Bateleur Camp (Timbavati Game Reserve) South Africa

 

 

Location:

Bateleur Safari Camp is situated in the game-rich Timbavati Private Reserve. All fences between its famous neighbour, Kruger National Park, have been removed so the game can freely roam across this vast wilderness area. It’s home to the Big 5, a huge variety of antelope and plains animals, predators, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and over 500 bird species on a 25,000 acre diverse and scenic traversing area.

Accommodation:

Bateleur Safari Camp is ideal for couples, singles and small groups who are looking for a Timbavati safari that simultaneously exceeds expectations and offers an up-close experience of the true African bush and wildlife. Bateleur is totally eco-friendly – full details regarding our ‘green’ policy are available on request.
The feature of the camp’s central area is the covered, open-sided wooden deck that houses the lounge and dining areas and overlooks the riverbed and its seasonal waterhole.

 

Accommodating up to 16 people, the camp offers very spacious, comfortable safari units with a unique design. Each unit has: a thatched A-frame roof with supporting gum-pole structure and covered patio; canvas sides with large windows offering fixed mosquito screens and roll-down flaps; double wooden front doors with fixed mosquito screens and roll-down flaps for the top half; a large en-suite bathroom.


The safari units vary in size, each sleeping 2-4 persons in comfort with spacious beds, quality linen, mosquito nets, bedside tables, solar powered bedside lamps, wardrobes, adequate storage facilities, and a solar powered fan for the hot weather. Plug points are provided for charging camera batteries. Each spacious en-suite bathroom has flush-toilet, basin and a hot-water shower. Some units have an interior bath tub and a private outdoor shower. Quality towels are provided.

Facilities:

The comfortable lounge area is an ideal place for idle game viewing or relaxing with a good book and a cool drink between guided activities. Books are available from the library and drinks can be purchased from the bar. At meal times the dining area is the perfect location for enjoying sumptuous meals whilst absorbing the sights and sounds of the African bush. The wooden deck extends past the adjacent chemical-free swimming pool which allows guests to cool off in the heat of the day without missing the wildlife and birdlife that frequent the waterhole.

The central area is completed by a tastefully finished, low-walled boma area open to the stars with chairs set up around a central fireplace. This is an ideal place to relax around the fire and share stories of the day’s activities under a big African sky. Adjacent is the camp’s braai/barbeque area where food is often prepared by the chef on the open fire.

When designing and building Bateleur Safari Camp, it was a priority to make as small a footprint as possible. Tented walls were chosen over concrete structures, allowing guests inside the units a closer interaction with the outdoors. No trees were removed during the building process, allowing the camp to unobtrusively blend into the surrounds. Literally hundreds of trees have subsequently been planted in and around the camp.
Regular 4-legged visitors that can be seen walking within the camp perimeter during the day include Nyalas, warthogs and bushbuck. Elephants, buffalo and rhino can often be seen walking through the river bed in front of the camp. And at night, anything shorter than an adult elephant can, and often does, walk through the camp under the cover of darkness.

Activities:

Guided activities take place every morning at sunrise and every afternoon-evening from mid-afternoon, all under the watchful guidance of qualified and armed rangers. All guided activities are undertaken on a consultative basis because we do not believe in sticking to a rigid one-size-fits-all approach. The experienced rangers tap into their intimate knowledge of local wildlife and weather conditions and then discuss the various options with the guests. Taking people’s differing interests and energy-levels into account, the rangers tailor the guided activities to best accommodate everyone’s preferences.

Many people who go on an African safari prefer to spend all their guided game activities in an open safari vehicle, going in search of the Big 5 and the beautiful plains game every morning, afternoon and evening. This is adequately provided for by Bateleur and guests can spend all of their guided game activities in an open safari vehicle as above. There are no fences between the Bateleur property and the Kruger National Park itself and the Bateleur traversing area has abundant numbers of all Greater Kruger’s game species. It also boasts consistently regular sightings of all members of the Big 5 as well as some of the rarer species such as Wild Dog. But, unlike the average game lodge or safari camp, we don’t focus on pure game drives supplemented by the option of a short morning bush walk after brunch.

From Bateleur Safari Camp we give you every opportunity to experience the fauna and flora on foot in the form of extended guided bush walks under the watchful guidance of qualified rangers and trackers. We encourage all our guests to spend at least a little time out in the bush on foot, but there is definitely no pressure to step out of the vehicle. Those who take to the guided bush walks can do as much walking as they would like. This may mean doing a 3 to 4-hour guided bush walk instead of a guided game drive. Or it may mean spending some time in the open safari vehicle until we pick up some interesting tracks to follow for the rest of the guided activity. This is one of the beauties of Bateleur and it is fast becoming one of the premier walking safari destinations in Southern Africa.

The opportunity to walk with armed rangers in a truly wild part of Africa is a rare and special treat that will never be forgotten. And it all unfolds in prime Big 5 territory!

 +++  At all times there are at least 2 armed and highly proficient head guides and at least 2 experienced trackers at Bateleur, so those guests who want to do game drives only can be accommodated at the same time as those who want to spend some time on foot. Flexibility is the key and we go to great lengths to ensure that everybody gets exactly what they want from their African adventure. We cater for those who are first timers to Africa and want to see as much game as possible, as well as those who want to absorb the finer detail of the bush on foot.

Clients’ specific requests to walk or drive each day will be accommodated as far as possible, but the final decision rests with the lodge manager or head ranger. Whatever your preference, the combination of walks and drives can be affected by weather and animal movements but we will always go the extra mile to exceed your expectations. Although we operate in a prime Big 5 area, there are no guarantees regarding sightings – what you see is what you get. We do however guarantee a real bush experience that you will never forget!

EXCLUSIVITY DURING GUIDED ACTIVITIES - Experience up close encounters with the BIG 5

Many safari operations have relatively small properties and they often share their traversing areas with several neighbouring commercial operations. This often leads to crowded wildlife sightings and the often-present sounds and lights of the many open safari vehicles during game drives. This is also one of the reasons that many game lodges primarily conduct their bush walks mid-morning after brunch; there just isn’t enough room to walk any distance during normal game drive times without encountering vehicles and that would just spoil the experience for both the walkers and those on the open safari vehicle.

At Bateleur you will have the benefit of a 10 000-hectare traversing area which includes several neighbouring properties should your stay fall at one of those inexplicable times where the wildlife all seems to have migrated elsewhere. But due to very limiting traversing agreements with the neighbours, vehicle density on the 3500 hectare Bateleur property is so low that guests may easily encounter no safari vehicles from neighbouring lodges for the duration of their stay. And the property’s location is such that you will have the best opportunity of seeing a host of wildlife and birdlife without being disturbed by other vehicles during your game drives or specifically during your bush walks.  This is true untamed Africa and it’s one of the few places left in Southern Africa where you can enjoy such an experience. The location, size, layout and ambience of the Camp have all been chosen to complement these unique strengths.

 

  Accommodation Rates:- From $385 per person per night sharing. Please contact us for a quote and suggested itinerary.