Our Sabie Park House

This charming thatched bungalow, is situated on the banks of the Sabie River, in a private nature reserve, overlooking Kruger National Park. It is a delight, for anyone who loves nature and the great outdoors.

Our little house, seen from inside

 the Kruger National Park.

Photo courtesy of Dave Clark.

The very scenic Sabie River borders our property.

View from the house (in summer),

 looking into Kruger National Park.

Carol, birding in the garden in winter.

Hogwarts is an anagram of Warthog,

here seen just outside our bedroom!

Looking along the verandah in winter.

The rear of the house, facing woodland.

The bungalow is very comfortable, sleeping up to eight people, in four bedrooms. Two bedrooms have a double bed and both are en-suite. The other two bedrooms have two single divan beds in each bedroom. These two bedrooms share a toilet and bathroom.

Master bedroom.

 

The front of the house in summer.

The front of the house (in winter),

which overlooks the Sabie River.

The living room

The living room is large, and a particularly attractive feature, is the raised thatched roof. This living area opens on to a verandah, which is shaded, and overlooks the river and Kruger National Park. It is a great place for entertaining/eating or just watching the animals come down to drink in the late mornings and afternoons. Many of our guests find they spend the majority of their time, just in this one spot!

The best view in the house!

 

The kitchen

The kitchen has a gas cooker, (with oven), a small chest freezer and a separate fridge with a small freezer compartment. All are run on gas. There is a very attractive split stable door, which leads to the side of the house and the lapa. The lighting throughout the house is solar powered and extra lanterns are provided if needed. This makes for a very relaxing, romantic, safari style atmosphere and is definitely a bonus feature.

This beautiful private game reserve is totally secure and guests may drive slowly, or walk freely, along all the roads and paths throughout the reserve. A wide variety of non-dangerous game can be seen in a mornings stroll. These include: Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffe, Impala and many more. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded. A separate bird and mammal list is available on request.

Our driveway to the house.

One of our frequent guests!

The verandah, is a superb place to BBQ (brai), entertain friends and watch the wildlife. From this vantage point, herds of Elephant (and some magnificant lone bulls), Buffalo and Hippopotamus are seen daily, as well as a great variety of the commoner game species.

View from the picnic site, looking into KNP.

The fantastic animal & bird hide

 overlooking the Sabie River.

The hide gives great, elevated views of the entire area.

Viewing from one of the hides at the picnic site.



A mature bull Elephant.

A young male African Elephant

Another young bull, seen from the picnic site.

Hippos are common along the river.

A pack of Wild Dogs seen on the road
 opposite the house.

Male Lion.

It's not all action in the bush!

One of the many females in the pride.

Up to seventeen animals are in this large pride.
They seem to be a successful unit,
 as cubs are seen every year.



 A pride of Lions is seen periodically. They tend to be seen for several days, sometimes hunting on the far bank of the river and then move off for a few days, before returning. This is a large pride, with two dominant males and cubs are often seen.

 Leopard is also seen from time to time, but are secretive and you have to be lucky. Leopard is periodically  present on our property & can be seen from it.

Male Leopard.

Hunting, quite close to our property.

On the track, next to the river.

He posed like this for five minutes,
before walking off into the bush!

Spotted Hyaena can be seen in the late evenings. A large female lives here all the time & every alternate year rears cubs.

One of her cubs.

Our little Spotty Dog, laying by our dustbins!

Just in case there is a snack going!

Same animal at night. Still by the dustbins!

A young cub, coming on to our verandah at night!

The whole family together

Young Spotted Hyaenas are very curious and allow for great photographic opportunities.

This is a perfectly safe place to enjoy your game viewing, as there is an unobstrusive, electrified fence separating you from the more dangerous game along the river.

Three hundred metres away is a communal picnic area, shared by all the owners of the nature reserve. It has wonderful old, imposing trees, giving ample shade, large grassed area and plenty of BBQ pits. Wonderful views are enjoyed from here and close views of both Hippo and Crocodiles are almost guranteed!

Looking over the Sabie River, from the picnic site.

Picnic spot, next to the swimming pool.

Carol roughing it in the garden!

At the entrance to the reserve, is the headquarters, wardens house, beautiful communal swimming pool and tennis courts. There is also a laundry service, small shop and a secure facility for charging all your electrical appliances. Wifi, is available here.

Swimming pool area.

This reserve is just over one kilometre from the entrance to Kruger National Park and a one hours drive from all the attractions of the northern, Drakensburg Mountains, including Graskop; Sabie and Pilgrim’s Rest. The stunning Blyde River Canyon is a little further away, but easy to visit on a day’s drive along the Panarama Route.



From Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial.

Views from Mathekenyane. .

One of the stunning views inside KNP,
just a short distance from the property.