Berg en Dal is a rest camp in the south of the Kruger National Park in South Africa. It is easily accessible and is a mere 1 1/2 hour drive from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. The camp is a lovely medium-sized camp that is very well designed with quaint face-brick cottages with thatch roofs and private patios with a barbecue and seating area.
Bushbuck, Vervet monkeys, squirrels, and bushbabies are a few of the smaller mammals you might see in the camp, as well as abundant birdlife. Look out for sunbirds in the aloe plants and brown-headed parrots in the coral trees. Butterflies are also present, even in the winter months. It is also a very nice and quiet camp due to the sensible placement of cottages and pockets of indigenous vegetation being left throughout the camp.
The Rhino trail is a pleasant and extensive trail that wends its way through the camp and along the perimeter fence by the Matjulu River. We saw bushbuck on our walk, as well as sunbirds. We also saw several elephants on the other side of the fence. The trail has interpretive signs with braille for the seeing impaired. There is a small museum about rhinos at reception, and a very nice curio shop with basic groceries, clothing, books, and memorabilia.
The 6-bed cottages are always clean with fresh towels and linen. We also had plenty of space with a large outdoor patio and barbecue area, indoor kitchen and lounge, two bedrooms, bathroom with a sink and bathtub, restroom, and separate shower. Our unit had some minor maintenance issues and a tree squirrel had made its home in the thatch and ate our avocados. Also keep an eye out for the tricky Vervet monkeys during meal times.
There also are several three-bed cottages and two luxury guesthouses. The campsites are well-appointed and quite popular during the school holidays. The camp has a very nice swimming pool.
There is a lot of activity around the camp at night because of the presence of a waterhole and you can hear the exciting, repetitive calls of lions and trumpeting of elephants throughout the night.
Berg en Dal means Hill and Valley, so you can imagine the lovely scenery. I would recommend hiring a 4 x 4 vehicle for your self-drive safari because the S122 road is very scenic, but rather rocky as it traverses a small mountain. The road along the Crocodile River is also rather bumpy. The South African National Parks webpage says to look out for wild dogs and leopards so in the area and we were not disappointed seeing both these kinds of animals not once, but several times, even on the main roads.
Early morning is the best time to spot animals in the bushveld as they are fresh and ready to start to the day as they head out to find food and water. You also might spy predators who are on their way back to a place of safety to nap during the day.
Please don't forget to SUBSCRIBE if you like the video!
The camp has a nice restaurant and we treated ourselves to a delicious lunch on the patio. The restaurant is very nicely located overlooking the camp waterhole and you can see a variety of game and birdlife at the water any time of the day or night. The trees are marked with labels and there is a very nice "Knob Thorn" on the patio which provides some pleasant shade. Wherever there is water, there are animals, there is always something happening. A good spot to enjoy the sunset is Matjulu Waterhole off the S110. The S114 road along the Crocodile River is also a good option. The H3 which is a very good tarred road also is an excellent option for game viewing and has a couple of waterholes, including Renosterpan which is a great place to enjoy bird watching. One of the Kruger Park’s best-kept secrets is the Malelane Bridge which is an excellent spot to see varied waterfowl.
You can enjoy a self-drive safari in the morning and afternoon and then head out on a very exciting sunset drive with a ranger in a large safari vehicle. The sky gets dark very quickly when the sun goes down and on our last trip, we were delighted to spot several nocturnal animals including two civets, a genet, rhino, porcupine, hippo, two honey badgers, several scrub hares, as well as the highlight a lioness with cubs that had eluded us that morning. Guided bushwalks and morning and evening game drives can also be enjoyed with a ranger.
The anti-poaching units are doing a superb job protecting wildlife on the parks some two million hectares and with so much space for wildlife to roam free what you can spot is anyone's guess.
It is also really fun to take a fairly short drive to enjoy a delicious breakfast at Afsaal picnic spot where you can order breakfast or lunch and enjoy sitting outside at wooden tables under trees. Although be warned, you may have to stop for a while on the way if you are lucky enough to spot something exciting like a leopard!
Updated in 2023. Photo Slideshow, Music, Narration, and Video by Tanja Nayak
Music by Storyblocks
#krugernationalpark
#whiterhino
#uBhejane