Location: The
Lower Sabie Restcamp is situated on the bank of a dam in the Sabie
River in the southern part of the Kruger National Park.
Description: With
its large lawns and shade trees this camp is a very popular family
destination. Due to the abundant foliage and waterholes in the
area, game abounds here. At Sunset Dam, a small dam situated only
one kilometre from the camp, crocodile, hippo and various species
of birds can be sighted.
Regulations:
Accommodation:
Sponsored
Accommodation
Keartland
Guesthouse (On the river front)
Facilities
(7 persons)
Three
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two
single beds and bathroom en suite (bath,
shower, toilet and basin). There is a
bench- bed in the livingroom. A fourth
bathroom has a shower, toilet and basin.
Kitchen with a stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer,
sink, cooking utensils, crockery and
cutlery. Barbecue facilities. Carport.
Apply thirteen months in advance.
Moffett
Family Cottage
Facilities
(4 persons)
Two
air-conditioned bedrooms with two single
beds each. One bedroom has a bathroom
en suite (bath, shower (over bath), toilet
and basin). This bathroom is adapted
for handicapped persons. A second bathroom
has a bath and basin. There is a separate
toilet. Enclosed veranda and kitchen
with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer,
sink, cooking utensils, crockery and
cutlery. Open parking. Barbecue facilities.
Apply four months in advance.
Steenbok
Family Cottage (On the river front)
Facilities
(4 persons)
Two
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds and bathroom
en suite. One bathroom has a bath, shower, toilet and basin and
the other a shower, toilet and basin. Lounge/diningroom and open-plan
kitchen with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink,
cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. Barbecue facilities. Open
parking. Apply thirteen months in advance.
Other
Accommodation
The
five-bed guest cottages have two bedrooms (one with two single
beds and one with three single beds), air-conditioning, two
bathrooms (each with shower and toilet) and a fully-equipped
kitchen (stove with oven).
Two-
and three-bed bungalows have air-conditioning, a refrigerator,
two- plate stove (without oven), sink and a veranda. Cooking
utensils, crockery and cutlery are not provided. One hut has
a shower and toilet and the other, which is adapted for handicapped
persons, has a bath and toilet.
Two-bed
huts with air-conditioning, shower, toilet, a refrigerator
and veranda. Two of the huts have a sink on the veranda. Cooking
utensils, crockery and cutlery are not provided.
One-bed,
two-bed, three-bed and five-bed huts have communal ablution
facilities, air-conditioning, washbasin and refrigerator. Four
of the two- bed huts have a veranda but no washbasin. The others
have no verandas. Cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery are
not provided.
Campsites – tent
or caravan sites, with power point, communal ablutions and
cooking facilities, maximum of 6 persons per site.
Services:
Basic
First Aid Assistance
Cafeteria
Communal
Kitchens with sinks and cooking facilities but no cooking utensils,
crockery and cutlery
Cutlery
and Plates Hamper
Emergency
Road Service
Laundromat
Petrol
Station
Picnic
Facilities
Post Box
Public
telephones
Restaurant
Barbecue
facilities
Shop -
The revamped reception/shop/restaurant complex will open in mid-
October.
A new
swimming pool was opened recently for camp overnight guests only.
Activities:
Morning
and Afternoon Bush Walks
Morning
Drive
Night
Drive
Ecozones
near this camp:
Lebombo
Mountain Bushveld
Riverine
Communities
Knob Thorn/Maroela
Savannah
Delagoa
Thorn Thickets
Sabie/Crocodile
Thorn Thickets
General
Information:
Climate: Lower
sabie is in a summer rainfall area. Such precipitation is usually
convectional and can result in heavy downpours. The summer months
(October to April) are hot and sometimes balmy. Winters are warm
and mild, although visitors going on night-drives will require
warm clothing.
Day
Visitors: Lower Sabie has a designated day visitor
area. There are also picnic sites nearby at Nkuhlu (± 20
km), Mlondozi Dam (17 km) and Tshokwane (43 km)
Emergencies: Camp:
+27 (0)13 735 6056/7
Travel
/ How to get there: Visitors should ideally enter
at either Crocodile Bridge (31 km to the south) or at the Paul
Kruger Gatea Gate some 53 km away. The nearest camps are Crocodile
Bridge, Skukuza (43 km west). There are a variety of gravel
road loops in the area.
What to do and
see nearby:
Sunset
Dam
Mlondozi
Dam
Nkuhlu
Nhlanganzwani
Dam
Nkumbe
Lookout
Orpen
Dam
Routes:
Places
of special interest / History:
Wildlife:
Mammals: See
mammal checklist The diversity of game seen in the Lower Sabie
Area is hard to equal anywhere in the park. The area is rich
in lion, cheetah, elephant, hippo, rhino, herds of buffalo up
to 800 strong, and a very high density of warthog. See Kruger
National Park Mammals
Birding: Mozambique
and Fierynecked Nightjars. The nearby Sunset Dam is one of the
finest venues in the Park to observe aquatic species at close
quarters with cormorants, herons, kingfishers and storks occurring
in abundance. Marabou, Saddlebilled, Woolynecked, Yellowbilled,
Openbilled and Black Stork can sometimes be seen simultaneously.
In the Lower Sabie area Mlondozi Dam is a good spot to view waterfowl
including some of the rarer species in the park. The small pan
on the N’watimhiri road is a regular haunt of Lesser Moorhen.
Vegetation: Lower
Sabie has many large riverine trees in camp and the yellow fever
tree is very prominent. The camp is situated in knob thorn/marula
savannah on basalt soils. Other prominent trees include the round-leafed
teak. The grass is sweet thus attracting many grazing species.
Immediately west is a zone of delagoa thorn thicket on ecca shale
soil. Here prevalent trees include the delagoa thorn and the
magic guarri. The grass is still sweet, but shorter. To the east
of camp is the Lebombo Mountain Range. Here the vegetation differs
again. However there are no public access roads into this area.