"Adventuring outside of camp, we were always fortunate to see numerous animal sightings as we drove to the far corners of the concession. A dazzle of zebras, a sounder of warthogs, herds of elephants and cape buffalo—I could not believe the abundance of wildlife! From hippopotamus and crocodiles swimming in the Luvuvhu River, to the graceful flights of racket-tailed rollers above the canopies of the fever tree forests—every bend in the road revealed a new and miraculous creature of nature." Past student - Ami Flowers (UGA University)

THE LOCATION

Situated between the Limpopo and the Luvuvhu Rivers in the northern sector of Kruger National Park is the Pafuri region, an area spanning 24,000 hectares (59305 acres). Within the Pafuri area is the Makuleke Concession, the ancestral home of the Makuleke people and the most diverse and scenically attractive area in all of Kruger National Park.

The Makuleke concession is not accessible to the ordinary tourist visiting the park. This area belongs to the Makuleke community. This is quite a historical event for South Africa as the Makuleke people were removed from this area in 1968 and after a lengthy process it was finally re-instated to the community in 1998 after a very long struggle.  This area is certainly the wildest and most remote part of the Kruger National Park and offers varied vegetation, great wildlife viewing, the best birding in all of the Kruger National Park and is filled with folklore of the early explorers and ancient civilizations.

The camp: EcoTraining’s Kruger National Park Camp is situated in the Makuleke concession. The camp is situated between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers. This is a true wilderness area, steeped in history and situated in the remotest part of Kruger in one of the most biologically diverse areas. Scenery ranges from the beautiful, quietly-flowing Luvuvhu River shaded by Nyala trees and fever tree forests and teeming with hippos and crocodiles; to the awesome Lanner Gorge, palm-fringed wetlands and rocky outcrops with thousand-year-old baobab trees. We employ members of the Makuleke community at our camp and there is a lot of history in the area that is exciting to learn about.

Temperatures at the camp: In the Kruger National Park you'll find a subtropical climate, with hot summers (average 40˚C 104 F) and warm, dry winters (average minimum 9.3˚C and average maximum 26.3˚C). However, be sure not to be caught out by the intermittent summer rains which fall between October and March. Early mornings and late afternoon/evenings during the winter do get very cold, so be sure to bring sufficient warm clothing.

Animals found in the Makuleke Concession (Kruger Park): All the wildlife that one would expect to see in a great national park such as Kruger can potentially be encountered on the concession: plains game such as zebra, kudu, impala, with nyala antelope in abundance.  Lions and leopards are a special sighting, herds of elephant, a few rhinoceros, African buffalo, and a growing herd of blue wildebeest, plus seldom-seen animals such as eland, bushpig and aardvark.

There is abundant birdlife. This part of Kruger is known to be one of the best birding areas in the park and is home to rarely-seen species such as Pel's Fishing Owl, Wattle-eyed Flycatcher and Grey-headed Parrot.

THE CAMP

Accommodation: Students are accommodated in comfortable thatched, tented rooms placed on wooden decks in the shade of large nyala trees. Each room has an en-suite bathroom consisting of a shower and washbasin with hot running water and a flush toilet and also has a veranda overlooking the surrounding bush.  The camp itself is not fenced which means that animals do move through the camp from time to time.

The central communal area: This area consists of a thatch-roofed open sided deck where all meals, lectures and studying takes place. A clearing for evening camp fires creates an idyllic setting for social and leisure time.

Electricity:  There is no electricity at the camp – paraffin lamps are used for all lighting and a generator is used to charge batteries. Studying at night with paraffin lanterns can at times be challenging so a headlamp for this purpose is recommended as well as an extra battery operated lamp if you wish to study in your tent at night. The kitchen is equipped with gas fridges for storage of all perishable food items, thus unfortunately there’s no space for personal items (drinks, water or other) of students. 

The generator is for camp use so will thus not be switched on for the sole purpose of charging learner cameras or other equipment. Learners are allowed to utilise it when it is running for camp purposes and need to understand that it is used at own risk.

Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages (beers & ciders): These are sold from the camp and can only be paid for with cash. There are no credit/debit card or cheque facilities. Cordial fruit juices, tea and coffee are provided.

Water: Fresh, drinkable water is available from the taps.
 
Laundry: A laundry service is provided by the camp cleaning person and costs R25 per week for 2011.

Game viewing vehicles: The game viewing vehicles are open Land Rover TDI’s

To download additional information on the Makuleke camp, click here