Lower Sabie

Lower Sabie sits on the south bank of the Sabie River where it runs wide and shallow, and its restaurant deck looks directly over the water - which is why people who have been to Kruger repeatedly tend to name this as their camp. Elephant cross the river in front of it, hippo lie in the shallows all day, and buffalo herds come down to drink in the late afternoon while you eat. The roads around it, particularly the H4-1 along the river to Skukuza and the S28 towards Crocodile Bridge, are among the most productive in the park for lion and leopard, and Sunset Dam a few hundred metres from the gate is a sighting in its own right. The camp is smaller and quieter than Skukuza but books out just as fast. Summer brings heat over forty degrees and thick green bush that hides animals.

History

When the Sabie Game Reserve was proclaimed in 1898 the area was undeveloped, and the first road, a two-track gravel road from Crocodile Bridge to Skukuza, was built in 1926 and 1927 after the park became Kruger National Park. The camp is linked to Skukuza by the 43 km H4-1 tarred road (Wikipedia, Lower Sabie).

The landscape

• The restaurant deck - a river view where elephant and buffalo come to drink at dinner.
• Sunset Dam - a permanent waterhole minutes from the gate, busy all day.
• The H4-1 road - the river route to Skukuza, one of Kruger's best drives.
• The quieter camp - smaller than Skukuza with the same access to southern game.

When to go

May to September. Two days. Bookings open eleven months ahead and this camp goes early.

Things to know

Accommodation is very hard to get without booking far ahead. Summer heat is severe and the bush is thick. Roads nearby jam at big sightings. There is malaria risk in summer.

Nearby

Skukuza is upstream; Crocodile Bridge gate is south.

Key facts