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Skukuza Fighting kudu
Skukuza fighting Kudu

Skukuza

Skukuza is more like a small village, with shops, restaurants, fuel and even an airport and golf course. A family friendly camp, with varied accommodation and facilities.

About Skukuza

The largest of all the camps in the Kruger National Park. On Stevenson-Hamilton’s (the first park ranger) original campsite on the southern banks of the Sabie river. The old Selati railway bridge still dominates the southern skyline of this camp, that bears the name given to Stevenson-Hamilton, by the local people, namely Skukuza.

Born in Dublin on the 2nd of October 1867, James Stevenson-Hamilton was educated in the Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst. After the South Africa war (Anglo-Boer war) he became its first custodian(between 1902 and 1946), for an area known as ‘Sabiewildreserwe’ (Sabie Game Reserve)  set aside, by president Paul Kruger of the former Boer republic of the ZAR(Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) on the 26th March 1898.

Why visit Skukuza?

  • Skukuza is more like a small village, with shops, restaurants, fuel and even an airport and golf course.
  • Situated on the banks of the Sabie river, this camp is well known for its abundant bird life, verdant riverine trees and some of the best wildlife viewing in the Kruger Park.
  • The camp also has an abundant nightlife, which include Peters’s epauletted fruit bat , bush babies and even genets – please use a flashlight while walking at night.

Tips:

A family friendly camp, with varied accommodation and facilities.
Great game viewing as you leave the camp gates – for those new to the park, slowly follow the river courses towards Lower Sabie and Phabeni gate.
Various walks in the camp site offer great birding and tree spotting possibilities.
Swimming pool for residents will entertain the kids on hot summer days.
Inside and close to the perimeter fence of the camp, be sure to keep an eye and ear open for Peters’s epauletted fruit bat, thick-tailed bush babies, Genets, Banded Mongoose, Bushbuck, Civet, Scrub Hare, Honey Badger, Impala, Porcupine, Tree Squirrel, Vervet Monkey, Warthog.

Biome(animal and plant habitat)

Thorn thickets and riverine

Animals to look out for in the area:

Prime Big 5 area
Elephant
Leopard
Buffalo
Rhino
Lion
Hyena
Wild dog, only if you’re lucky
Giraffe

Birds to look out for in the area:

Eagles: Wahlberg’s, Tawny, Marshall and African fish eagle
African Green Pigeon, African Scops Owl, Blue Waxbill, Brownhooded Kingfisher, Crested Barbet, Fierynecked Nightjar, Hamerkop, Orangebreasted Bush Shrike, Purple Crested Turaco, Southern Boubou, Tawnyflanked Prinia, Whitebrowed Robin Chat, White-crowned Lapwing, Sunbirds, Hornbills, Starling and Weaver.
Kingfishers: Malachite, Woodland , Giant, Pied, Brown-hooded

Not to miss routes in the area:

Routes:
Lower Sabie H4-1, Nkuhlu picnic site, Sunset dam, Lower Sabie – Return on the same route 105 km
Skukuza/Tshokwane,/Lower Sabie triangle H1-2, Tshokwane, H10, Lower Sabie, H4-1, Skukuza 140 km
Nkuhlu/Renosterkoppies H4-1,Nkuhlu, S21, S114, Renosterkoppies Dam S22, S112, H3, H1-1 90 km
Lake Panic H11, S42, Lake Panic – Return on the same route 12km
Tshokwane/Nhlanguleni H1-2, Tshokwane , H1-3, S33, S36, Nhlanguleni, S36, H1-2 S84, H1-2 145 km
Short Sabie Route H1-2, H12, H4-1 35km
Afsaal Trader’s Post H1-1, S114, Renosterkoppies dam, Biyamiti weir, return back on S114, S23, S113, H3, Afsaal, H3, H1-1 100km
Pretoriuskop Loop: H1-1, H11, S3, S7, S7, H1-1,S11, H1-1, Transport Dam, H1-1 ± 170 km

Include the following roads in your viewing:
S1
S3
S65
S76
S83
S114
H1-1
H1-2
H3
H11
H4-2

Water centered game and bird viewing:

Sabie river – Follow the S3 and H4-1 for superb birding and prime possible leopard and other Big 5 sightings, also the low water bridge over the Sabie on the H1-2
Lake Panic – Famous for birding
Transport dam
Waterholes: De la Porte and Transport dam on the H1-1, Renosterkoppies dam S114, N’waswitshaka S65

Notable Camp Facilities and Activities:

Shop
Restaurant
Game drive in an open vehicle, with a trained guide
Bush breakfast or barbecue(Braai)
Guided bushwalks
Perimeter walk
Filling station
Swimming pool
9-hole Golf Course
Stevenson Hamilton Memorial Library
Metsi Metsi wilderness trail
Avis Car Hire
Car Wash
Garage with workshop
Spa

Accommodation:

Bungalows 178
Luxury bungalows 20
Campsites 80
Family cottages 1
Guest Cottage 15
Guest Houses 4
Safari Tents 20

Contact Details Skukuza

  • Reception tel: +27 (0)13 735 4196
  • Reservations tel: +27 (0)13 735 4265
  • Mobile: 082 802 1204

More Camps in the Kruger National Park

Find more camps in the Kruger National Park here

© images Jacques Fouché

Jacques Fouche

Jacques has been a keen travel junkie, for as long as he can remember. Having spent his childhood in Namibia, Limpopo province in South Africa (near the Kruger National Park ) and KZN in South Africa and later Cape Town, always been surrounded by nature and beautiful scenery. Qualifying as a safari guide in 1996, Jacques guided over virtually all possible natural eco systems and travelled over hundreds of thousands of kilometers, through all the southern African countries. Later he spent 8 years living and working in Austria, mixing cultural, city and natural scenic travels all across Europe.

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