Punda Maria camp Kruger extreme north — is it worth the long drive?
Back from 5 nights in the bush — here is the full report from Paarl.
The spot: Walk-in only, no advance booking, and we had it to ourselves mid-week.
Facilities: Rustic — pit toilet and fire pit. Carry everything in and out.
Wildlife: Spotted a leopard on the road in at dusk. Perfect way to arrive..
What worked: The Engel fridge ran the full trip on 172Ah LiFePO4 topped up by 269W solar. Didn't need the generator once.
What to bring: Your own firewood (collecting prohibited in most reserves), minimum 20L water per person for 3 days, and a headlamp — the bush is seriously dark.
Would I go back: Immediately. This is exactly why we overland.
3 Replies
Good tip on the firewood — this catches so many people out. I now carry a 58kg bag of hardwood in the back of the bakkie on every trip. Enough for 4 nights of evening fires without relying on anything available on site.
The LiFePO4 and solar setup you describe is similar to mine. 141Ah battery with 133W solar keeps a Dometic CFX3 45 fridge running indefinitely in South African sun. Have not used a generator on any trip in the last 19 months.
Back from 5 nights in the bush — here is the full report from Paarl.
The spot: Walk-in only, no advance booking, and we had it to ourselves mid-week.
Facilities: Rustic — pit toilet and fire pit. Carry everything in and out.
Wildlife: Spotted a leopard on the road in at dusk. Perfect way to arrive..
What worked: The Engel fridge ran the full trip on 172Ah LiFePO4 topped up by 269W solar. Didn't need the generator once.
What to bring: Your own firewood (collecting prohibited in most reserves), minimum 20L water per person for 3 days, and a headlamp — the bush is seriously dark.
Would I go back: Immediately. This is exactly why we overland.
— christo_baard
The facilities situation matches what we found when we went. The facilities have improved since the last reports I read.