During our trip to South Africa in April we spent 8 nights in the Greater Kruger region. Of this, four nights were spent at two Camps within Kapama Private Game Reserve. Below we have a look at Buffalo Camp and Southern Camp, the two camps we stayed at. It would be hard for us to select a favourite seeing both are completely different, from the size of the Camp to the style of the rooms and the overall experience.
Details about Kapama Private Game Reserve
Location:
Kapama Private Game Reserve is located between the Blyde River National and Kruger National Park in the north-east of South Africa. One of the benefits of Kapama is that one of the entrances to the Game Reserve is directly opposite the exit of Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit, one of the airports in the area with services to and from Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Each of the 4 Camps (listed below) offer complimentary services to and from Eastgate Airport.
About:
To begin with, Kapama Private Game Reserve covers an area of 16,000 hectares with over 350 bird species and 40 species of Mammals including the Big 5 – Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo and Rhinoceros. On the Reserve, there are 4 Luxury Lodges. These are:
- Buffalo Camp
- Southern Camp
- River Lodge
- Karula
In brief, River Lodge is the largest with 64 rooms whereas Buffalo Camp has only 10 rooms.
Weather:
South Africa is in the Southern Hemisphere which means the warmer months are from October to March where temperatures can reach a high of 42 degrees and a low of 20 degrees. During these months, most of the rain falls with 550mm annually.
In comparison, the months of May, June and July are when cooler temperatures are experienced with a high of 26 degrees and a low of 8 degrees. During those months the weather is much dryer.
Regardless of the weather, game viewing is great year round! Animal movements change according to the weather and vegetation also varies.
Review of the Kapama Private Game Reserve Camps
We can only review the two Camps we stayed at which were Buffalo Camp and Southern Camp. From what we were told however, Karula is the most luxurious of the Camps whereas River Lodge is a multi-storey complex with 64 rooms.
Buffalo Camp
With only 10 rooms, Buffalo Camp is the smallest of the Camps at the Game Reserve. Each of the luxurious tents are set high in the treetops offering magnificent views of the surrounding landscape.
The Rooms
Privacy is ensured with each tent as they are spread out across the Camp grounds. With natural earthy tones throughout each of the tents, it feels as though you are living amongst the wildlife and nature. For instance, we sat on the balcony of our tent listening to chirping birds and watching Kudu’s walk past.
Each of the tents come with king size beds and en-suite bathrooms with separate toilet and shower. Coffee and tea facilities are also available in each of the tents.
The Facilities
The Camp itself is relatively small seeing as there is a limited number of guests onsite at any one time. However, there is a pool area which is perfect for relaxing throughout the day between Safari game drives. Also, the lounge area features a sitting area and bar where guests can help themselves throughout the day to an alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage.
Meals are served in the open dining room. Breakfast is a buffet while lunch is a la carte. However, dinner changes daily, sometimes it will be a la carte and other time guests will dine in a typical African Boma over a buffet style meal.
Southern Camp
In comparison to Buffalo Camp, Southern Camp is much larger with 25 rooms, with family style rooms available.
The Rooms
Guests have the choice of a Suite, Luxury Villa or Family Luxury Villa. We were fortunate to stay in one of the Luxury Villas which were so spacious at 95 square metres. Our room featured a king size bed, a lounge area and an oversized open bathroom with separate toilet, indoor and outdoor shower.
Our room opened up to a terrace area with a private lap pool which overlooked the bush. It was a common occurrence to spot animals walking by (with some antelope species even wandering around the Camp itself).
The Facilities
The Camp grounds are spread out with a library, lounge, two dining locations and a pool. The library features a number of games and a communal television, perfect for an afternoon chill. The pool and lounge are located in the same area, with the bar available at any time throughout the day. Early morning snacks and afternoon tea are served in the lounge area.
When the Camp is over 50% occupancy all meals are buffet style. Saying that, the food is of a very high standard with a range of dishes available. The Boma is also used for dining when the weather permits which allows guests to dine under the stars.
Kapama Private Game Reserve – Safaris
All Camps within Kapama Private Game Reserve operate the same. That is, one game drive in the morning and one in the afternoon / evening. The time of game drives change slightly depending on the time of the year.
Kapama has a number of Safari vehicles which accommodate 12 people, one of those being the guide and another the ‘spotter’. Depending on the size of the group travelling, they will place guests together. We never had more than 9 guests in our vehicle.
When we were there in April, our morning game drive left at 6am and returned at 8.30am – 9am. The afternoon game drive departed at 4.30pm and arrived back at the Camp around 7.30pm. The reason that no game drives occur during the middle of the day is primarily due to the warmer temperatures and the animals being less active.
During the morning game drive we always stopped for a coffee / tea break while in the afternoon / evening game drive we stopped for a sundowner with wine, beer and spirits on offer.
Our Sightings
We were fortunate enough on our game drives to spot a vast number of wildlife including 5 leopards (we were very lucky!!), a variety of lion family’s, rhinoceros, elephants, giraffes, a number of antelope species plus many more. Below are some of our favourite images!
Verdict of Kapama Private Game Reserve
We can not fault our experience at Kapama Private Game Reserve. We enjoyed staying at two different Camps seeing as they both offered such unique experiences. While we were so fortunate with our animal sightings, this would not have been possible without the incredible eyes of our guides – they actually spotted animals so far in the distance!!
If you want to see our other experiences in South Africa, have a look at the Blogs below:
- South Africa Itinerary 10 Days with South Africa Tourism & G Adventures
- Camping on the Garden Route in South Africa
- Inkwenkwezi Safari: Must do in South Africa
X KoTravellers
