This 4-day Greater Kruger safari stays at Chacma Bush Camp, an intimate, family-friendly safari lodge in the Maseke Balule Game Reserve of the Greater Kruger. This itinerary offers the best balance of time, value and wildlife viewing, with more time for Big 5 game-viewing in Balule Private Nature Reserve.
At the start of this 4-Day Greater Kruger Safari at Chacma Bush Camp, a shuttle service collects you from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, or from the designated pick-up point in Pretoria. The shuttle collects passengers from OR Tambo at 07h00 am, then proceeds north to Pretoria to collect any additional guests at 07h30 am. From Pretoria, you travel northeast to the Greater Kruger Park region of South Africa.
The shuttle transfers you to Three Bridges near Hoedspruit, arriving at 12h30 to 13h00. Your guide then collects you from Three Bridges and takes you to the Maseke Balule Game Reserve in Greater Kruger Park. Nestled in 8,000 hectares of unspoiled African bushveld, Chacma Bush Camp, your home for the next three nights, offers an authentic wildlife safari experience. Elephant, bushbuck, kudu, and other wild animals are often sighted from the comfort of the lodge's deck area surrounding the swimming pool.
Settle in and enjoy a relaxed lunch before setting off into the Balule private game reserve on a late afternoon to night game drive. Game viewing at dusk gives you the best of both worlds - day and night wildlife sightings. Your guide will take you in search of nocturnal predators like leopards as well as civets, porcupines, hyenas, and more.
After a rewarding game drive, we return to the safari camp for a delicious meal followed by drinks around the blazing campfire.
Rise early with the African sun for a quick snack and a coffee before heading into the cool morning bush on a game drive. Being part of the Greater Kruger National Park, the Maseke Balule Game Reserve shares an unfenced border with Kruger Park, allowing the game to roam freely. This is Big 5 country, and the private game reserve teems with wildlife. Boasting over 150 mammals, the Kruger National Park is one of Africa's largest reserves. It is also home to over 500 birds and many reptiles, plants, and trees for your eyes to feast on. We return to Chacma Bush Camp by mid-morning for a hearty breakfast.
Chacma Bush Camp, surrounded by mopane woodlands, is yours to enjoy. Take advantage of the sparkling pool, go for a stroll around camp or just relax on the deck and soak up the ambience of this family-friendly haven. The small size of the safari camp means that every visit is intimate and exclusive.
After a relaxing lunch and afternoon tea, we depart for an afternoon game drive that lasts into the night. It is a rare privilege to explore Greater Kruger Park from this remote location over a few days, as it provides intimate insights into the animals and the surrounding African bush. The cooler times of day, early mornings, and late afternoon to evenings are the times of most activity in the bush. Expect to see any of the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo) or, if you are lucky, all five! In addition to these bucket-list animals, you'll come into contact with all sorts of other animals, from giraffe to duiker, zebras to impala, and wild dogs to honey badgers. Your expert safari guides are there to make sure that you get the most out of your safari experience. Every outing is unique, and you never know what is waiting just around the bend.
After the evening game viewing, return to camp to unwind and eat a tasty meal. After dinner, you can relax around the campfire and share stories from your action-packed day in the reserve. Flames leap and jump, lions roar in the distance, and a blanket of stars stretches overhead. This will be the rhythm of days two and three.
On the final day of this 4-Day family-friendly Greater Kruger safari at Chacma Bush Camp, we rise early and take a final game drive in the Big 5 Balule Greater Kruger Park.
Then we return to our very special bush camp for the last time and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Full and satisfied, it is time to say goodbye to the game-rich African bush.
Your guide transfers you back to the collection point at Three Bridges, where the shuttle collects you at 11h45 am and returns to Pretoria and then OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Guests are dropped off in Pretoria at about 17h00 and at OR Tambo International at about 18h00, bringing our excellent-value Greater Kruger Safari to a close.
This Greater Kruger Safari stays at Chacma Bush Camp, located near the Olifants River in the Maseke Game Reserve. The Maseke reserve lies within the Balule Private Nature Reserve, forming part of the Greater Kruger Park. Balule shares unfenced borders with Kruger National Park, which enables wildlife to move freely between the game reserves.
Chacma Bush Camp is set in 8,000 hectares of wilderness in a rugged landscape of undulating hills dotted with rocky outcrops along the Olifants River. This family-friendly Greater Kruger safari camp is tucked away in mopane woodlands and sleeps only 10 people, offering a private and authentic bush retreat. The small size of the bush camp ensures a personal and intimate African safari experience ideal for small groups and families with children. Common animal sightings from the game viewing deck at the sparkling pool include elephants, kudu, bushbuck, and other antelope species.
Pick-up and drop-off are at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and a designated point in Pretoria. For more details and times, please enquire. Transport to and from these set locations is not included in the tour price.
Collection times on the first day:
Drop off times on the last day:
See our 3-Day Greater Kruger Safari at Chacma Bush Camp
See our 5-Day Chacma Bush Camp Safari: Complete Kruger & Greater Kruger Adventure
Please note that we offer convenient pre- and post-tour lodge accommodation for before and after your Greater Kruger Safari at Chacma Bush Camp, which can be added to your tour booking upon request. The 4-star lodge accommodation is located 10-15 minutes from the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. View pre- or post-safari lodge rates.
If you are looking for an excellent-value Kruger National Park safari, this 4-Day Kruger National Park Safari spends four days exclusively game-viewing within the Kruger National Park.
This tour does take children.
Children of all ages are welcome.
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