Pafuri Rivercamp

Into fish? Within an hour and a half's drive, there's a choice of the Mutale, Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers to try your luck at, all three stuffed with tigerfish, catfish, tilapia and mottled eel… who needs supermarkets? If you prefer watching the world go by, the road following the Luvuvhu through tropical forests between the Kruger's Pafuri entrance and Crook’s Corner makes one of the prettiest drives you’ll ever do. The Luvuvhu's also a haven for birds and those spotting them: take a guided walk from the site or head down the river banks to see rare African finfoots, mottled spinetails and Pel’s fishing owls. For fauna of the non-feathered kind, you can’t beat drives through the Kruger: elephant, buffalo, baboons and leopards roam the wilderness. But if you prefer spotting wildlife a little less wild, look out for the ‘small five’: antlions, red-billed buffalo weavers, elephant shrews and leopard tortoises. On a grander scale are the ruins of Thulamela, an hour from the site: this stone citadel was once the capital of a thriving mountain kingdom, whose citizens traded overseas and worked wonders with gold and iron between 1,200 and 1,600 AD. To see a natural treasure that doesn’t roar or bite, take a trip to the Big Tree at Sagole an hour and 20 minutes away, the biggest baobab in southern Africa at 78 feet high with a 108-foot waist measurement. Calm yourselves afterwards with a soak in the hot springs...