Pafuri River Camp: Pafuri (Northernmost gate into the Kruger Park)
Cost: R150 per person per night
Pet friendly (no extra cost)
Private toilet and shower
No electricity
Demarcated camp sites. Tented camps available
We were one of a handful of guests – how lucky can we get!
Pafuri River Camp offered us the perfect holiday. The camp is basic; sandy open patches under large trees (ours is an amazing knob thorn), a little house containing the loo and a basin and shade netting and canvas stretched over poles to cover a shower. There is a gas heater but we were so pleased for the cool water that we never needed it.
The lapa has a bar and meals are offered there by arrangement. The swimming pool is covered by shade netting and remains cool despite the heat. The Mutale river creeping its way through the massive river bed is only ankle deep. The camp neighbors on a local community and the constant sound of bells on the necks of cattle and goats as they freely graze along the river banks was a jarring note in the otherwise peaceful experience.
The birdlife is just amazing! We were treated to a daily morning chorus that roused us to lie in bed and doze while it unfolded around us. On one of our drives we spotted a korri bustard in full display. He remained peering at us side-on as we feasted on the details of his plumage for over 10 minutes.
Explorations around camp, on foot and in the car, revealed small villages set randomly along the main road, huddling under enormous baobab trees that brought our adventures in Namibia to mind. Scorched earth offering no grass cover dotted with Mopane trees come alive as greenish white butterflies by the hundreds flitter too and fro through the heat.
The escarpment and valleys are strewn with river boulders testifying to just how large the river was in years past. A high promontory promised us a view of the sunset but welcome clouds turned the evening into a study of pink as we discovered, during a rambling conversation, that it was old years eve and we had completely lost a day.
The heat was prodigious, as expected, but as a result the camp was nearly empty and the tripper lived up to expectation making the nights bearable and our sleep deep and restful. Our little dog battled with the heat in general and the hot roads burned her feet resulting in very little exercise. She did not enjoy the swimming pool and we resorted to keeping her covered in a wet shirt to try to lower her temperature.
The proximity to the Kruger and good value for money will keep this ‘jewel in the crown of the Kruger’ on our list for a re-visit but a careful pick of isolated campsites will be necessary in the busy season to ensure we are not overwhelmed with other campers.
Itchy Feet! 