Imagine……………….. inhale the fresh balmy air of African Bushveld. Fall asleep to the gurgling of the river, interrupted by the eerie whoops of hyena, spine-chilling wails of jackals and the plaintive cry of the thick-tailed bushbaby. Awaken to the melodious chorus of birdsong and watch the activity of wildlife drinking at the river or at our spotlit waterhole. Walk along the pristine banks of the perennial Klaserie River amongst huge Sycamore Figs and giant Matumi trees……….this is Marc’s Treehouse Lodge.
Day 1
You are collected in the morning from your Johannesburg hotel/hostelguesthouse OR from O.R. Tambo International Airport, and travel via the Highveld grasslands to Tremisana Game Lodge in the Greater Kruger area. Board an open Landcruiser for an exciting Sunset Drive, your first opportunity to experience the fauna and flora of Africa. Watch the magnificent African sunset and, after dark, use a spotlight to view nocturnal animals. Dinner will be an unforgettable bush BBQ deep in the African bush. After dinner continue with the Night Drive and overnight in an en suite air-conditioned chalet at Tremisana Lodge.
Day 2
Start with an early morning departure for the Olifants River where your armed ranger will conduct an exciting 4h walk in the wild. Enjoy this prolonged opportunity to discover savour the Bushveld’s secrets on foot. You will get a fantastic opportunity to track Africa’s big animals and approach close enough to take a good photo. Return to Tremisana for brunch. After lunch at around 13h30, you then board an open Landcruiser at around 15h00 for a 2h Game Drive. Dinner and overnight at Marc’s Camp.
Day 3
Today we travel to the Orpen Gate of Kruger Park where we board our open gameviewer. The absence of windows and the elevated vantage position allow for excellent photographic opportunities. You will have an amazing chance not only to view game but also to listen to and smell the African bush and its denizens. There will be regular stops at picnic spots, rest camps and places of interest. Your experienced ranger will show you many animals and birds that frequent this wildlife paradise. The Orpen-Satara-Nwanedzi regions boast open plains and support large herds of zebra, giraffe and antelope that attract numerous predators. In fact the zones we visit have the highest concentration of lions in Africa !
Day 4
After breakfast we drive to Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre. Here you will learn about the sterling work being done in rehabilitating injured and orphaned animals. You will get close and personal to some of the residents, including lions and leopards. Your understanding of Wildlife Conservation will be greatly improved. Afternoon game drive at Balule.
Day 5
Enjoy another full day of game viewing in the Kruger National Park. Dinner and overnight at Marc’s Camp.
Day 6
Early morning game walk with an armed guard to explore the many animals that inhabit Marc’s Camp Lodge. After breakfast, we travel to the Three Rondawels of the Blyde River Canyon. Return to Johannesburg in the late afternoon - Airport dropoff by arrangement.
Tour Price Includes
● Accommodation at Tremisana Lodge (night 1) and Marc’s Camp (night 2+3+4+5)
● 5x breakfast, 5x dinner
● All transfers and entry fees
● 4hr sunset drive on Balule Big 5 Reserve
● Bush BBQ at Marula Tree Boma
● 4hr Big Five bush walk with armed rangers
● 2hr afternoon game drive on Balule
● 2 full days in Kruger on open gameviewer
● Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre
● Morning walk at Marc’s Camp with armed ranger
● Scenic highlights of Blyde River Canyon including a stop at the Three Rondawels
Tour Price Excludes
● Lunches
● Drinks
● Laundry
● Tips
● All items of a personal nature. A torch/flashlight is highly recommended.
Kruger Tours & Packages Cancellation Policy
Please be advised that the cancellation fees / refund % is applicable to the total tour / package price.
- Cancellation 15 days or more prior to start date = 50% refund
- less 4% in the case of online or POS card transactions - Cancellation 14-0 days prior to tour start date = 0% refund / Full fee charged
Full terms & conditions here
PRE-DEPARTURE INFORMATION
Planning your Kruger Park Safari
Our experience is that safaris should be of at least 4 days duration.
The overland safaris spend substantial time getting from Johannesburg to the lodge and back (one way distance of ±480 km - ±5-6 hr drive excl. stops) and we have found that guests on the 3 day safari return very tired.
We collect from where you are staying: homes/hotels/hostels/guesthouses in Johannesburg.
This is time-consuming and we ask our guests to be both punctual and patient !
We need to be on our way out of Johannesburg by 9h30 am latest and we therefore ask international tourists who are arriving by plane on the day of departure and going on safari to touch down at O R Tambo International Airport by 7h00 or earlier. We will supply an attachment for emails indicating the exact location of the meeting point at the airport.
On the return journey, unlike other shuttle service providers, you visit the spectacular Blyde River Canyon and stop at the famous Three Rondawels. We therefore only return to Johannesburg at around 17h00 (just before rush hour). Guests cannot book local flights leaving before 19h00 or international flights leaving before 20h00.
Our transfer vehicles rendezvous at Dullstroom where you have a lunch stop and where you may have to change vehicle. To expedite matters, we supply a menu from the restaurant with numbered items. You select your meal and your guide contacts the restaurant roughly 1 hour before arrival and informs them about the dishes they need to prepare. In this manner, the meals are ready upon arrival ! By law, our drivers are meant to have a one hour break so if you do finish lunch early you will have time to explore this quaint little tourist town.
Tremisana Lodge
Tremisana Game Lodge is the largest and leading Big 5 Game Lodge in the Balule Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger Park. They have 15 chalets and a two-bedroom Guest House. All chalets are en suite, air conditioned and have a tea/coffee station. All the comfortable beds have mosquito nets.
There is a splash pool, an open Boma for dinner around the crackling fire and a Lapa overlooking a waterhole where you can view wildlife while you enjoy breakfast. The waterhole is floodlit at night affording their guests an opportunity to view nocturnal wildlife. Free WIFI is available in the Bar area.
Marc’s Treehouse Lodge
Accommodation at Marc’s Treehouse Lodge is secure, comfortable and relaxed. We have a choice of accommodation types : 12 reed and thatch treehouses, 7 tented units and 2 brick and mortar chalets. There are 3 original treehouses that are not en suite but have private designated ablutions. These are built in trees or have trees as supports. The remaining 9 treehouses are not in trees per se but are built on stilts within the tree canopy and are located in the gallery forest. Three treehouses overlook an illuminated waterhole, often frequented by our resident buffalo herd while nine treehouses are discreetly nestled in gallery forest along the river. Each treehouse is equipped with beds and linen, soap and towels, overhead fan, mosquito nets and wooden viewing deck. In addition we have added two brick and mortar guest houses as well as seven equipped canvas tents for those of our clients that prefer these types of accommodation. Each tented unit has bed and bedding, electric light, fan and plugs and has its own deck. There are mosquito nets above the beds or on windows and door openings. The tented units share 3 showers and 3 toilets.
Marc’s Treehouse Lodge has a swimming pool, a bush bar and a rustic boma where 3 course meals are served. After your evening meal, which always has a typical African flavour, you can relax around the crackling campfire and share your impressions of the day’s wildlife highlights and adventures.
What to Bring on Safari
Clothes - This depends on the season in which you are on safari :
>>>> In Spring and Summer (September to April) the temperatures range between 15C(59F) and 35C(95F). Light clothing is recommended. Take a pullover for early morning drives. A light raincoat is useful – we do sell inexpensive light plastic ponchos. All the lodges have swimming pools so take swimming gear. It is recommended that you take a pair of long pants – these are useful on the Bush Walks and also protect you from insects in the evenings and nights. For guests doing a Bush Walk please bring CLOSED walking shoes and clothes of neutral colour – bright polka dot shirts are likely to enrage Zulu, our resident Black rhino bull
>>>> In Autumn ( Fall ) and Winter ( May to August ) the temperatures range from 5C(41F) to 25C(77F). You will need a warm jacket or fleece. Generally our guests take 3 or 4 layers of clothes and remove these as the day warms up. Gloves are useful on the early morning drives and the Sundowner and Sunset Drives as well as the late return drive on the open vehicle from Kruger Park. Blankets are supplied for these occasions. At Marc’s Treehouse Lodge, the temperatures are usually 2 or 3 degrees lower than at Tremisana Lodge so, if you suffer from the cold, please ask for a hot water bottle.
Sunshine - The Kruger Park gets over 300 days of sun annually. You will need sunglasses. Take sunscreen as well, especially in summer (November to February).
Torch & Binoculars - We strongly recommend that you take a torch, especially if you are staying in the Treehouse Lodge. Often we encounter animals at Marc’s (there are no fences as at Tremisana) and a torch is useful in returning to the tents and treehouses as well as spotting animals at night.
A small pair of binoculars are useful in seeing animals that are far away.
Electricity - The supply is 220 Volts. There are adaptors for sale at the reception at Tremisana Lodge.
Please bring a spare battery for photographic equipment, should this be necessary.
Cash - You will need money for lunches on transfer days as well as days in Kruger Park, drinks, personals and gratuities. Our shop at Tremisana sells basics including small curios. On the return overland trip, you stop at the Three Rondawels of the Blyde Canyon where there are more curios on sale.
Food - Please advise us timeously of any special food requirements. We have suppliers of Halaal and Kosher food and cater for vegetarian and vegan diets. Please advise us of any food allergies.
The South African diet is quite heavily biassed towards meat dishes, so please let us know well in advance if you require alternative dishes.
Travelling with children (minimum age)
The minimum age for kids is 12 years and older for the bush walks. Where they cannot do the walk, an extended game drive is given. Kids share rooms with parents (3/4 sleeper triple/faimly rooms).
Yellow fever vaccination
Please take note that the South African authorities at airports, or other points of entry, require overseas visitors coming from countries infected with Yellow Fever (including South America & Africa) to have a valid yellow fever vaccination certificate. This also applies to travellers who have been to these countries in transit – for example if you fly from USA via South America and on to South Africa. It is not possible to obtain a yellow fever vaccination on arrival in South Africa. The certificate should be dated at least 10 days prior to arrival here & is valid for 10 years.
What to expect on Safari
Guests on safari expect to see animals – lots of them !
Balule Private Game Reserve - Part of the so-called Greater Kruger Park.
Kruger proper - The sheer number and variety of animals in Kruger Park naturally demand that all safaris cannot exclude a full day in Kruger. We travel from our lodges to Kruger along a road that skirts numerous private game reserves and we always see animals even before we enter Kruger. There are various biomes that we visit and in Kruger we have the chance of seeing specials such as Wild Dog and Sable Antelope that are generally absent from other reserves.
Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre - Longer duration safaris visit the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre.
Guides’ Contribution
Our tourist guides make it their business to find out where the animals are. In Balule we are in radio contact with one another and with guides from other lodges.
In Kruger proper, we receive updates from other guides as well as Kruger rangers. We have found that the SA public are very considerate and good – they stop our drivers and inform them of where they have had sightings !
