Exclusive Greater Kruger Walking Safari
Summary of this Adventure Travel
A thrilling Greater Kruger Walking Safari, designed for adventurous and active nature lovers who want to experience the untamed African bush up close.
On this eco-friendly mobile camping safari, up to eight guests explore Greater Kruger Park on foot and on sunset game drives, camping in the unspoilt wilderness. Each day the safari crew sets up a new camp in a scenic and remote location within the Maseke Balule Game Reserve of Greater Kruger, which shares unfenced borders with Kruger National Park. This private reserve hosts the Big Five and numerous other wildlife species, providing an exhilarating wild habitat for this one-of-a-kind walking safari!
An experienced safari crew (including a dedicated chef), sets up the mobile camps and prepares the meals, while your professional guide and tracker team lead you through the game-rich wilderness on foot, revealing the best of the African bushveld and its incredible inhabitants.
Itinerary for this Tour
- 3 Nights of wild camping in different scenic locations, covering new ground on foot every day
- Guided morning and afternoon game walks, with brunch rest stops in the bush
- Evening game drives with sundowners in the Maseke Balule Game Reserve
Day 1: Johannesburg to Maseke Game Reserve (Greater Kruger)
At the start of this unique Greater Kruger Walking Safari, our shuttle service collects you from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and transfers you to Three Bridges, near Hoedspruit.
Your guide meets you at Three Bridges and takes you to the Maseke Balule Game Reserve, forming part of Greater Kruger Park. This short transfer is conducted in a game viewing vehicle and takes you to the starting point of your first bush walk in Maseke Balule. The driver proceeds to our first mobile campsite in the safari vehicle, taking all of the excess luggage along.
This afternoon you set off into the wild African bush on foot, accompanied by your guide and tracker. The 8000 hectare Maseke Balule Game Reserve hosts big game species, including potentially dangerous large animals, therefore your guides are armed to ensure your safety. The professional guide and tracker team leads you through the wilderness on this exciting two-to-three hour walk, introducing you to the local flora and fauna as you go. The trail takes you over a scenic koppie (small hill) to our first camp, which the safari crew sets up for you before you arrive.
Arriving at the exclusive mobile camp there is time to settle in and relax before we embark on our first sunset game drive. While on our evening game drive, we stop to enjoy sundowners in the rugged bushveld. After watching a beautiful African sunset, we head back to camp, looking out for wildlife en route.
Returning to our lantern-lit camp we are greeted by a cosy campfire. After a hearty three course dinner in the dining tent, you can sit back and watch the stars or retire to your tent. Fall asleep to the sounds of nature in the unspoilt African bush.
- Highlights: walk to first campsite & sundowner game drive
Day 2: Maseke Balule Game Reserve (Greater Kruger Park)
Wake up in the middle of the African bushveld and start your day with a fresh coffee and light breakfast at camp. Tuck into fruit, yoghurt and rusks, before we set off into Balule on foot. Our three to four-hour walk takes us through the game reserve, providing ample opportunities to view the wild ecosystem up close. We walk until about 10h30 when we break to enjoy our packed brunch and a rest under shady trees. After resting we continue our walk through the Maseke Game Reserve region of northern Balule.
This afternoon’s two to three-hour walk leads us to a big dam where the safari crew sets up our next camp. Arriving at camp there is free time to unwind, have a snack and rest after our walk. Later, we embark on a sunset game drive in the open safari vehicle, setting off in search of big game, the Big Five included.
The sundowner game drive is followed by dinner around the campfire and a peaceful night under the stars.
- Highlights: full-day walking trail & sunset game drive
Day 3: Maseke Balule Game Reserve (Greater Kruger)
Day three begins with coffee and breakfast at camp, before heading out into the bush on foot again.
The next three to four hours are spent walking through the unspoilt bushveld, following the lead of our experienced guide. Your guide points out the fascinating details of the wilderness as you walk, showing you signs of wildlife activity and more.
We stop for brunch and a nap at about 10h30. Then we continue walking across the hills and grassy plains of the game reserve for a further two to three hours. The afternoon walk brings us to our last mobile camp (at about 15h00), set up on the banks of the Olifants River. Settle in at camp and rest up, before setting off on a sunset game drive in the Maseke Balule Game Reserve of Greater Kruger.
On the sunset game drive, we get to cover more ground than on foot, taking in the wild scenery and improving our chances of spotting a diversity of animals and birds. Keep an eye out for elephants, buffalos, giraffes, wildebeest, zebras and predators such as lions, cheetahs and leopards. After sundowners and a beautiful sunset over the game-rich bush, we return to our campsite beside the river. This evening we enjoy our final dinner together and relax around the campfire, falling asleep to the sounds of untamed nature.
- Highlights: full-day walking trail & sunset game drive
Day 4: Greater Kruger Park to Johannesburg – South Africa
On day four we get up early, catching the sunrise over the Olifants River. We kick the day off with coffee and a light breakfast, before venturing out into the African bush on foot. Walking along the banks of the river we keep an eye out for wildlife and birds drawn to the water, usually spotting hippos and crocodiles in the shallows.
Our final walk is followed by a big, hearty breakfast back at the mobile camp. Then it is time to pack up and leave Greater Kruger behind.
We return to Three Bridges where the shuttle collects you for the transfer back to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, or the Hoedspruit Airport.
- Highlights: morning walk along Olifants River
About Maseke Balule Game Reserve
This 8000-hectare private game reserve forms part of Greater Kruger Park, sharing unfenced boundaries with Kruger National Park proper. The private reserve lies between Hoedspruit and Phalaborwa, along the western border of Kruger, in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.
As a private game reserve, Maseke Balule is closed to the general public, offering an exclusive safari experience. Maseke Balule is however adjacent to Kruger National Park, enabling wildlife to move freely between the national park and the private game reserve. The Big Five animals are found here, as well as wildebeest, giraffes, hippos, zebras, baboons, various antelopes, cheetahs and crocodiles, amongst many. This game-rich private reserve offers a thrilling and pristine wild environment for walking safaris.
The Olifants River flows through the game reserve, attracting an abundance of various animals and birds. The reserve itself covers diverse terrain, including grassy savannah, rocky hills and rugged mountains that provide ideal habitat for a range of wildlife species.
About the Mobile Safari Camps
This exclusive walking safari makes use of mobile camps; which are set up in the private Balule Game Reserve of Greater Kruger Park. A new camp is erected by the safari crew in a different location on every day of the safari, while you are out walking in the bush. The afternoon bush walks each end at a new campsite, selected for its remote and scenic setting.
Breakfasts and dinners are prepared by the crew at the camps, with snacks and refreshments served upon arrival at each camp. Each day starts with coffee or tea and a breakfast of rusks, yoghurt and fruit at camp. In the mid-mornings (at about 10h30) we take a break from walking to enjoy packed brunch in the bush. Dinner is a hearty cooked meal served around the campfire.
The mobile camps consist of four canvas dome tents (linen provided) that sleep two people each. Individual bucket showers are set up with the tents and the camps feature chemical toilets.
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