Olifants Camp, Kruger National Park

Perched on a cliff overlooking the Olifants River, this rest camp is one of the smallest but most popular as it occupies the most scenic location in Kruger. If you book early enough you can even get a bungalow right on the edge of the cliff and can spend your evenings with the Lowveld at your feet. The camp has more to offer than its view, however, and is ideally situated – near the confluence of the Letaba and Olifants rivers – for great game-viewing and interesting birding. Moreover, the camp’s central location allows you to strike deep into the mopane shrubveld of the north and the game-rich central plains to the south.

Accommodation

Chalets
The three-bed bungalows either make use of the communal kitchens or contain a small kitchenette; four-bed bungalows have two bedrooms (one has two bathrooms) and a small kitchenette. The two guesthouses, Lebombo and Nshawu, each sleep eight people and are fully equipped. Always check when booking whether your unit has crockery and cutlery, because some do not – in which case, they can be hired for a small fee.

Camping and caravanning
No sites are available in camp, but are at nearby Balule Satellite Camp.

Wildlife

The camp From the deck overlooking the Olifants River, you can see a range of animals drinking at the river below – elephant, waterbuck and impala are common, while large crocodile and lots of hippo are usually visible in the pools. Thick-tailed galago (bushbabies), fruit bats, vervet monkey and baboon are always present in camp.

The surroundings Game-viewing is exceptional along the Olifants and Letaba rivers, and improves as you move south into the grassland areas around Satara. In particular, the Bangu Water Hole often offers fantastic sightings and it is always worth checking this area, perhaps best known for its pair of resident cheetah.

The Big Five All members of the Big Five are present in the area; buffalo and elephant are common, but you may have to scratch around to see rhino. Lion are common south of camp and leopard are often seen in the densely wooded river valleys.

Birds If you are keen on birds, the River Walk ups your chances of seeing the teddy-bear lookalike Pel’s fishing owl. White-fronted plover and whitecrowned lapwing also frequent the sandbanks of the Olifants River and there have been occasional sightings of white-backed night heron and the very rare black egret in the area. Both black and saddle-billed stork breed in the vicinity. In summer, bats attract gabar goshawk, Eurasian hobby and bat hawk at sunset. In camp you will find red-winged starling, yellowbellied greenbul, mocking cliff-chat and a variety of sunbirds.

Don’t miss!

Guided mountain biking trail, the River Walk and sundowners from the deck, and the astronomy drive for a talk on the African skies and telescope viewing.

Activities

Of the many guided walks in the area, special mention should be made of the River Walk option. This follows thick vegetation along the banks of the Olifants River and provides visitors with the chance of seeing the rare Pel’s fishing owl, as well as hippo, crocodile and so on. A resident leopard is sometimes seen. Morning and evening guided walks are offered; if you’re lucky, these sometimes offer up the Big Five. Currently, Olifants is the only camp that offers mountain bike trails. There are three routes. The first is a very gentle afternoon outride down to the river, where you can enjoy a snack under the wary eyes of the nearby hippos thatsurvey you balefully from the water and offer up snorts of disgust every so often. The longer and more technical Olifants/ Letaba Confluence Trail, which – as the name suggests – takes you into a region bordered by these two majestic rivers. Lastly, the taxing Mozambique Border Trail takes you east, towards the Lebombo Mountains, for most of a day and requires both technical ability and fitness. The price includes the services of two armed guards, bikes, helmets and mid-ride snacks.

Best drives

Olifants is situated at the transition between three ecozones: the rocky Lebombo Mountain Bushveld to the east, the monotonous Mopane Shrubveld to the north and the open grassy plains and mixed acacia and bushwillow of the Olifants Rugged Veld to the south. This provides diverse habitats for visitors to explore; a number of excellent roads radiate out from the camp.

Letaba River Route
About 1 km east from the gate along the H8, take the S93 dirt road north, and almost immediately turn right onto the S44. This gently undulating dirt road follows the course of the Olifants River to the Olifants Viewpoint overlooking a majestic sweeping bend of the river. There are always hippo in the permanent pools below and through your binoculars you will often get good sightings of a host of other game, such as kudu, waterbuck and giraffe, as they come down to the river to drink. Unfortunately, the animals are a little too far off for good wildlife photographs. Continue north, following the Letaba River now, where you are likely to encounter buffalo, elephant, kudu and other game species. If you are lucky, you may even spot lion and leopard in the riverine vegetation. This is one of the most common areas in the park to see kills. You can continue all the way along past the Engelhard Dam to Letaba for lunch, and then it is worth continuing on to the Matambeni Hide overlook-ing the Engelhard Dam first, where you often see crocodile, hippo and elephant at close range, not to mention a plethora of water birds: greater flamingo, Kittlitz’s and three-banded plover, saddle-billed stork, black crake, bittern, comb (knob-billed) duck and others. Alternatively, turn left onto the S46, which heads west to the H1-5 tar road. The H1-5 can be a little quiet initially but as you approach the Olifants River again, things generally hot up, with elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, kudu, giraffe and other sightings common.

Olifants River Loop
About 2 km east from camp along the H8, take the S92 south. This hugs the Olifants River, passing through open mixed grasslands interrupted by knobthorns, euphorbias and various bushwillow and clusterleaf species as it meanders along. Numerous turn-offs provide views over the river lined with sycamore figs, leadwoods and fever trees. You are likely to see fish eagles; lion and leopard are common, while elephant, buffalo, giraffe, waterbuck and other game are nearly always present. Elephant are especially prolific in this area, which harbours some of the park’s biggest tuskers. Another 7 km on, there is a turn-off to the S90, which heads south, crossing the Olifants (see below), but continue along the S91 until it reaches the H1-4 where you can head north to the Nwamanzi Viewpoint. This provides a sweeping view over the Olifants River and, often, great game sightings, including elephant, waterbuck, kudu, buffalo and giraffe. Alternatively, follow the H1-4 south as it heads towards Satara.

S90 to Bangu
This is another primegame-viewing route. Follow the S90 from the S92 and cross the Olifants River on the low-level bridge. From the bridge you often have great sightings, so it’s worth pausing a while to scan the banks for animals, such as elephant, waterbuck, terrapin, crocodile and hippo. White-crowned lapwing, greater painted snipe and Pel’s fishing owl are sometimes seen here in the early morning and at last light. Continue past the turn to Balule Caravan Camp, after which the S90 passes through Olifants Rugged Veld characterised by knobthorn acacias, purplepod cluster-leaf and various species of bushwillow with mixed grasses that attract giraffe, kudu, elephant, wildebeest and zebra. A few kilometres later the environment changes to open grassy areas studded with knobthorns, leadwoods and acacias as you head towards Bangu Water Hole. Wildlife can be prolificaround the water hole, with large herds of zebra and wildebeest congregating in the dry season. Lion and cheetah are common in the area. After the immediate surrounds of the water hole, sightings tend to be less frequent, so it’s best to turn and retrace your steps. One option for the return is to cut across to the H1-4 on the S89 (Ngotso Weir Road). This route often boasts wild dog and cheetah, while the H1-4 between the S89 and H8 turn-off back to camp is also renowned for good sightings, especially as you enter the lush Olifants River valley.

South towards Satara
The H1-4 towards Satara can be extremely rewarding, as this heads into the open grassy areas frequented by herds of wildebeest and zebra. Lion and cheetah are regularly encountered along the route, while buffalo, elephant and othergame are common. You can follow the road all the way to Satara, passing the string of water holes along the road, all acting as magnets for game. It’s worth taking the detour to the Ngotso Dam as this relatively large body of water is populated with hippo and crocodile, and water birds including comb (knobbilled) duck, three-banded plover and, if you’re lucky, saddle-billed stork. Alternatively, turn west onto the S127 (Mthomeni Road) and head out to the Timbavati Picnic Site for lunch (gas for hire, basic cold drinks on sale and tables and chairs). From here, head north again, following the S39 (Timbavati Road) along the Timbavati River. After the Skukuza-Sabie area, this is the next best for leopard sightings. About 4,5 km after the picnic site is the Sasol-Ratelpan Hide, which overlooks a small reed-enclosed pool. Good sightings of hippo are possible from here, and large crocodile sun themselves on the banks nearby. Thehide faces west, but it is a little far off for great wildlife pictures. A little further, there is a turn to the left to a viewpoint overlooking the Piet Grobler Dam. Hippo, crocodile and waterbuck are abundant, while general game congregate here to drink. The S39 continues north through attractive open countryside on one side and dense river vegetation on the other, providing you with excellent opportunities to see bushbuck, elephant, zebra, wildebeest, kudu, waterbuck, giraffe and a diversity of birds, including grassland species such as various francolin and spurfowl, black-bellied and kori bustard and forest species such as scalythroated honeyguide, grey-headed parrot, grey-headed kingfisher and bushshrike. The Roodewal and Goedgegun water holes, shortly after the turn-off to Roodewal Rest Camp, often offer good sightings as zebra, wildebeest, kudu, impala and often elephant and giraffe congregate in the area to drink.

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.