Olifants Rest Camp undoubtedly offers the best views of any of the Kruger National Park‘s camps, situated as it is on a cliff high above the Olifants River in the central regions of the Park. Many guests spend all day on their accommodation unit’s veranda, using their binoculars to scan the river below and the plains beyond for wildlife, or simply soaking in one of the grandest vistas in wild Africa.

Olifants was opened in June 1960, though it was closed for a 16 month period in the early 1970’s after a fire destroyed the reception, restaurant and shop. The cliff-top viewpoint near the restaurant is one of the most popular spots in the entire Park, and during the day is always packed with spectators enjoying the wildlife show along the river banks below. The camp offers guests a choice of 112 accommodation units, ranging from 2 and 3 bed bungalows to two luxurious and very exclusive guest houses that accommodate up to 8 guests each. Some of the accommodation units have been built right on the edge of the cliff, offering guests the most exquisite views, but you have to book a year in advance if you want to secure one of those. The two-bedroomed cottage number 14 is a personal favourite of ours. Olifants also offers guests a Mugg & Bean restaurant (itself with stunning views), a shop, filling station, small meeting room, swimming pool, picnic area for day visitors and guided activities.

Olifants’ clifftop location

Olifants’ clifftop location

Olifants entrance

Olifants viewpoint

Olifants viewpoint

Olifants restaurant

Olifants restaurant

Olifants shop

Stunning views from some of Olifants’ units

Stunning views from some of Olifants’ units

Sweeping views over the Olifants

Olifants Rest Camp, unit 14, December 2015

There aren’t many places with a view like this!

2 Years old: August 2011. Joubert appreciating the view from unit 14 at Olifants

Female Red-winged Starling on her nest at our cottage

Wahlberg’s Eagle hunting from a perch near our cottage

Exclusive Lebombo Guest House

Olifants bungalows

Olifants bungalows

Elephants in the river below Olifants

Elephants in the river below Olifants

Hippo encountered on a night drive from Olifants

The Olifants makig its way through rugged rocks

Sunset over the Olifants

Night over the Olifants

Nearby, tiny Balule is a much more rustic camp offering accommodation in a small camping area and six very basic three-bed huts on the southern bank of the Olifants River. The huts were built in 1930 in the “Selby” style: a rondavel (round hut) without any windows, just a gap all around between the roof and wall for ventilation. The huts share a communal kitchen (with a paraffin freezer) and ablution block, and the same applies to the camping sites. Balule has no electricity and paraffin lamps are used to provide light at night. During the Apartheid years Balule was available only to non-white visitors.

Balule seen from across the Olifants

Balule hut

Balule camping area

Just outside Balule, a low level causeway crosses the Olifants River. The pontoon-crossing that operated over the river since 1929 was replaced by the causeway in 1937, but the old bridge was extensively damaged in the massive floods of January 2012 and had to be rebuilt. The high-span bridge across the same river, on the main tarred H1 route through the Park, lies about 5km due west from Balule and affords visitors the opportunity to stop and stretch their legs while enjoying the views up- and downstream. Both bridges are very popular with guests to Olifants, as they allow close-up views of so many of the river’s denizens.

The old Balule causeway

Balule causeway after the 2012 flood

The rebuilt causeway

Hippo posturing at the Balule causeway

Yellow-billed Stork

Grey Heron

Wood Sandpiper

Egyptian Geese at the Balule causeway

Showing just how the waterbuck got its name!

Sunrise over the Olifants from the Balule causeway

High level bridge over the Olifants

Yellow-billed Kite in low level flypast

View over the Olifants from the high bridge before the 2012 flood

View over the Olifants from the high bridge after the 2012 flood – note how the river bed was scoured clean to the bedrock

View over the Olifants from the high bridge after the 2012 flood – note how the river bed was scoured clean to the bedrock

South of Olifants, the roads initially follow the course of the river before leading down to the Satara-area. Nwamanzi offers more spectacular views over the Olifants, and the open plains south of the river host a huge number and variety of game and birds. Bangu waterhole and the Hlahleni stream crossing on the S90, as well as the Ngotso Weir on the S89, are especially rewarding spots to wait for the herds (and the predators that prey on them) to come and drink.

Just a sliver of light at the back of these kudus

Two very coy young hyenas

Temminck’s Courser

Martial Eagle surveying his landscape

Young kudu bull

Hippos from N’wamanzi Viewpoint

Pod of hippos in the bed of the Olifants

Three-banded Plover

Tattered old bull near Bangu

Lioness along the H1-4 just south of the Olifants River

Bangu waterhole

Giraffe walking away from Bangu in the Kruger Park

Herd of elephants on the dry plains south of Olifants

Ngotso weir

Another pod of hippos at the Ngotso weir

Waterhole at the Hlahleni crossing on the S90

Black-backed jackal

North of Olifants you enter the mopane-dominated northern plains of Kruger. There’s two general options of routes leading northwards from Olifants, both leading to Letaba Rest Camp. The quickest route follows the tarred H8 and H1-5 roads and is often very quiet game viewing-wise, especially once the road turns away from the river. The gravel S44, S93 and S46 roads follows the course of the Olifants and Letaba rivers through some very rocky terrain with several stream crossings and, apart from a lovely viewing point downstream from camp and the historic Von Wielligh’s Baobab, usually also offers lots more wildlife to see.

Hyenas always seem to be on the way to somewhere…

The hippo, the hyena and the waiting tourists

Bold crocodile near Olifants

Begging Serrated terrapins near Olifants

Begging Serrated Terrapin near Olifants

Klipspringer ewe

Two kudu bulls in the bed of the Letaba

Klipspringer in typical habitat

Irritated young buffalo

Pensive baboon

Giraffe in the mopane

Elephant moving through Mopane scrub

Another old timer at Olifants

Here elephants have right of way!

Von Wielligh’s baobab, between Olifants and Letaba in the Kruger Park, in the dry season

Von Wielligh’s baobab in summer

Sunrise from the viewpoint along the S44

Sweeping views over the Olifants

Sunrises and sunsets at Olifants can be spectacular in the extreme

Sunrises and sunsets at Olifants can be spectacular in the extreme

Sunrises and sunsets at Olifants can be spectacular in the extreme

Sunrises and sunsets at Olifants can be spectacular in the extreme

For scenic splendour alone, there’s no other camp in Kruger that can compete with Olifants. Combine that with the camp’s great facilities and excellent game viewing drives in the vicinity, and you’ll understand why it has become a firm favourite with many Kruger visitors.