The Satara
Restcamp is a busy camp, and not without reason. It is
situated in an excellent game viewing area, with the bush relatively
open and the animals plentiful and diverse. The camp itself
has a rustic charm, with the bulk of the accommodation set
out in a series of circles. The camp is well wooded and the
daytime bird-life is prolific. At night the clink of fruit
bats is fused with the chirping of cicadas and crickets. The
calls of owls and nightjars add to the symphony that is punctuated
intermittently by the whoop of hyaena, the screech of jackal
and the roar of lion. Large concentrations of game and lion
occur here. The area is known for its spectacular sunsets.
Three dams and six waterholes are found here in close proximity.
Rare animal species found in the area are eland, nyala, white
and black rhino, sable and wild
dog.
Location: The
Satara Restcamp lies in the knobthorn veld on the turf flats
which offer the best grazing in the Kruger National Park.
The nearest gate is at Orpen, some 48 km away. Nearest other camps apart
from Orpen include, Olifants (54 km), Talamati (53 km) and Lower Sabie
and Skukuza both of which are 93 km away.
Regulations:
Accommodation:
Sponsored
Accommodation
Rudy
Frankel Guesthouse (Near a waterhole)
Facilities
(Accommodation for 8 persons)
Four
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds and
bathroom en suite (bath, shower, toilet and basin).
Lounge/diningroom
(with fan), bar and kitchen with an electric stove (with
oven), refrigerator, freezer, sink, cooking utensils,
crockery and cutlery.
Lapa
with barbecue facilities.
Open
parking.
Apply
four months in advance.
Satara
family cottages (10 identical cottages)
Facilities
(Accommodation for 6 persons per cottage except Dante Marais
which accommodates 5)
Two
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with bathroom en suite.
One bathroom with bath, toilet and basin and the other
with shower, toilet and basin.
One bedroom
has a double bed and a single bed, the other has three single
beds (Fairweather, General Motors, one Foskor family cottage
Lowveld, Trust) and one Checkers family cottage.
One
bedroom has two single beds and the other has three single
beds (Dante Marais).
Two
bedrooms, each with three single beds (Maizecor, one
Checkers and one Foskor family cottage).
Each
unit has a lounge/diningroom with a ceiling fan and an
open- plan kitchen with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer,
sink, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery.
Open
veranda.
Barbecue
facilities at each cottage.
Open
parking.
Apply
four months in advance.
Stanley
Guesthouse
Facilities
(Accommodation for 9 persons)
Three
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with three single beds
and bathroom en suite (2 with bath, toilet and basin
and 1 with bath, shower, toilet and basin).
Lounge/diningroom
with fan and open veranda.
Kitchen
with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink,
cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery.
Barbecue
facilities.
Open
parking.
Apply
thirteen months in advance.
Wells
Guesthouse
Facilities
(Accommodation for 6 persons)
Three
air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds and
bathroom en suite. Two bathrooms have a shower, toilet
and basin, and one has a bath, toilet and basin.
Air-conditioned
lounge/diningroom with a ceiling fan. Kitchen with a
gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink, cooking
utensils, crockery and cutlery.
Barbecue
facilities.
Open
parking.
Apply
four months in advance.
Other
Accommodation
74
Campsites – tent or caravan sites, with power point,
communal ablutions and cooking facilities, maximum of
6 persons per site.
100
x Bungalows – 2 or 3 bed rooms, equipped with ablutions
(most with showers, but some with baths), refrigerator,
air-conditioning and sink.
53
x Bungalows – 2 or 3 bed rooms, equipped with ablutions
(most with showers, but some with baths), refrigerator,
air-conditioning, and a hotplate and sink.
Wheelchair
Access Accommodation
There are
2 two-bedded huts in the rest camp with barrier free facilities.
The ablutions have a bath facility. The camp is situated over
flat terrain and access is made easy by the paved roads that
lead around all the accommodation units. Access into and inside
the camp’s restaurant, reception and shop is easily achieved.
The communal washing-up facilities are on a raised level that
requires assistance to be accessed. There is a barrier free toilet
and shower facility in the camp site.
Services:
A
first-aid centre.
An
AA emergency service for vehicles.
Basic
First Aid Assistance
Cafeteria
Communal
Kitchens with sinks and cooking facilities but no cooking
utensils, crockery or cutlery.
Cutlery
and Plates Hamper
Day
Visitor Picnic Area
Eco
Information Centre
Electricity
(not at camp sites).
Emergency
Road Service
Film
Auditorium
Film
shows on conservation and wildlife certain evenings.
Through prior
arrangement with the camp, catered traditional dances can be organised.
Wildlife films
General Information:
- Climate
Satara 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 often humid. Winters are warm and mild, although visitors
going on night-drives will require warm clothing.
- Day Visitors
Satara has a designated day visitor area where day visitors and visitors
from other camps can barbecue (braai) and picnic. As one enters the
gate, it is reached by turning to the left.
- Emergencies
Camp: +27 (0)13 735 6306/7
What to
do and see nearby:
N’wanetsi
Lookout and Picnic Site
Sweni Bird
Hide
Very close to Nwanetsi this hide has been recently constructed.
Tshokwane
Picnic Site
50 km from Satara/ 43 from Skukuza/ 44 from Lower Sabie, the site
is on a level surface although soft sand impairs free movement in
places. The kiosk is accessible. There are 2 toilet blocks. Visitors
with disabilities should note that there is an accessible toilet
only at the block on the left-hand side of the parking.
Eileen
Orpen Dam
4 km from Tshokwane, the Orpen Dam has a viewing hide on the hillside
overlooking the dam.
Nhlanguleni
59 km from Satara/ 27 km from Tshokwane, Nhlanguleni is a small and
rustic picnic site.
Muzandzeni
Situated 33 km from Satara, this is another small and rustic picnic
site.
Timbavati
Picnic Site
25 km from Satara/46 from Olifants is this delightful little picnic
site overlooking the Timbavati River.
Ratelpan
Hide (Piet Grobler Dam)
About 5 km north of the Timbavati Picnic Site on the Piet Grobler
Dam, this hide was only completed in July 1999.
Nhlanguleni
Picnic Site
Routes:
Places
of special interest / History:
Satara Camp: The origin of the name Satara is not cast in stone.
About three different sources are suggested. The most popular is that
one of the early land surveyors working in the area had an Indian servant
named Satra (Hindi for 17). By quirk of fate the locals inverted the
name onto the Surveyor but erroneously called him Satara. A variation
of this is that the land surveyor was himself Indian and in his notebook
scrawled down the number of the parcel of land he was measuring in
his Hindi language – Satra, meaning 17. Today it is not a plot of land
but the site of the present day Satara Camp.
Wildlife:
Mammals:
Satara is regarded as one of the best game viewing areas in the park
and is particularly noted for cats, with lion, leopard and cheetah
being recorded regularly. General game includes blue wildebeest,
burchell’s zebra, waterbuck, giraffe and the ubiquitous impala. Rhino,
buffalo and elephant are also easily seen. Of the smaller animals,
the honey badger is something to look out for. At night spotted hyena
regularly whoop from the camp’s perimeter while the repetitive sonar
chink of fruit bats blends with the chirp of cicada and cricket.
See Kruger/Fauna/Mammals for full
park mammal checklists.
Birding: Satara, like other camps, has a plethora of resident birds.
Particularly prominent are Redbilled Buffalo Weaver, Glossy, Greater
Blue-eared and Burchell’s Starling and Mourning Dove. At night
Giant Eagle, Barn, Scops and Pearlspotted Owls can be seen and
heard in camp. The open plains to the north of the camp are a good
place to record Montagu’s and Pallid Harrier.
The
N’wanedzi Picnic Site (24 km from Satara) is worth visiting.
Violeteared Waxbill, Yellowbellied Bulbul, Mocking Chat are regulars
here, while Shafttailed Whydah has been seen nearby. There is
also a viewing platform that provides an elevated view down on
the N’wanedzi River. About 2 km from N’wanedzi on the S37 Road
the Sweni Bird Hide is well worth stopping at. In winter, when
water levels are low, and rocks, mud-banks and reeds are exposed,
the site is exceptionally active bird-wise, with many passerines
coming to drink and joining the ubiquitous Hammerkop, Greenbacked
Heron and Great White and Little Egrets. In summer, after heavy
rain, the high water levels reduce the bird-life. However it
is an excellent venue to see Bluecheeked Bee-eater that is regularly
in attendance here. (For more birding information go to General Park Activities/Birding).
Vegetation:
Satara like most camps has been artificially well wooded. The surrounding
vegetation is knob thorn /marula savannah on basalt soils. A few
kilometres west there is an intrusion of ecca shales soil which hosts
very sweet grass often overgrazed. This intrusion also hosts Delagoa
thorn thickets. To the east, the N’wanetsi region lies in Lebombo
Mountain Bushveld on rhyolite soils. Tree euphorbia and red bushwillow
are prevalent.