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The central belt of the Kruger National Park is often criticised for having no game, but this perception could not be further from reality.
Whilst it is true that some of the most reliable predator viewing is to be found around Satara and towards the Orpen Gate, where there are almost daily lion, cheetah and wild dog sightings, it is obviously equally true that this, along with the area to the south, is where the majority of the people and vehicles are to be found.
We recently spent three days at Mopani Camp, slap in the middle of the unjustifiably dreaded eponymous mopani bush and we have been inundated with wonderful sightings and with the most beautiful light on the orange of the dry bush. And we had almost all our sightings along the picturesque Tsendze River and at the Pioneers and Shipandani hides entirely to ourselves.
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The buffalo numbers in the region are phenomenal and along with many smaller groups, we clocked up five separate herds of more than two hundred each and watched an over-ambitious leopard heading, as it would turn out, unsuccessfully into the heart of one of them only a kilometre from the camp.
We later saw a lioness with three cubs on a dead buffalo, only a few kilometres further on, under a cloud of sweeping vultures.
We read so much bad news about conservation issues but after a long weekend in an immaculately-run camp overlooking a bird-filled and wildlife-strewn dam with elephants splashing, hippos grunting and red-eyed crocs in the spotlight at night, it could not have been much more cheering.
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I am a one hundred percent Kruger fan and will not be cowed in the face of the sad critics who moan about the food. And how things ain’t what they used to be. The whingers should make sandwiches and head out into the bush, where the real excitement is, instead of mumbling about the slow service, tough bacon and oily schnitzels.
Stay near Kruger
At Portfolio Collection we''re all about the intimate safari experiences that have low impact on the environment and that still allow visitors the opportunity to encounter nature unspoiled.
If you''re looking for comfortable accommodation near Kruger, then Rissington Inn (owned by Chris Harvie) is for you.
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Rissington Inn is an award-winning, affordable country lodge in the heart of the Lowveld. Stylish, relaxed and informal, the inn is the perfect stopover on the way to the game reserves and an ideal base from which to explore all that Mpumalanga has to offer.
About the blogger
Chris Harvie - in real life - is a Lowveld hotelier of thirty years'' standing. Having cut his tourism teeth in some of South Africa''s finest hotels he founded Rissington Inn, in Hazyview, in 1995. In the parallel universe, however, he is a renowned author, inveterate traveller and freelance travel writer with an insider''s view of the industry he loves. Often amusing, occasionally caustic and always entertaining, Chris can be relied upon to dig up an unusual tale and to spin it with consummate skill.