ALBASINI RUINSThe ruins of a shop and homestead along the Pabenispruit mark the site of what was once the trading post of legendary elephant hunter and trader, João Albasini, who settled here in 1846. Still visible are the remains of the furrow he dug to water a small orchard and a vegetable garden. Using ancient trade routes from the coast to the interior, Albasini’s porters carried supplies from Delagoa Bay to the post, from where they were taken by ox wagon to the Transvaal’s interior. |
SKUKUZA...is by far the largest rest camp 3 in the Kruger National Park and also serves as the park’s headquarters. The camp was named after the park’s first warden, Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton, who was given the Tsonga name of Skukuza, meaning ‘the person who turned everything upside down’. Stevenson-Hamilton earned the reputation because of the many people he removed from the park and the changes he made after he became warden in 1902. In 1909, he moved the headquarters of the old Sabie Game Reserve from the Crocodile River to a new site on the banks of the Sabie River, known as Sabie Bridge, or Reserve, and later renamed Skukuza. Of interest in the rest camp is the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, where the skin of a lion killed with a knife by the legendary game ranger Harry Wolhuter in 1904, can be seen. Visitors can also see the locomotive used on the historic Selati railway line, the bridge over the Sabie River and a section of the Selati line. Skukuza lies in an area with a rich diversity of game, including big cats, wild dog, elephant, buffalo, kudu and giraffe. |
LOWER SABIE...takes its name from the river along which it was laid out, a name variously said to mean ‘river of fear’ or ‘sand river’. Situated in an area known for its outstanding game-viewing, the camp was established in 1929 with three huts. The Lower Sabie Road is famous for its sightings of lion, and among the wide variety of game to be seen are elephant breeding herds, buffalo, lion, wild dog, giraffe, Burchell’s zebra and antelope such as kudu, impala and bushbuck. The savannah bush in the area is dominated by marula, knob thorn and round-leaved teak trees, while the lush riverine forest is comprised of tall leadwoods, sausage trees, tamboti and ilala palms. |
DE CUIPER MEMORIALA memorial at Gomondwane marks the site where the expedition led by Captain Frans de Cuiper camped in July 1725 while searching for a route from Delagoa Bay to the goldfields of Monomotapa. The 31-man party left Delagoa Bay on 27 June 1725; after reaching Komatipoort, they crossed the Crocodile River and continued to Gomondwane where they camped for three days. On 12 July their camp was attacked, forcing them to retreat back into Mozambique. As a result of the attack, no further expeditions were undertaken in the area for over a century. |
BERG-EN-DALOpened in 1984, Berg-en-dal, meaning ‘mountain and valley’ was the first rest camp in the Kruger National Park to deviate from the traditional thatch-and-whitewashed-wall buildings that are so characteristic of the older rest camps. Instead, its face-brick buildings were designed to blend into the natural landscape, which has been disturbed as little as possible. Camp facilities include a swimming pool. Visitors can familiarise themselves with some of the trees in the area on a 1,6-km self-guided walk. Situated in the rugged Malelane Mountains, the landscape surrounding Berg-en-dal is characterised by low granitic mountains, rocky domes and valleys dominated by red bushwillow trees. Game frequenting the area includes white rhino, giraffe, kudu, mountain reedbuck, waterbuck and impala. |
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