Satara Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

This is the second largest camp after Skukuza and is extremely popular, largely due to the prolific wildlife that wanders the surrounding plains. In particular, Satara is renowned for its lion sightings and you will not spend much time here without encountering at least one of these tawny favourites. The ‘lion triangle’, where visitors are more or less guaranteed lion sightings, lies between Orpen, Satara and Letaba rest camps.

Accommodation

Chalets
The two- and three-bed bungalows all have bathrooms and make use of communal kitchen facilities. There are also two- and three-bed bungalows with fully equipped kitchenettes. One luxury bungalow accommodates two, but also has a sleeper couch in the lounge, a bathroom and kitchen. Guest cottages sleep six and have bathrooms as well as fully equipped kitchenettes. The Wells, Rudy Frankel and Stanley guesthouses sleep six, eight and nine respectively and all have bathrooms and fully equipped kitchens.

Camping and caravanning
Sites are not allocated so it pays to get in early and claim a shady spot or a site along the fence, depending on your preferences. Communal bathrooms are conveniently situated, as are the kitchens, which have the standard two-plate electric stoves, washing sinks and an instant boiling water dispenser

Wildlife

The camp
It is well worth checking the small water hole near the fence as an array of game, including zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck and warthog, are regularly seen drinking here, as are giraffe and elephant on occasion. Baboons and vervet monkeys regularly wander about the place, making mischief.

The surroundings T
he grassy plains surrounding Satara are home to large herds of grazers and zebra, waterbuck, wildebeest and buffalo are common. This, in turn, means there are large numbers of predators in the region. The H7 towards Orpen Gate is good for cheetah and sable. The game-viewing board in camp is always chock-a-block with coloured pins.

The Big Five
Although rhino can prove a little tricky to spot, all other members of the Big Five occur in large numbers, especially lion. Satara is surrounded by some of the highest lion densities in the park. Leopard are regularly seen.

Birds
Look out for red-billed buffalo weaver, thick-billed weaver, redbilled hornbill, African mourning dove, groundscraper thrush, greater blue-eared and Burchell’s starlings; in summer, woodland kingfisher. Lesser masked weaver and little swift occur near reception and black crake are found in the little pond. At night, listen out for the purring small engine call of the square-tailed (Mozambique) nightjar and and the deep grunt of Verreaux’s (giant) eagle owl. Other owls to look for include barn, African scops and pearlspotted owl. Montague’s and pallid harriers are occasionally seen patrolling the skies over the open plains around the camp after summer rains.

Don’t miss!

Satara must be one of the best places in Kruger to spot the big cats. There is a new swimming pool, day centre and water hole with a webcam.

Activities

Morning, sunset and night drives, as well as morning and afternoon guided bushwalks are all on offer at Satara. Wildlife documentaries are shown in the open-air auditorium, weather permitting. The Mananga 4×4 Adventure Trail ambles through the plains surrounding the camp and offers an exciting departure from the traditional roads of Kruger. You must have your own 4×4, however, and are required to book at reception on the morning you wish to undertake the drive (see page 163).

Best drives

Satara is one of the prime game-viewing camps in Kruger and a number of good game-viewing roads radiate from the camp.

Timbavati Picnic Site Loop
This is possibly one of the most ecologically diverse routes in the central region of the park, passing through no fewer than six different ecozones. As you drive you will see knobthorn/marula savanna, stunted knobthorn savanna on basalt, Olifants rugged veld on rhyolite/ basalt, mixed bushwillow woodlandson granite/gneiss, thornveld on gabbro and Delagoa thorn thickets on Ecca shales. From camp, head back to the H1-4 and turn south, almost immediately taking the right-hand turn-off onto the H7 (Satara Road). This heads west through open grassy plains scattered with knobthorns and marula trees. Continue past the turn-off to the S40 on the right, stopping at the Nsemani Dam. Although this is a little far from the road, you can get good views of hippo in the water and waterbuck on the banks. In addition there is always an interesting collection of birdlife, such as kingfishers, herons and plovers and general game surrounding the water. It’s a favourite drinking spot for wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck and the occasional shy nyala.

Further west, turn right at the S39, heading north along the Timbavati River and passing through mixed woodlands
of various bushwillow species and knobthorns, while large jackalberries and leadwoods tower over the river course. The Timbavati Picnic Site has toilets, gas cookers for hire, cold drinks on sale and shaded tables and chairs, so this is a good spot at which to stop and take a break before continuing east along the S127 back to the H1-4. Head south from here, keeping an eye open as this road always delivers interesting sightings – elephant and buffalo, as well as lion.

Satara Road
The Satara Road to Orpen Gate is another option to the west of camp. Continue along the H7 (Satara Road) past the S39 turn-off (see above) all the way to Orpen Camp, also passing Bobbejaans Krans, 4 km from the turn-off to the S39. This offers a fantastic view over a steeply incised bank of the Timbavati River and, although it is a little far off to see wildlife, thescenery makes it a special place to stop. This entire route is ‘productive’, with elephant, zebra, wildebeest and waterbuck widespread. Lion, cheetah and sable are seen relatively often near the turn-off to the Tamboti Tented Camp, 2 km from Orpen Gate.

For a change, on the return journey take the S106 loop past Rabelais’ Hut – site of the old Rabelais Gate (1926- 1954) named after the farm on which it was sited. Further along the S106, it’s worth stopping at the Rabelais Dam for a while as this often provides visitors in summer with interesting sightings of elephant swimming to cool themselves and shouldn’t be missed.

After returning to the tar, continue along until you get to the S12 loop around the Nsemani Dam. This short detour often produces worthwhile sightings, including lion and leopard.

Nwanetsi Picnic Site
Loop From the camp, take the S100 dirt road east. This follows the course of the Nwanetsi River and is ranked by many as one of the most rewarding roads in the park’s central regions, with regular sightings of lion, elephant, buffalo and leopard. When you reach the S41 (Gudzani Road), head north a short distance to the Gudzani Dam just to see if there is any activity there before turning back and heading south. This road runs along the eastern boundary of the plains at the foot of the Lebombo Mountains, before eventually intersecting with the H6. Here you can turn left for the Nwanetsi Picnic Site (toilets, gas for hire, basic cold drinks on sale, chairs and tables under shade and washing facilities). A short walk up from the main picnic area is a small thatched viewing point overlooking the Nwanetsi River. This is a pleasant place to spend a few hours and provides good bird-watching as numerous species (fish eagle, malachite and pied kingfisher, squacco heron, reed and white-breasted cormorant, goliath heron, and various swallowsswifts and martins) are drawn to the water below – this is a little distant so you’ll need binoculars. Hornbills and glossy starlings will keep you entertained, but also check the deep shade in the tree canopy for small raptors such as little sparrowhawk and shikra (little banded goshawk). In summer, look for blue-cheeked bee-eater hawking from branches of semi-submerged trees along the waterway. Return to the H1-3 along the H6 tar road, which again often provides great sightings. Alternatively, and if you are up to a very long drive, you can take the S37 (Trichardt Road) further south from the Nwanetsi Picnic Site.

Trichardt Road Heading south from the Nwanetsi Picnic Site, the S37 (Trichardt Road) passes the Sweni Hide and view point, overlooking a small pool on the Sweni River, which makes a good alternative to the busier Nwanetsi Picnic Site. Unfortunately, you can leave your vehicle only to enter the hide and there are no picnic facility. ties – but you could munch on a biscuit while taking in the interesting bird and animal life that congregate here. On view may be malachite and pied kingfishers, black crake, white-fronted beeeater and dusky flycatcher, which hawk insects from perches over the water.

After the hide, the road follows the Sweni River for a short while, before leaving the river after which sightings generally slacken off. If you are short of time, pass the turn-off to the S35 (Lindanda Road) as it is a sizeable detour. It was along this road that a lion attacked ranger Harry Wolhuter, while he was returning from a patrol in 1903. He escaped after killing the lion with his sheath knife (see page 67).

Both the S35 and the S37 road take you back to the H1-3 tar road north, which is usually an exciting drive. Large herds of buffalo often occur in the region and lion are frequently spotted. Do not miss the S86 (Nwaswitsontso Loop), about 3 km north of the S37 intersection, as this is a lion hot spot.

This is an extract from the Kruger Park Guide by Cameron Ewart-Smith and Sunbird Publishers.This is an extract from the Kruger guide. Want you own copy of the pocket guide? Buy the Getaway Guide to Kruger National Park here.