South Africa's Pafuri Camp
Pafuri Camp
Pafuri Camp is located between the Limpopo and the Luvuvhu Rivers in the northern sector of the Kruger National Park. The camp's home is a 24,000-hectare area called the Pafuri or the Makuleke. This region is the ancestral home of the Makuleke people and is one of the most diverse and scenically attractive areas in the Kruger National Park.
Activities in the Makuleke / Pafuri area are extremely varied and interesting. Game drives in open 4x4 vehicles, night drives, walks and hides (including some that will cater for sleep-outs) are all part of the range of activities that are on offer.
Accommodation consists of 20 tented rooms each with en-suite bathroom facilities. These are East African-style "Meru" tents that can accommodate two people comfortably per tent. Each tent has en-suite facilities and each tented room is under a shaded thatch canopy under canvas.
The tented rooms all look out over the Luvuvhu River and guests can sit on their decks and watch for elephant, Nyala, waterbuck or bushbuck coming down to drink – to name but a few!
One of the most important aspects of this area is its Palaeo-anthropological history. There is evidence of early human ancestors stretching back some 2 million years ago, through the Stone Age and into the Iron Age about 400 years ago when the Thulamela dynasty ruled in this area. Throughout the concession, there is evidence of its human inhabitants, in the form of rock paintings and artifacts – under many a baobab are Stone Age hand tools, such as hand axes, to be found.
The Pafuri region is famous for the large herds of elephant and buffalo that are resident most of the year round. Leopard and Lion have been sighted hunting the strong population of Nyala and Impala that live alongside the Luvuvhu system. On the easternmost boundary at "Crooks Corner", the Luvuvhu supports a large population of hippo and crocodile.
The Makuleke is one of the few true wilderness areas left in South Africa and the vegetation is so different to anything else within Kruger, and very similar to Central Africa! The large trees in this area are usually nearly 50% taller than baobabs found elsewhere.
