Explore the Wild: Discover the Beauty of the Kruger National Park
Who doesn’t want to have their own private safari homestead in the famous Greater Kruger Park, for a few days or a week?
The spacious Simbavati Homestead is our self-catered lodge, which combines the intimacy and warmth of a holiday home, with the game experience of a traditional safari lodge. Here, in the heart of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, you can have the freedom of the African bush and its magnificent wildlife. But on your terms. Expertly guided game drives in open 4×4 game drive vehicles can be tweaked to suit your party of family or friends.
Interiors are comfortable, contemporary and expansive which invites you to totally relax. Five en suite bedrooms sleep 10 people. There’s an open plan lounge, dining and kitchen area for easy living. There’s a separate TV lounge or snug, which is also a perfect place for kids to hang out.
It is the connection with nature which is so appealing here. Outside, there’s a large stoep, (covered patio), with uninterrupted bush views. There’s plenty of lounging space and a large day bed which beckons you for a siesta.
The homestead was created with friends and families in mind, with space for everyone to gather, or spread out, with an inviting pool, garden and a small boma to enjoy lantern-lit dinners overlooking the waterhole.
At Simbavati Homestead, you can be immersed in a wildlife hot spot and enjoy relaxation and adventure in equal measure. Twice-daily game drives provide for close encounters with birds and animals, large and small. All the Big Five are found here as well as the plains game we never tire of seeing; diverse antelope, giraffe, zebra and warthog.
Simbavati Homestead has five bedrooms. All have king-sized beds which can all, except one, be changed to twin. Two are en suite with one having a private balcony. Others are more suited to younger people with twin beds and shared bathrooms. However, all are decorated with a refined contemporary style, underpinned by a focus on comfort.
Game drives in the Klaserie take place in the early morning and late afternoon when the animals are naturally most active. Key to the experience is your English-speaking local guide. They bring their knowledge, experience and fresh observations to maximise your wildlife sightings. And not only in terms of how much you see. But how rewarding, informative and fun the overall experience is. Your guide may be a keen photographer and will be conscious and considerate if your mission is to capture sightings on camera.
You head out in an open-sided 4×4 game vehicle with three rows of comfortable bucket seats, generally with a maximum of 8 guests. This offers safe, yet close wildlife encounters. Guests sit up high for the best ‘spotting’ of birds and animals. There are no sides to inhibit your views and you naturally feel more in tune with nature. In the summer month, a shade top is added to protect against the African sun, but in winter it is open to the skies for the best bird-viewing and for stargazing.
Night drives continued after the sun goes down, using a spotlight to search for a glimpse of a nocturnal hunter in the beam. Or one of the shy nocturnal animals which only operate after dark.
This may include some of the smaller cats such as civets and genets. Or the extremely rare and surprisingly aggressive honey badger. You may even encounter one of the predators starting their nighttime hunt.
The Klaserie Private Game Reserve offers an exclusive safari wilderness. There are never more than two vehicles at a sighting. So you don’t have to jostle for a position as you may do in a national park.
Guides are also allowed to take the vehicles off-road on occasion, to follow some of the Big Seven (for example rhino, lion, leopard, or wild dog). This allows you to enjoy up close and personal encounters.
Currently, over 40 mammal species are to be found in the Greater Kruger, including the Big 5 of Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo, and Elephant. The Timbavati is also a birdwatcher’s paradise, as many as 360 species of birdlife have been documented here.
