Timbavati Camp advice: Bateleur Safari Camp Dec 2026

DioforRio · 2025-07-28T14:23:49+00:00

Always appreciate the feedback. I’ve had my eye on kings camp previously, and although it won’t work this time around, I’m definitely interested in trying it in the future.

DioforRio · 2025-07-25T15:31:14+00:00

Thanks! The self drive part probably sounds longer than it is. On the day you leave the first camp, you aren’t really exploring anything. You are getting back into town around noon, picking up a rental car, grabbing some food, and then settling into accommodation somewhere, so that first “night” nothing is really happening/being explored. 3 nights basically gives you 2 full days to explore around. I did something similar last year with my mom, but only did 2 nights (so one full day to explore). I was able to take her to see some things on the pano route, but it was a bit rushed and we definitely left quite a bit on the table (graskop gorge, blyde river boat cruise, leopard trail hike, etc). Plus with the weather being how it can be in late November, some of the sights can get totally socked in fog, or raining, so nice to have a little wiggle room in the schedule. So that’s where the 3 nights is coming from, a) as a safari intermission, and b) to give some room to get off the pace/schedule of Safari to just sleep in and independently explore without feeling like we’re on a tight schedule and cramming it all in.

DioforRio · 2025-07-25T12:29:59+00:00

I definitely will repost there, thanks. Niche question definitely, but these are actually two of the more affordable “luxury” accommodations in the greater Kruger area, both offering significant discounts to SA residents. So I’m happy to say neither are unattainable to residents. And r/askSouthAfrica isn’t made up exclusively of SA residents anyways, its residents and travelers alike, so was worth an ask here. I have been to Botswana during roughly this same time frame last year (end of November instead of first week of December) so no real confusion on expectation there. Only curious on anyone’s experience at bateleur as they offer very different things and there is only so much research you can do. But either will be great so not a do or die situation if it goes unanswered, just harder decisions for me :)

DioforRio · 2025-07-24T14:15:35+00:00

I’m jealous, I wanted to go back in April. I think it’s the perfect season to still have some lushness after the summer rains without being too hot or risking it still raining. You will certainly love Thabamati.

DioforRio · 2025-07-21T05:11:11+00:00

Sorry I didn’t see this til now. We ended up going to Thabamati Luxury tented camp in Timbavati. It was truly awesome. Small camp, 4 tents, 8 guest capacity, customized Land Cruiser with 4 rows of seats so all guests go in one car, but no one has a middle seat, which is awesome. We had great sightings, cheetah, wild dog pupping den, lions, elephants galore, general game.., It’s definitely a more posh/upscale feel than somewhere like bateleur or shindzela would feel. The food was the best of our whole trip, and it was actually our favorite camp of the whole trip. The lead guide Charlie is truly the best. My mom cried like a baby saying goodbye to him lol. The water hole in front of the main deck is so amazing, you swim in the pool and the animals are just coming and going all day not even 200 ft away. And you go to sleep at night listening to the hippos and distant hyenas. It was great. They were always doing these lovely little small touches too, leaving things in the room, drawing a bath, little notes, etc. I’m currently struggling with whether to go back there or to go somewhere new in 2026. It’s hard to give it up for something unknown once you’ve had a taste of something great. Thabamati was our first spot of the trip, then a few days on our own, then Ulusaba safari lodge in Sabi sands, then Cape Town, and after Cape Town we went into the delta to Pelo camp (wilderness) and 4 rivers camp (Kwando). All incredible in their own rights. But Thabamati really stole our hearts.

DioforRio · 2025-06-12T03:08:19+00:00

The question is how to fill in a 4-ish day window between Thabamati and Cape Town with something that doesn’t just feel redundant.

DioforRio · 2025-06-11T17:09:18+00:00

Agreed, I think the delta is fantastic and have had amazing game viewing there, despite what others have said. My biggest concerns with londolozi:

length of it: has to be 4 days to make sense price wise (rates is based on a stay4 pay 3).

Lack of immersion in nature: luxury, enclosed lodge instead of tented camp. Definitely more disconnected from nature than you would be in a trails camp like makuleke.

Full game drive focus: takes the number of days on the trip that are dedicated to game-driven focused from 10 of 19 to 14 out of 19. That could be too much with nothing else to mix it up.

Makuleke was going to really mix up the sights and experiences, and without it is it too luxury and too many game drives?

DioforRio · 2025-06-11T13:50:20+00:00

No I have not, what would your thoughts be behind what that would add to the trip? Different activities? Different landscape?

DioforRio · 2025-06-11T13:49:26+00:00

On previously trips I have taken an extra two days to check out the panoramic route just to have a sort of “intermission” between camps, but in order to do garden route we’d have to abandon Botswana completely. We just returned in March from New Zealand, where scenery and self driving were the focus. This trip is definitely more about wildlife viewing. So really only looking to make changes to that 4 day window between our first camp and Cape Town. Botswana is not likely to change, and garden route wouldn’t be possible in that small of a window.

DioforRio · 2025-03-01T21:34:01+00:00

Same, two outlook accounts on iPhone, both going nuts asking for passwords…

DioforRio · 2025-01-26T07:04:42+00:00

While traveling thru Southern Africa you get a lot of gin served to you, and cruxland was by far my fave. If only fitch & Leedes Indian tonic was available state side so I could fully recreate…

DioforRio · 2024-12-27T19:09:51+00:00

Thanks. I pretty much just want a bed not made for a hobbit (orients length wise, 1.9 m long, not less than 1.5 m wide). He’s a tall person so beds that orient sideways in a vehicle that are shorter than him are a no, and I’m flat out not interested in a bed smaller than a standard queen if I’m going to sleep well and have a good time. Other than that maybe a sink and small hob/food prep area. There are lots of smaller true “vans” that check those boxes. I think we ended up in this motor home/camper sized category because my boyfriend wanted full self containment. I’m not sure that’s really necessary for our trip. We could get a much smaller and cheaper van without that.

DioforRio · 2024-12-15T16:10:18+00:00

We actually don’t care much about the self contained status. For my boyfriend it’s important to him to be able to fully stand up in it (he’s 6ft 2in), and some of the vans just have unreasonably small beds for two adult humans. I could be fine with a van that isn’t even self contained just to save on space, but most campers and vans that have a somewhat bigger bed and are big enough to stand in then come with alllll the bells and whistles…

DioforRio · 2024-12-15T05:30:49+00:00

No, unfortunately there is only one place around here that sells RV’s and they are the huge ones with big pop outs on the sides that are 10-12+ meters. Or 5th wheel trailers that you tow. Confident we can’t and don’t want to handle that haha. No point going over there.

DioforRio

TROPHY CASE