3 Day Kruger Safari in Tented Camp with Morning and Afternoon Game Drives in South Africa
South Africa Safari
This safari is for travelers on a tight time schedule or budget. Two nights is the very minimum you should allocate to the Kruger but often circumstances dictate and in the Kruger is still worthwhile.
Key information
- Group safari
- Group size: 2 - 8 participants
- Children policy: Children over the age of 10 years are permitted on this safari. The minimum age that young adults may participate in bush walks is 16 years old.
- Starting and ending point: Johannesburg
- Languages spoken: English
Meet the guides
Read more
Highlights
- 4 game drives
- Chances to see Big Five and exceptional birding
- Visit Greater Kruger National Park
- Transportation in open safari vehicles
- Professional and knowledgeable guides
- 2 nights accommodation
- Meals and drinks as per the itinerary
- Transfers to and from the airport
Styles
Accommodation
Facilities
- Bar
- Dining area
- Garden
- Lounge
- Free Wi-Fi
- Internet access
- Wireless internet
Accommodation is in walk-in safari tents each with its own patio and open-air, private bathroom for hot showers under the stars. The tented camp is simple yet charming, offering a genuine African bush experience complete with the thrill of staying at an unfenced safari camp inside Greater Kruger Park where wildlife roams freely. The safari camp, located in Maseke (Balule Nature Reserve), offers simple tented accommodation in a wild environment. The tented camp provides a genuine African bush experience with basic facilities. It is an unfenced bush camp where animals can roam freely.
The camp overlooks a flood-lit waterhole visited by wildlife and birds, day and night. This is the ideal place to get close to nature and immerse yourself in the African wilderness. Camp facilities include a small splash pool and hammocks, and a shady, thatch-roofed lounge area set on a platform. As often as possible meals are served al fresco, either in the lantern-lit boma around the campfire or in the well-established garden under shady trees. There is a cash bar available for drinks.
The experienced, professional guides offer nature walks if there is time available, noting that only guests sixteen years and older may participate. And if you cannot bear to be separated from the outside world, there is Wi-Fi available at the camp. Guests are accommodated in four Meru-style tents with electricity. Each has a private bathroom adjacent to it and a small patio area under canvas. The patios have two comfortable hand-made chairs and overlook the waterhole.
These are walk-in tents under canvas, in traditional African safari style. Each tent has its own open-air (yet private) bathroom where you can take a hot shower under the stars. The bathrooms have basins and flush toilets, with towels and amenities provided. The tents have two windows with mosquito netting to allow the breeze in but keep the insects out. The tents are fitted with sturdy beds with quality linen, and basic furnishings (side tables, bedside lamps, luggage racks, and mats).
Program
Itinerary
Day 1: Johannesburg - Greater Kruger National Park
An early morning pickup from OR Tambo International Airport signals the start of this 3-Day Greater Kruger Safari to Balule Nature Reserve. An air-conditioned shuttle transfers you from Johannesburg to the Three Bridges restaurant in Limpopo. Your journey takes approximately six hours and on arrival, you are met by a guide from the tented safari lodge. Here you board an open game-viewing vehicle and enter the Greater Kruger National Park where you have your first opportunity to spot wildlife in the bush.
Settle into your home for the next couple of days and enjoy lunch at the shady camp. The waterhole at the lodge attracts a variety of animals and birds, so keep an eye out for visitors. The tented lodge is in an unfenced safari camp surrounded by a private game reserve that forms part of Greater Kruger, sharing open borders with Kruger National Park.
Once the afternoon starts cooling down you board your open safari vehicle and venture out in search of the diverse wildlife found in this landscape of rocky outcrops, undulating hills, and the meandering Olifants River. As well as the big five (elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, and rhino), this vast game reserve is home to giraffe, zebra, hippo, wild dog, exceptional birdlife, and much, much more.
As the sun begins to set you toast your wildlife adventures with sundowners in the bush. Then you head back to the tented camp, using a spotlight to search for the nocturnal creatures of Greater Kruger Park. Back at the tented safari lodge, you can freshen up with a hot shower in your own open-air bathroom or take a quick dip in the splash pool before heading to the boma for dinner under the stars. Tonight, you will fall asleep to the sounds of the African bush in your comfortable bed.
- Meals included: Lunch and dinner
- Activities included: Sunset game drive with sundowners
Day 2: Greater Kruger National Park
Wake up to the sound of birds and the prospect of an exciting day on safari in South Africa. Day two of this Greater Kruger safari is spent exploring the bush on open 4x4 game drives. Fuelled with coffee or tea and fresh fruit you board the safari vehicle and head out for a three-hour game drive. This is a great time to spot animals gathering along the Olifants River to quench their early morning thirst. The river is also home to plenty of hippos and crocodiles, as well as attracting an array of birds.
The game drive takes you into the Maseke Game Reserve section of Balule Nature Reserve. This part of Greater Kruger Park is well known for its excellent lion sightings and abundance of elephants. Your knowledgeable guide takes you to the best spots for taking photos and enjoying the views. As this is a private game reserve you will feel like your vehicle and the wildlife are the only inhabitants of this African wilderness. Wildlife viewing is thirsty work so you stop to fill up on tea or coffee and light snacks before continuing your search.
After your exhilarating morning drive, you return to the tented safari camp for a tasty full breakfast and a few hours of rest and relaxation. Cool down in the splash pool, find a comfy spot near the waterhole to relax and observe any visiting wildlife, or take a nap in your private tented room. A light lunch is served at the safari lodge before you head back out into the bushveldt for more game viewing. The 4x4 game drive takes you in search of the wildlife that roams freely throughout Greater Kruger Park.
Along the way, you pause for sundowners as the sun sets over the bush. As night falls you search for nocturnal creatures in the darkness with your spotlight making your way back to camp. A delicious dinner, hot shower, and relaxing evening around the campfire await. Then it's time to retire to your comfortable tent for another night surrounded by untamed nature.
- Meals included: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Activities included: Morning and afternoon game drives in Greater Kruger Park
Day 3: Greater Kruger National Park - Johannesburg
On day three of the Greater Kruger Safari, you get up early in the morning for one more game drive in Balule Nature Reserve. Head out at dawn to catch the animals and birds at their most active. With luck, you will see one or more of the famous big five animals. You drive to an active waterhole where you pause for coffee in the bush. The game reserve hosts diverse habitats across its varied terrain, from rocky hills to grasslands and riverine bush. Keep an eye out for klipspringer, sable antelope, waterbuck, and kudu, to name a few.
As on your previous game drives, your experienced guide shares his/her knowledge and insights with you as you explore. Your final game drive ends back at the tented camp, where you tuck into a hearty breakfast. Then your guide drives you back to Three Bridges where your return shuttle transfer awaits. This 3-Day Greater Kruger Safari to Balule Nature Reserve comes to a close at OR Tambo late this afternoon.
About the safari
Embark on early morning and afternoon game drives that last into the night when a spotlight is used to search for nocturnal animals. Enjoy sundowners out in the bush and between game drives take a dip in the splash pool and watch wildlife at the camp's active waterhole. The nDzuti guides are bush enthusiasts and keen to share their knowledge and experience, thereby delivering a fulfilling and unforgettable safari experience.
The Kruger on the Go safari includes a shared road transfer from OR Tambo, via Three Bridges Restaurant on the Olifants River to nDzuti bush camp. The journey takes five to six hours and arrival at the camp coincides with lunch out on the deck overlooking the waterhole before the three-hour game drive in Balule Game Reserve- Greater Kruger. This package includes game drives each morning and afternoon on a large and varied section of Balule Game Reserve - Greater Kruger Park.
Guides
Sabre Rayne Meeser
Sabre is the daughter of the owners of Wildlife Encounters the tour operators of this Kruger Safari. She grew up in the bush and has always had an active curiosity about all things wild and African. In her own right, she is a respected and well-known safari guide and photographer. She is a skilled tracker and a keen botanist. She will grab the interest of any visitor and build on it for an unforgettable safari experience.
Location
Balule Nature Reserve
This safari explores Balule Nature Reserve where the tented lodge is located. This northern part of Balule is called Maseke Game Reserve. Maseke, approximately 9000 hectares in size, is part of the Greater Kruger Park which is made up of privately owned game reserves. The terrain is undulating with prominent mountain ridges and rocky outcrops which make it an interesting area for wildlife viewing drives. The Olifants River courses through the reserve attracting wildlife to its banks.
All the private reserves in Greater Kruger share open borders with Kruger National Park, creating a vast landscape traversed by a huge collection of wildlife, including the Big 5. Open plains attract wildebeest and zebra while elephant herds crowd forests of tall mopane trees. Rocky outcrops are home to rare klipspringer antelope, baboon troops, and dassies - a magnet for leopards. All in all, it is a diverse area that makes for an interesting, exciting safari.
Food
You will be served daily meals, tea, coffee, and filtered water included in the price. On the morning drive, you stop for tea and coffee and muffins or cookies. Breakfast has both cooked and continental options. Lunch has a hot dish and salads with a cheese board and fruit. Dinner is a three-course meal and is eaten at the fireside in the boma.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
What's included
- Daily game drives
- 2 nights accommodation
- 3 meals a day
- Tea, coffee, and filtered water
- Airport transfers
What's not included
- Airfare
- 1 conservation levy of 450 ZAR per person per stay
- Drink from the honesty bar and while on sundowner stops
- Gratuities
How to get there
Recommended Airports
O. R. Tambo International Airport
409 km
Transfer included
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at O. R. Tambo International Airport (JNB). Transfer from and to the airport is included. nDzuti Safari Camp will pick you up from the airport. The collection time on the first day is 7:30 a.m., and drop-off time on the last day is between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 30% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookAllSafaris.com. All major credit cards supported.