Location: The Lower Sabie Restcamp is situated on the bank of a dam in the Sabie River in the southern part of the Kruger National Park.

Description: With its large lawns and shade trees this camp is a very popular family destination. Due to the abundant foliage and waterholes in the area, game abounds here. At Sunset Dam, a small dam situated only one kilometre from the camp, crocodile, hippo and various species of birds can be sighted.

Regulations:

Accommodation:

Sponsored Accommodation

• Keartland Guesthouse (On the river front)
  Facilities (7 persons)
  Three air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds and bathroom en suite (bath, shower, toilet and basin). There is a bench- bed in the livingroom. A fourth bathroom has a shower, toilet and basin. Kitchen with a stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. Barbecue facilities. Carport. Apply thirteen months in advance.
• Moffett Family Cottage
  Facilities (4 persons)
  Two air-conditioned bedrooms with two single beds each. One bedroom has a bathroom en suite (bath, shower (over bath), toilet and basin). This bathroom is adapted for handicapped persons. A second bathroom has a bath and basin. There is a separate toilet. Enclosed veranda and kitchen with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. Open parking. Barbecue facilities. Apply four months in advance.
• Steenbok Family Cottage (On the river front)
  Facilities (4 persons)
  Two air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds and bathroom en suite. One bathroom has a bath, shower, toilet and basin and the other a shower, toilet and basin. Lounge/diningroom and open-plan kitchen with a gas stove (with oven), refrigerator/freezer, sink, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. Barbecue facilities. Open parking. Apply thirteen months in advance.

Other Accommodation

• The five-bed guest cottages have two bedrooms (one with two single beds and one with three single beds), air-conditioning, two bathrooms (each with shower and toilet) and a fully-equipped kitchen (stove with oven).
• Two- and three-bed bungalows have air-conditioning, a refrigerator, two- plate stove (without oven), sink and a veranda. Cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery are not provided. One hut has a shower and toilet and the other, which is adapted for handicapped persons, has a bath and toilet.
• Two-bed huts with air-conditioning, shower, toilet, a refrigerator and veranda. Two of the huts have a sink on the veranda. Cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery are not provided.
• One-bed, two-bed, three-bed and five-bed huts have communal ablution facilities, air-conditioning, washbasin and refrigerator. Four of the two- bed huts have a veranda but no washbasin. The others have no verandas. Cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery are not provided.
• Campsites – tent or caravan sites, with power point, communal ablutions and cooking facilities, maximum of 6 persons per site.

Services:

• Basic First Aid Assistance
• Cafeteria
• Communal Kitchens with sinks and cooking facilities but no cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery
• Cutlery and Plates Hamper
• Emergency Road Service
• Laundromat
• Petrol Station
• Picnic Facilities
• Post Box
• Public telephones
• Restaurant
• Barbecue facilities
• Shop - The revamped reception/shop/restaurant complex will open in mid- October.
• A new swimming pool was opened recently for camp overnight guests only.

Activities:

• Morning and Afternoon Bush Walks
• Morning Drive
• Night Drive

Ecozones near this camp:

• Lebombo Mountain Bushveld
• Riverine Communities
• Knob Thorn/Maroela Savannah
• Delagoa Thorn Thickets
• Sabie/Crocodile Thorn Thickets

General Information:

Climate: Lower sabie is in a summer rainfall area. Such precipitation is usually convectional and can result in heavy downpours. The summer months (October to April) are hot and sometimes balmy. Winters are warm and mild, although visitors going on night-drives will require warm clothing.

Day Visitors: Lower Sabie has a designated day visitor area. There are also picnic sites nearby at Nkuhlu (± 20 km), Mlondozi Dam (17 km) and Tshokwane (43 km)

Emergencies: Camp: +27 (0)13 735 6056/7

Travel / How to get there: Visitors should ideally enter at either Crocodile Bridge (31 km to the south) or at the Paul Kruger Gatea Gate some 53 km away. The nearest camps are Crocodile Bridge, Skukuza (43 km west). There are a variety of gravel road loops in the area.

What to do and see nearby:

• Sunset Dam
• Mlondozi Dam
• Nkuhlu
• Nhlanganzwani Dam
• Nkumbe Lookout
• Orpen Dam

Routes:

Places of special interest / History:

Wildlife:

Mammals: See mammal checklist The diversity of game seen in the Lower Sabie Area is hard to equal anywhere in the park. The area is rich in lion, cheetah, elephant, hippo, rhino, herds of buffalo up to 800 strong, and a very high density of warthog. See Kruger National Park Mammals

Birding: Mozambique and Fierynecked Nightjars. The nearby Sunset Dam is one of the finest venues in the Park to observe aquatic species at close quarters with cormorants, herons, kingfishers and storks occurring in abundance. Marabou, Saddlebilled, Woolynecked, Yellowbilled, Openbilled and Black Stork can sometimes be seen simultaneously. In the Lower Sabie area Mlondozi Dam is a good spot to view waterfowl including some of the rarer species in the park. The small pan on the N’watimhiri road is a regular haunt of Lesser Moorhen.

Vegetation: Lower Sabie has many large riverine trees in camp and the yellow fever tree is very prominent. The camp is situated in knob thorn/marula savannah on basalt soils. Other prominent trees include the round-leafed teak. The grass is sweet thus attracting many grazing species. Immediately west is a zone of delagoa thorn thicket on ecca shale soil. Here prevalent trees include the delagoa thorn and the magic guarri. The grass is still sweet, but shorter. To the east of camp is the Lebombo Mountain Range. Here the vegetation differs again. However there are no public access roads into this area.