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Day 1:
Arrival at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, where you will be met and transferred to the Kruger Park. Guests should arrive at the start of the walking trail (inside Kruger Park) latest 14.00 in order to be transferred to your trails camp, this transfer is done in an open 4x4 game vehicle. The trails camp is situated in the heart of the wilderness concession overlooking a spectacular plain and waterhole. Built in authentic pioneer tradition, it has the serenity of a 19th century naturalists rest, nestled in an Acacia Knobthorn thicket. The camp offers four comfortably furnished African explorer style tents, with en suite bathroom with hot running water and the African Wilderness right on your doorstep. A generator and a back-up battery system power overhead fans and 24 hour lighting. The generator system can be used to re-charge camera batteries.
After settling into your tent and exploring the camp, “high tea” (late lunch) is served followed by a brief on the ‘do’s & don’ts’ of bush walking safaris by your guide. After the brief, you will depart with your two armed rangers for an introductory walk, returning to the vehicle in time for sundowners and again enjoying a short night drive before returning to camp. The trails camp is situated on a 12000-hectare private concession in the Kruger National Park and is an environmentally sensitive area previously unexplored, with a huge diversity of both fauna and flora – an ideal setting for wilderness walking safaris in an internationally renowned Big Five area. The concession shares a 15km boundary with the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, with game moving freely between the two reserves and comprises of environmentally sensitive areas previously unexplored, with huge diversity of both fauna and flora.
Overnight: Trails Camp. (L,D)
Day 2:
After an early morning wake-up, fresh coffee, tea and rusks (a South Africa tradition!), everybody departs with the guides for the next safari walk. Nothing is predictable in the bush, therefore each safari offers a potentially new experience. Our guides will share their wealth of “bush culture’’ - the identification of animals, trees, grasses, insects, birds, the medicinal uses of plants, local folk lore and basic tracking and survival skills. All walking trails are enjoyed in the early morning and late afternoon to avoid the midday heat, with the average duration of the morning walk being between 3 and 4 hours. The guide will structure the trail taking into account the fitness level of the group and any special requests. After a light snack on the walk, you will be served a well deserved brunch on your return to the camp. Relax during the heat of the day, enjoying the small Africana book collection or the plunge pool overlooking the plain, which is often host to zebra, buffalo, giraffe, elephant, rhino and lion.
The afternoon safari activity is a little different. We depart for an unrivalled wilderness experience, sleeping out under the stars. This is the only place in the Kruger National Park offering this unusual accommodation. These are elevated wooden platforms between 4-5 metres above the ground. Guests leave the trails camp in the late afternoon for a 1-1 ½ hour walk led by guides and arrive at the platforms in the early evening, carrying only a lightweight rucksack containing a change of clothes and refreshments. After hanging up mosquito nets, fly sheets (only if necessary) and preparing beds, “sundowners” can be enjoyed on the platforms that also overlook a waterhole. The sleep-outs even have hot showers and flush toilets. While dinner is being prepared on an open fire, enjoy the sounds and senses of the wild at night, while being safely guarded by your observant guides. The rumble of the elephant passing by, or the roar of the lion at the nearby waterhole are some of the noises that might disturb guests in this peaceful wilderness.
Overnight: “Sleep-out” Camp. (B,L,D)
Please note: Sleep-outs must be requested at time of booking, and are subject to availability and weather conditions. If no sleep-out, the 2nd night will be spent in the tented camp.
Day 3:
The following morning, enjoy a light snack after which you will depart back to the trails camp for a hearty brunch and shower before packing up and being transferred back to the relative luxury of a 4* Safari Lodge, built on the banks of a dry riverbed using natural materials of stone, wood, thatch and canvas. Stilts raise the 8 spaciously appointed suites along the riverbank, allowing views of the riverbed from your bedroom, bathroom and private deck. The suites are set out in an open plan style with wooden floors, thatched roofs, canvas walls and glass doors and windows. Each en suite bathroom includes a deep, freestanding bath, ‘his & hers’ basins, a separate toilet and an outdoor shower surrounded by thick reed poles. The raised walkways linking the spacious rooms to the main area, allows wildlife to walk through underneath, undisturbed by mankind.
After settling into your suite, guests are invited down to the lounge, overlooking the water hole to enjoy a scrumptious high tea before departing for an afternoon / evening game drive. Game-drive safaris at the lodge are conducted in specially adapted open 4x4 Landcruisers, with professional guides. In addition to the private wilderness concession, safari drives are also done using roads in the Kruger Park. At sunset the game drive will stop for “sundowner” drinks while watching an African sunset before continuing into the night, spotting nocturnal animals. Returning to the lodge in time to freshen up, enjoy a drink before a sumptuous dinner on the deck or in the riverbed, as you recount the day’s events, all the while accompanied by the night sounds of the bush.
Overnight: Safari Lodge. (B,L,D)
Day 4:
After an early morning wake-up and an invigorating cup of fresh coffee or tea and muffins in the lounge, you will set off again for an early morning game drive. Mid-way through the morning you will stop in the bush for coffee or tea before continuing looking for Africa’s finest wildlife. Upon returning to the lodge enjoy a leisurely brunch, shower before packing up and check-out. Transfer to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. (B)
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