5 Day Kruger Walking Safari Trail

Overview

This tour combines two superb accommodations with two nights at both Rhino Plains Camp and Rhino Post Safari Lodge. There is an abundance of game to be seen, including big cats and variety of bird species.

Located in a wilderness concession overlooking the spectacular Timbitene Plain & waterhole, Plains Camp is immersed in an Acacia Knobthorn thicket, and offers four comfortably furnished African explorer-style tents, with en-suite bathrooms and hot running water. Generators and a backup battery system supply power to overhead fans and lighting, and can be used to re-charge camera batteries.

Located on the banks of the dry Mutlumuvi riverbed, Rhino Post Safari Lodge's eight suites loom above the riverbank, raised up on stilts that afford them views of the surrounding vegetation and wildlife. Open plan, thatch-roofed suites are completed with en-suite bathrooms (bath, basins, separate toilet and an outdoor shower), bedroom, living room and kitchen.

The concession is an environmentally sensitive area previously unexplored, with a huge diversity of both fauna and flora - an ideal setting for wilderness walking safaris in an internationally renowned Big Five viewing area.

You will also have the opportunity to experience a sleep-out in the bush, falling asleep to the magical sounds of the park surrounding the tree-house. Rhino Post Safari Lodge offers morning and afternoon game drives, heightening the chance of spotting the Big Five.

This tour is the ideal option for safari goers looking to experience a little bit of everything. A combination of luxury tented and safari lodge accommodation, walking safaris, tree-house sleep-out experiences, and open-vehicle game drives.

Itinerary

Day 1 - 2 Kruger National Park

Today you arrive in the renowned Kruger National Park and check in at Rhino Post Safari Lodge no later than 2pm for your transfer to Plains Camp. Guests traveling from Johannesburg are advised to have departed by 7am at the latest in order to make good time.

After arriving at Plains Camp, you are afforded a short window in which to explore the camp itself. High tea is served and is followed by a briefing on the 'do's & don't's' whilst on safari, conducted by the lodge's expert guides. You will venture out on an introductory walk, later returning to sundowners and a short night drive. Enjoy a sumptuous dinner under a canopy of stars.

An early morning wake up call is softened with coffee, tea, and rusks, before the group departs again for the next walk. Guides take to sharing their extensive understanding of the area and its culture, identifying animals, trees, grasses, insects, birds, the medicinal uses of plants, local folklore and basic tracking and survival skills. In order to avoid the midday heat, the three to four-hour walks are conducted almost exclusively in the early mornings and late afternoons

After a light snack on the walk, you settle into brunch back at camp. Spend the hot hours in between walks enjoying the camp's Africana book collection, or cool off in the plunge pool while watching the regular passage of zebra, buffalo, giraffe, elephant, rhino, and lion. The afternoon safari ends with the group setting up camp on a set of raised platforms, and sleeping underneath the stars for the evening. Dinner is prepared on an open fire while guests watch as wildlife congregate around the watering hole.

Accommodation: Rhino Plains Camp

Day 3 - 4: Kruger National Park

After an early morning walk or optional sleep out experience, you will enjoy brunch followed by the chance to grab a shower and pack up your belongings before transferring to Rhino Post Safari Lodge.

Refreshments are served upon arrival, followed by brief introductions to the lodge. After settling in, you are invited to high tea, and then an afternoon/evening game drive. Sundowner drinks are enjoyed under a reddening African sky before setting back off into the night to spot some of the nocturnal residents.

Dinner and conversation are enjoyed on the deck back at the lodge before retiring to your room for the evening.

Following another early morning wake up call and much-needed coffee and snacks, you depart for a sunrise game drive. Brunch follows, with the opportunity for a midday siesta before high tea is served. You then depart on a late afternoon drive, keeping clear of the midday heat.

The evening sees guests enjoying another delicious dinner and each other's conversation, before retiring to your room for the evening.

Accommodation: Rhino Post Safari Lodge

Day 5: Depart Kruger National Park

After one more early wake-up call and freshly brewed coffee or tea, you set off again on a game drive for one last opportunity to spot some of Africa's finest wildlife.

Once you return to the lodge brunch is served and you are given some time to freshen up and pack your personal belongings before bidding farewell to the bushveld.