WITH a fairly short drive ahead of us, we weren’t in too much of a hurry to leave Satara Rest Camp so we only set off for Balule rest camp after a leisurely in-camp breakfast.
We were looking forward to spending a night at this satellite camp near the much bigger, better known Olifants rest camp.
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Rustic with no electricity and boasting the most basic facilities it is another of Kruger’s special little places where visitors can escape the hustle and bustle of the busier camps. Built on the banks of the Olifants River, this simple little camp is attractively situated in a particularly scenic part of the park. One of our favourite rest camps, Balule is usually included on our Kruger itineraries.
After leaving Satara, we headed north along the H1-4, taking a fairly direct route to Olifants Rest Camp where we needed to book into Balule.
The wide, sandy Olifants River is another of Kruger’s big waterways and one that is designed for river bed watching as it attracts a huge amount of wildlife. Throughout our trip, most river views, including the Olifants ones, produced sightings of plenty of waterbuck, elephant and Egyptian geese, plus many other animals and birds.
We stopped to gaze at the lovely river views from the popular Nwamanzi viewsite near camp, the Olifants River bridge and, of course, the lofty terrace at Olifants Rest Camp.
A gorgeously situated camp, attractive Olifants overlooks its namesake river and offers one of Kruger’s most panoramic bushveld views. Unfortunately for the tent and caravan brigade, there is no camping area there, although Balule, which has comfortable camping facilities, is close by.
We’d last been in that area in September 2016 when the drought had reduced it to a thirsty dust bowl. Driving to Balule from Olifants, via the pretty S92 gravel road, we couldn’t believe how plentiful rain had transformed the area into a green, lushly vegetated beauty spot.
It was mid-morning by the time we reached the nearly empty Balule rest camp and we set up our camp in a shady spot next to the fence, overlooking the river.
It was the perfect place to while away a few restful hours, reading our books, watching the birds, checking out the trees and overseeing the cooking of our potjie supper. A couple of young hyenas came to call, some vultures rode the thermals overhead and a small herd of elephants stopped by the fence and kept us company for a short while.
As the day drew to a close, we did a short game drive then parked next to the drift and enjoyed a truly magnificent river sunset. Watching the setting sun turn the rivers golden is one of those joyful experiences that make a visit to Kruger so magical.
In our busy, highly technical world, Balule’s gentle simplicity is a balm to the soul and its refreshing old world charm is accentuated by its lack of electricity. By the time we drove back into camp, the paraffin lamps had been lit, casting their warm, mellow glow and adding to the traditional atmosphere of this old-fashioned Kruger rest camp.
Another reminder of Balule’s venerable status is its no-frills but spotlessly clean and well-maintained ablution block, which has those old-style green parks board tiles, randomly emblazed with the Sanparks emblem and ‘custos naturae’ legend.
It is in these little details that visitors to this modern, efficiently run and incredibly tourist-friendly park catch a glimpse of the old Kruger, still there hiding behind its streamlined, modern façade.
The sounds of giggling hyenas and a nightjar or two failed to keep us awake that night but birdsong had us up and about early the next morning. By the time the dawn was breaking we were wide awake and ready for our next Kruger adventure.
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