South Africa

Pafuri Camp is situated between the Limpopo and the Luvuvhu Rivers in the northern sector of the Kruger National Park, in a 24 000-hectare area called the Pafuri or the Makuleke. This area is the ancestral home of the Makuleke people and is one of the most diverse and scenically attractive areas in the Kruger National Park.

This area is certainly the wildest and most remote part of the Park and offers varied vegetation, great game viewing, the best birding in all of the Kruger, and is filled with folklore of the early explorers and ancient civilisations. It is well known for its fever tree forests, beautiful gorges and Crook’s Corner, where the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers and three countries, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique, meet. The region is considered one of Kruger’s biodiversity hotspots, with some of the largest herds of elephant and buffalo, leopard and lion and incredibly prolific birdlife. In May 2007 the biological significance of the area was recognised in its declaration as a Ramsar site - a wetland of international importance.

Situated in the far northern sector of the Park and being so different from the rest of the Park, it complements the scenery, experience and game viewing offered at the lodges in the central and southern Kruger and the private reserves like the Sabi Sand on the western boundary of the park itself. Travellers looking to experience the Kruger in its entirety should ideally combine Pafuri in the subtropical far north with any number of camps in the central parts of Kruger.

Accommodation consists of 20 tented rooms (including six family rooms for up to four people), each with en-suite bathroom facilities. The tented rooms all look out over the Luvuvhu River; guests can sit on their decks and watch for elephant, nyala, waterbuck or bushbuck coming down to drink - to name but a few!

Activities in the Makuleke / Pafuri area are extremely varied and interesting. Game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, night drives, walks, hides (including some that will cater for sleep-outs) are all part of the range of activities that are on offer. One of the most important aspects of this area is its palaeo-anthropological history, with its plethora of evidence of early human ancestors stretching back some 2 million years ago, through the Stone Age and into the Iron Age about 400 years ago when the Thulamela dynasty ruled in this area. This dynasty built incredible structures that are not dissimilar to that found in the Great Zimbabwe. Throughout the concession, there is evidence of its human inhabitants, in the form of rock paintings and artefacts - under many a baobab are Stone Age hand tools, such as hand axes, to be found

Rocktail Bay Lodge is situated in the northern reaches of the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This whole area has been declared a World Heritage Site. Situated offshore from Rocktail Bay is the Maputaland Marine Reserve which offers an additional sanctuary with extraordinary diving and snorkelling encounters with huge shoals of fish, dolphins and whales.

The lodge is situated metres inland from the warm Indian Ocean and one of the most incredible beaches in all of South Africa. The lodge is built out of the wind, just inland from the beach within the forest canopy of vegetated dunes that occur along Maputaland’s coastline. Rocktail offers perhaps the most private beach experience in South Africa, with nearly 40 kilometres of unspoilt, pristine coastline where it is possible to walk for hours without meeting another soul. Accommodation is in 11 tree-house chalets. Each en suite room has its own private balcony and an additional outdoor shower in the forest. The main area of the lodge has an inviting lounge and meals are enjoyed either in the separate dining room, at the poolside or under a huge Natal Mahogany tree.

At Manzengwenya, 11km south of the camp, we have our own fully accredited dive centre. We offer boating excursions out to sea around low tide to enjoy SCUBA (and snorkelling) on the pristine coral reefs offshore. (Please take special note that dive certification and pre-booking is compulsory for SCUBA activities). Other lodge activities include fly-fishing, snorkelling, swimming and drives to Black Rock, the nearby Hippo Pools and to the surrounding community in open 4x4 Land Rovers.

During the summer months Rocktail Bay Lodge is integrally involved in ongoing turtle research. Guests are able to accompany the resident turtle expert on research drives at low tide at night helping to monitor the turtles’ nesting numbers and behaviour.