Kruger National Park : Skukuza Restcamp : Accommodation

A Brief History of Skukuza

The camp was originally known as Sabie Bridge or simply Reserve, the name was changed in 1936.

Skukuza Restcamp in Kruger National Park is named after the Tsonga name for James Stevenson-Hamilton, the first warden of the park. Literally translated it means 'he who sweeps clean', a reference to his removal of all the local people to make way for the establishment of the Park.

The Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Museum houses many interesting artifacts – very well known is the knife ranger Harry Wolhuter used to single-handedly slay a Lion and save his own life. Skukuza is the Kruger National Park's largest rest camp and administrative headquarters. It is situated on the southern banks of the Sabie River. Skukuza Restcamp is home to some interesting birds and amazing plant life.

Activities, attractions and facilities are diverse, as are the animals and plants found both within Skukuza Restcamp and the surrounding area. Skukuza Camp is an excellent rest camp from which to pursue the Big Five and birds in the vicinity. Lion are frequently spotted along this route. At night, look for the Fruit Bat that hangs under the eaves of the shop, and the Thick-tailed Bush Baby climbing the trees in search of gum.

Accommodation and lodging:

Safari Tents

Guest Houses

Sites for camping or caravans

Luxury Riverside Bungalows

Family Cottages and Guest Cottages

Lodging Guide of Skukuza Camp:

Skukusa Restcamp in Kruger National Park is a popular rest camp situated in the heart of Big Five territory and is easily accessed by road and by air. Skukuza Restcamp in Kruger National Park features a variety of accommodation options such as camp sites, 21 furnished safari tents, luxury bungalows, cottages and 4 luxury guesthouses. The myriad of birds and wild game in the area is easily spotted by going on bush walks and game drives. Wildlife documentaries are shown in an outdoor amphitheater. There is a magnificent 9 hole (18-tee), Par 72 golf course available for golf enthusiasts.

Disabled Visitor facilities: Skukuza Restcamp's reception area is accessible with drop curves providing access from the parking area to the buildings, which include the reception office, a bank, a post office and public toilets (including a barrier free toilet) amongst others. The auto-bank is up a step and is thus inaccessible for wheelchair users. The camp's shop, restaurant and cafeteria are all easily accessed in a wheelchair, as is movement along the camp's perimeter fence adjacent to and overlooking the Sabie River.
Skukuza Restcamp has several attractions such as a museum hut, the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, an information centre and an auditorium. Only the library is inaccessible. Wheelchair users will need to be pulled up the stairs to access this facility. The camp has 8, 2-bed huts with barrier free facilities (6 with showers and 2 with baths). There is an accessible 6-bedded cottage with bath and shower facilities.

Airport: The airport is a rudimentary one. The airport staff assists passengers off the plane via airline wheelchairs and down a mobile ramp. No barrier free toilets existed at the time of writing although access to the toilets is easily managed.

Stevenson Hamilton Memorial: This is a get-out point with a path to a memorial plaque. The path passes over and between boulders and is not accessible to a person in a wheelchair.

Nkuhlu: Nkuhlu is a picnic site where a ramp has been specially constructed to allow wheelchair users the opportunity to descend from the parking lot down to the pathway adjacent the river's edge. There has been no adaptation of any of the other facilities and no barrier free toilets exist at the time of writing.

Kruger Tablets: Another get-out point where a memorial plaque has been embedded in rock. Reaching the plaque in a wheelchair requires assistance and such visitors are better off reading the plaque through binoculars.

Skukuza Restcamp - Kruger National Park, South Africa

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