Explore the Wild: Discover the Beauty of the Kruger National Park
Simbavati Trails Camp is a gem; a luxury-yet-back-to-basics walking trails camp located in a secluded area of the Timbavati Game Reserve. It’s all about guided walks with expert guides, one of the most stimulating and enthralling forms of safari. Trails Camp borders, without fences, an unspoilt wilderness area of 11,000 hectares in the Kruger National Park.
There is no electricity, WiFi or cell phone reception. Just you, in the heart of an untamed African wildlife wonderland. Hearty and delicious meals are prepared over an open fire by an expert cook.
The minimum stay is two nights. But to really appreciate the rich but slower walking trail rhythm, we recommend a three night stay.
Please note that the camp is only operational during the cooler autumn to spring days from March to November.
The Timbavati Private Game Reserve borders the Kruger National Park to the north and east. The name Timbavati was derived from a Shangaan expression meaning ‘the place where something sacred came down to earth from the heavens’. The Timbavati has a vast array of wildlife, which includes the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) thriving amongst giraffe, zebra, warthogs, hyena and many antelope species. This sums up the magical spirit of the Timbavati, which has a tangible sense of wilderness.
The reserve is also a protective habitat for sustainable populations of many endangered species such as black and white rhinoceros, pangolins, and many others.
Four en-suite Meru-style tents are surprisingly spacious with proper furniture and mosquito nets. En suite bathrooms have a proper flush toilet and a simple basin with a jug of hot water for washing. The back of the tent opens out to your private al fresco en suite ‘bathroom to the stars’. Here you find a gloriously simple bucket shower which is filled on demand with warm water.
In front of the tent there is a small shaded area with two chairs.
The aim of a walking safaris is to gain a holistic understanding of the bush, led by an armed and specially trained walking guide. The pace is relaxed and your guide will often pause to talk about trees and bushes and their traditional and medicinal uses, dung middens, animal spoor, anthills, termite mounds and more. Whereas a game drive is very much about “spotting” and the sharp-eyed will get lots of kudos, a bush walk uses and sharpens all five senses. Being on foot in the bush can be both grounding and thrilling at once, but always informative.
Without the hum of an engine, you will begin to notice all the sounds of the bush, from the serenading songbirds to the crackle of branches betraying elephants feeding in the distance. With our qualified walking guides, you will discover a sense of true connection with nature and you may even get the chance to view our larger game on foot. Encounters with large animals are always possible but the objective is to observe the wildlife from a safe distance, rather than walk toward big game.
