Summary of this
Budget Safari
This trip departs & ends in Johannesburg, South Africa
This Kruger Park Treehouse Safari is definitely one of the top budget Kruger Safaris – a must for travellers looking for a totally unique Big 5 wildlife adventure.
From Johannesburg we travel to a private game lodge inside an exclusive Big 5 game reserve section of the Greater Kruger National Park. The Balule part of Greater Kruger offers a remote and superb game viewing experience!
On our first night we head into this Big 5 territory on an exhilarating sunset game drive that lasts into the night taking us in search of nocturnal wildlife. Along the way we stop at the Marula Tree Boma for a memorable braai in
the heart of the African bush, before continuing our thrilling drive
into the night. In the early morning we venture into the secluded Kruger
Park Private Concession area for a thrilling Big 5 Bush Walk with an
armed ranger. In the afternoon we embark on an exciting Big 5 game drive
in this private section of the Greater Kruger Park teeming with wildlife.
Next we make our way to the unique Treehouse Camp
where we stay in romantic treehouses tucked away in the trees along the
pristine Klaserie River in a private game reserve. Falling asleep to the
sounds of Africa's wildlife, the alternative treehouse accommodation
gives you a truly wild African bush experience!
We spend a full day game viewing in the world-renowned Kruger National
Park, one of Africa’s best game parks, in an open 4x4 safari vehicle.
Enjoy unforgettable game drives in Kruger Park, boasting a breath-taking
diversity of plants and animals and home to massive populations of the
iconic Big 5 of Africa.
Visit Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre and explore Tshukudu Game Reserve on an afternoon game drive in an open safari vehicle.
After a morning bush walk with a trained ranger we journey via the
spectacular sites of the Blyde River Canyon back to Johannesburg where
this fantastic Big 5 Kruger Park Treehouse Safari comes to an end!
Itinerary for this Tour
Tour Highlights
-
Big 5 Sunset / Night Game Drive in the Kruger Park Concession Area
-
Bush Braai (barbecue) at Marula Tree Boma in the Private Game Reserve
-
4 hour Big 5 Bush Walk in the Greater Kruger Park Private Game Reserve
-
2 hour Afternoon Game Drive in the Private Big 5 Reserve
-
Full Day of Game Viewing inside Kruger National Park
-
Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
-
Afternoon Game Drive in Tshukudu Game Reserve
-
Scenic Panorama Route drive via Blyde River Canyon
DAY 1: Johannesburg to Greater Kruger National Park
This unique
Kruger Park Treehouse Safari starts in Johannesburg where you will be collected from your hotel or the Johannesburg International Airport.
Leaving Johannesburg, the City Of Gold, we head east into the scenic Mpumalanga Province of
South Africa, passing through the Highveld grasslands on our way to the Greater Kruger National Park.
Our first overnight stay is at a
Private Game Lodge in the Balule section of the
Greater Kruger National Park.
Balule is famous for its abundance of birdlife and wildlife, including
Africa’s Big Five. In the afternoon there is usually time to take a
refreshing dip in the lodge swimming pool, relax in the bar and enjoy
the lodge’s lush garden.
In the late afternoon we embark on our first
exhilarating game drive in the Balule section of the Greater Kruger National Park. Our
sunset game drive takes us in search of the “Big Five” - lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo, as well as various other wild animals.
The evening game drive, conducted in an
open 4x4 Landcruiser,
is an excellent introduction to our fantastic safari adventure in South
Africa’s leading wilderness areas. On the game drive we get to watch
our first spectacular African sunset in the bush continuing our
exploration into the night. Once it is dark we use spotlights to find
the
nocturnal wildlife in this private concession, including jackal, hyena, lion, and even elusive leopard.
We stop at a remote bush boma (open-air enclosure) for a traditional
South African style barbecue, known locally as a braai. Our delicious
dinner is prepared over an open fire at Marula Tree Boma in the middle
of the untamed wilderness under starry skies. After our braai, we
continue our thrilling night game drive, looking out for nocturnal
animals as we make our way back to the safari lodge. If we encounter any
exciting wildlife action en route we stop to witness nature at play.
Back at the private lodge we relax and swap tales of our adventures or
retire to our comfortable air-conditioned chalets with en suite
bathrooms. The safari lodge is set in a lovely subtropical garden with
water features and has electric fencing to keep out the lion, elephant,
buffalo and other wildlife found in the area.
About Balule, Greater Kruger Park
There are no fences separating this 35000-hectare Private Game Park from
Kruger National Park
allowing the numerous wild animals to roam freely between these
wilderness areas. The Olifants River flows through the Bulule Game
Reserve attracting a variety of birds and animals year-round.
Balule is home to the iconic Big Five of Africa with
buffalo, lion and elephant being sighted the most regularly and
sometimes even from the lodge property! Other wildlife commonly sighted
in Balule includes giraffe, wildebeest, hyena, zebra, hippo, warthog,
mongoose, vervet monkey and various antelope species, such as waterbuck,
steenbok, impala and kudu.
Nocturnal animals such as civets, bushbabies, bats, hares, genets, wild
cats and porcupines can be spotted on night game drives. Some of the
more elusive wild animals found in this part of Greater Kruger include
cheetah, African wild dog, bat-eared fox and badger, as well as caracal
and serval cat and a variety of antelope species, such suni, roan and
sable antelope.
The
Greater Kruger Park area consists of various private game parks, such as Balule, that share unfenced boundaries with
Kruger National Park proper. Staying in a
private game lodge allows you to escape the main throng of tourists, as the Balule game reserve is not open to the general public.
On this exclusive safari experience you get a more secluded bush experience that
brings you closer to nature.
In the private game reserve you travel on dirt roads encountering much
fewer vehicles on your game drives. Another advantage of game viewing in
the Balule private reserve is that your qualified guides communicate
with each other via two-way radio, increasing the number of wildlife
sightings on your drives.
Yet another perk of staying at a private lodge is that off-road driving
is permitted in this exclusive game reserve area of the Greater Kruger
Park, improving your chances of spotting wildlife in the bush.
DAY 2: Greater Kruger to Private Game Reserve & Treehouse Camp
Day two starts with an early morning coffee and some rusks (hard
biscuits), before we venture into the private reserve at sunrise. We
drive to a secluded part of this Big Five wilderness area where we will
head into the bush on foot.
The four-hour
Bush Walk is a truly thrilling experience that will get your adrenaline pumping as you walk among the Big Five and other untamed wildlife.
Your qualified guide will be armed to ensure your safety while you follow big game on this
unforgettable wildlife experience.
Your guide will be able to tell you more about the fauna and flora in
this remote wilderness area as you move through the bush at your own
pace.
After the
thrill of walking in Big Five territory we return to the safari lodge with hearty appetites to enjoy a tasty brunch. In the afternoon we head back into the bush on an
afternoon game drive in the private section of the Greater Kruger Park, teeming with wildlife.
After our
Big Five game drive we depart from the Private Game Lodge making our way to our next stop – a unique Treehouse Camp.
The
Treehouse Camp offers a refreshing alternative to
the standard safari accommodation out there, as you stay in intriguing
treehouses in an unspoiled bush setting!
About the Treehouse Camp
Accommodation at the Treehouse Camp is in romantic thatched treehouses
tucked away in the trees along the pristine perennial Klaserie River or
overlooking the camp’s floodlit waterhole visited by buffalo and other
wildlife.
These
elevated treehouses are built out of wood, reed
and thatch reducing the environmental impact on the dense untamed bush
surroundings. The treehouse accommodation is fitted with electric fans,
comfortable beds and mosquito nets, and even includes linen, towels and
soap to ensure that you are comfortable even though you are in a tree
The treehouses have their own private ablutions on the ground or
en-suite up in the trees and each unit features a wooden viewing deck.
Listen to the sounds of wild animals at night from the safety of your
treehouse, a truly African bush experience! The secure treehouses blend
into the bush, getting you
up close to unspoiled nature and its wild animals.
DAY 3: Kruger National Park Game Viewing
Today we travel to
Kruger National Park’s Orpen Gate in a specially designed game-viewing vehicle.
This
custom-built safari vehicle is open-sided
allowing for the best visibility game viewing, as well as immersing you
in the smells and sounds of the African bush! In addition to not having
windows the safari vehicle is also elevated to maximise your
photographic opportunities in Kruger Park.
The region of
Kruger National Park that we explore boasts
one of the highest concentrations of lions in Africa,
as well as numerous other predators. Kruger’s Orpen-Satara-Nwanedzi
area consists of open grassy plains that attract large populations of
grazers, including big herds of zebra, giraffe and various kinds of
antelopes. The abundance of grazers in this area of course explains the
high concentration of predators too!
On our game viewing drive we will stop regularly to watch wildlife and
rest at Kruger camps and picnic spots, as well as places of
archaeological or historical interest.
At the end of a full day of game viewing inside the vast
Kruger Park we return to our
charming Treehouse Camp rated as excellent value-for-money by Getaway travel magazine.
About Kruger National Park
The world-renowned Kruger National Park is
one of Africa’s best safari destinations and premier game reserve in
South Africa.
Covering nearly 2 million hectares of untamed African bush the variety
of habitats in Kruger Park are home to a unrivalled diversity of plants
and animals.
Kruger is South Africa’s top travel destination
offering superb game viewing, including
massive populations of Africa’s iconic Big Five
- elephant, rhino, leopard, lion and buffalo. This vast wilderness area
is inhabited by a staggering 147 mammal species and 517 bird species,
as well as a variety of other wild animals and 336 tree species. South
Africa's flagship national park,
Kruger Park is considered a world leader in advanced environmental policies and wildlife management practices.
DAY 4: Moholoholo Wildlife Centre & Tshukudu Game Reserve
After breakfast today, we make our way to the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre for injured and orphaned wild animals and birds.
At
Moholoholo Wildlife Centre you can get up close to
some of the wildlife being cared for here, including lions and leopards.
After lunch at the Wildlife Centre, we travel to our safari lodge in a
private game reserve.
At around 15h00, we set off on an open vehicle game drive in the
Tshukudu Game Reserve, home to numerous wild animals, including the Big
Five of Africa.
Tshukudu is home to tame cheetahs and caracals that are commonly
sighted during high tea in the reserve. In Tshukudu Game Reserve our
chances of sighting lions are also very high. This compact game reserve
covers around 5000 hectares of bushveld, enabling the game rangers to
keep track of the wild animals and improve your chances of spotting
them.
We make our way back to the unique treehouse camp after exploring game-rich Tshukudu Reserve.
DAY 5: Private Safari Lodge to Johannesburg
On the last day of this outstanding wildlife safari experience we get
up early and set off into the wilderness on foot with an armed ranger.
The
guided bush walk gives you the chance to get a
closer look at the signs of wildlife activity and the smaller creatures
and plants that are overlooked on game drives. It is also a very
exhilarating experience because you can encounter big animals like
rhino, leopard and buffalo at times.
This early morning bush walk is an excellent opportunity to discover
more about the remarkable details of the bush, learning about the
fascinating flora and fauna of the private reserve. Your experienced
ranger will point out animal tracks and droppings that you encounter on
the walk, as well as birds and insects inhabiting the reserve.
Returning from the invigorating sunrise walk we enjoy breakfast before
departing from the enchanting treehouse camp. We travel through the
beautiful Panorama Route, one of the most scenic parts of
South Africa, on our way back to Johannesburg pausing to admire the Three Rondawels and impressive Blyde River Canyon.
In the late afternoon we arrive in Johannesburg bringing the unforgettable wildlife adventure of this
Kruger Park Treehouse Safari to an end.
