Letaba Camp

The idyllic Letaba Rest Camp is situated on a sweeping bend of the Letaba River, midway between the southern and northern boundaries of the Kruger National Park. The name means river of sand, and the sandy riverbed is an excellent location for game viewing, particularly elephant, which thrive in the area. Letaba is a green oasis in the surrounding mopane veld, and remains a firm favourite with visitors. At night the stars overlook a symphony of sounds. Owls, nightjars, frogs, fruit bats, crickets and cicadas all vie to be heard, until the lion roars, then all are silent.

ACCOMMODATION

Campsites
60 x tent or caravan sites, with power point. Communal ablutions and cooking facilities. (24-hour boiling water, electric hotplates and washing up facilities) Maximum of 6 persons per site.

Huts
5 x rustic 3-bed units with communal ablution facilities. There are no cooking utensils, crockery or cutlery, but a communal kitchen (located at the old picnic spot) with sink and electric stoves is available. Also equipped with fridge, fan and air conditioner.

Safari Tents
10 x 2-bed and 10 x 4-bed permanent furnished canvas tents on stilts, including a fridge, standing fan inside tent and small veranda. Communal ablutions and communal kitchens available.

Bungalows
86 x roundwalled, singleroom African style units with thatched roofs, 2 or 3 beds per unit, equipped with ensuite ablutions (most with showers, but some with baths). All units have airconditioning, some have fans. Kitchenettes vary: some have hotplates and sinks; some have only sinks, while some have neither. Cutlery and crockery can be provided and hired from reception. More over you have a choice of with or without perimeter or riverside view. Please confirm when booking.

Guest Cottages
10 x 6-bed units (2 single beds in each bedroom), equipped with two bathrooms (one en-suite), air-conditioning (only in the bedrooms), lounge/dining area (with ceiling fan), large veranda and outside braai. The open plan kitchen has a four plate gas stove with oven, fridge/freezer combination, sink, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery and 6-seater dining room/lounge.

Guest Houses
These are large luxury units in prime positions inside the camp, with riverside view. There are well-equipped kitchens (with microwave ovens) and multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. Limited channel DSTV televisions are provided.

Melville: Sleeps 9, with 3 bedrooms (2 single beds in each room) and an additional single bed on the enclosed veranda.
Fish Eagle: Sleeps 8, with 4 bedrooms (2 single beds in each room) and has an exclusive bird hide

ACTIVITIES

Activities
Guided Bush Walks
Game Drives (in the company of trained field guides)
Bush Breakfast and Bush Braai (Barbecue). Includes game drive to venue.
TV Lounge
Riverside camp walk
Masorini Ruins (located about 38 km west of the camp)
Matambeni Bird Hide (located about 10 km north of the camp)
Olifants Wilderness Trail (pre-booked overnight activity)
Mananga 4 x 4 Adventure Trail (weather sensitive activitybook at Phalaborwa Gate)

FACILITIES

Restaurant
Cafeteria
Shop
Laundromat (in camp)
Filling Station
Communal Kitchens
Communal Ablutions
Swimming Pool
Basic First Aid Assistance
Day Visitors Picnic Area on perimeter of camp with own swimming pool
DSTV (limited channels) only available in Guest Houses
Cellphone reception

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

- Bushbuck
- Elephant
- Lala Palm
- Red Headed Weaver
- Fish Eagle
BFlora in Letaba Camp/B
Tall shady Sycamore Fig, Natal Mahogany, Sausageand Apple Leaf trees adorn expansive lawns and indigenous gardens where tame Bushbuck wander Visit in winter and you will find the gardens a riot of colour, with several species of Aloe and the Impala lily in full bloom at your accommodation in Kruger Park The Aloes attract a variety of birds, including the White Bellied and Marico Sunbird, Crested Barbet, Blackheaded Oriole and Black Eyed Bulbul

BFauna around Letaba Camp/B
Excellent bird watching opportunities , with Pearlspotted, Barred and Scops owl in camp, Giant Eagle Owl regularly recorded along the river Green Pigeon and Brown Headed Parrot can be found high in the tree canopies

Letaba means river of sand - and the sandy riverbed is perfect for elephant Letaba Camp is a green oasis in the surrounding mopane veld, and remains a firm favourite with holiday visitors for accommodation in the Kruger National Park

BHistory of Letaba Camp/B
The picturesque Masorini Hill which is 39km 24 miles from Letaba boasts human habitation dated back several centuries to the late Stone Age More recently, the region was home to the BaPhalaborwa tribes people who inhabited it in the early 19th century Cattle and crop farmers, as well as ironsmiths of note, they made a living by manufacturing iron artifacts and trading with Arab merchants on the east coast

Archaeological excavations have revealed hut floors, packed stone walls and terraces, grinding stones, pot shards, glass beads, ash and even food remains Most impressive, however, are the iron-melting furnaces, smithies and worked artifacts indicating that a well-developed technology that existed well before the arrival of the white man in South Africa

The origin of a typical Portuguese cross, carved into an old leadwood tree along the S95 road just north of Letaba, remains shrouded in mystery It may have been carved by the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinandes das Neves, during his expedition to the Soutpansberg in 1860-61