Kruger Park Guide by Cameron Ewart-Smith and Sunbird Publishers. Want the whole guidebook? Buy the Getaway Guide to Kruger National Park here.