Skukuza (formerly Reserve, Sabi Bridge and Sikhukhuza), a town in Mpumalanga located east of Hazyview at the confluence of the N'waswitshaka and Sabie Rivers, is the administrative headquarters of the Kruger National Park.
It is also the largest rest camp of the park. It is South Africa's number one game viewing destination and is the most popular game reserve in the country. It is popular with domestic and foreign tourists alike, as the big five game are in relative abundance when compared to other game reserves in the country. The game reserve is situated in a medium rainfall area ( of rainfall per year), on the well-wooded banks of the Sabie and N'waswitshaka rivers of Mpumalanga Province.
History
Before the park was established, the area was home to a few resident tribes and others who were recently employed to build the railway line. The Ngomane clan and assimilated Sambo people lived in the vicinity of present-day Skukuza. The Ngomane clan, formerly subjects of Soshangane, joined forces with the Sambo people and took refuge near the Sabie River after a defeat by Sotho people near Makhulukhulu mountain on the escarpment. Chief Ngomane's people lived near Skukuza until 1905, when the Transvaal Government relocated them to Tenbosch south of the park, where they were displaced again in 1945. Other inhabitants were resettled in villages around Hazyview, such as Hoxani, Cunningmore, Mkhuhlu and the greater Hazyview area. The resident peoples of the area hunted animals with bows and arrows as well as snares, and eventually rifles obtained from the white men. They used the Sabie River for fishing. Before relocations, Tsonga people occupied the region east of Hazyview, where the majority of private game reserves in Mpumalanga are situated today.
When the government decided to establish a national park during the late 1800s and early 1900s, they sent James Stevenson-Hamilton as the only government official. British troops still occupied the area that today forms the southern part of the park after the Second Boer War. In particular, one of the locations of a British forward position was at the Sabie River in an old block house. After the troops were disbanded, Stevenson-Hamilton decided to make this location his base of operations. The government moved the Tsonga people to villages on the outskirts of Hazyview.
The name "Skukuza" was given to James Stevenson-Hamilton by his staff, the local Tsonga people, as a nickname. It could be translated as 'to sweep', since Stevenson-Hamilton was perceived to sweep the land clean of poachers and other criminals operating in the area. But according to Dr Henri-Alexandre Junod, an expert in Tsonga history, the name Skukuza reflects the Tsonga people's attitude and resentment towards forced removal from their beautiful and fertile land.
After the Kruger National Park was declared in 1926, the presence of the Selati Railway, which connected Komatipoort to Tzaneen, was considered a potential disruption for the animals. As such, the railway was dismantled. The old bridge across the Sabie River can still be seen from Skukuza.
Facilities
Being the largest rest camp in the Kruger National Park and a village in its own right, Skukuza boasts more facilities than any other camp. As a village of over a thousand people and the administrative headquarters of Kruger Park, Skukuza also includes the types of local services one would expect from a village, including a police station, a bank branch (First National Bank), and a court. The court was opened in April 2017 and was scheduled to close in October 2019 with cases moving to Mbombela (Nelspruit), but the decision was placed under moratorium in September 2019 due to its success in swift conviction of poachers (with a 99.8% conviction rate).
Skukuza also has a number of historical sites including 3 museums and a library, besides a camp centre consisting of shops and restaurants. The Selati Train restaurant is situated on an old train platform on the eastern verge of the camp. From the main reception a visitor can organize game drives, bush braais, and guided walks in Kruger. Besides the camp basics, Skukuza also has 2 swimming pools, a golf course, library, minor motor repairs, police station, post office and even a bank. These shops and facilities are surrounded by different sized huts, larger guest houses, as well as a rustic camping terrain.
There is an airport away, called Skukuza Airport, with direct flights from Cape Town and Johannesburg on a daily basis. South African National Parks (SANParks) acquired 4 helicopters, which are based at Skukuza, in order to assist with anti rhino poaching and other wildlife operations from the sky.
Shop
Whilst most of the main camps at Kruger have a Parks Shop, the one at Skukuza is by far the biggest. The shop sells a variety of supplies, including groceries, prepackaged meals, snacks such as nuts and biltong, ice cream, and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). It also sells a variety of park guides and curios.
Restaurants
Skukuza is the only camp at Kruger with a choice of multiple restaurants. In the central area of the camp overlooking the Sabie River is a well-appointed Cattle Baron restaurant, one of four in South Africa's National parks. (The others are at Storms River mouth in Tsitsikamma, Satara Rest Camp in Kruger National Park and in the main camp at Addo Elephant Park.)
In the 1980s, a train was donated to Skukuza by South African Railways, which was converted into a second restaurant, Selati. The restaurant was destroyed by a fire on 12 January 1995 and the area was closed to visitors. At some point between then and 2006, the restaurant reopened as the Selati Station Grillhouse. In 2017 the station was placed under private management, and in December 2019 a train-themed hotel, the Shalati Hotel, was opened on the tracks as well.
Skukuza Indigenous Plant Nursery
The Skukuza Indigenous Plant Nursery, located 4 km from the main camp near the golf club, is a nursery dedicated to the cultivation of indigenous plants. Established in August 1975 by Harry Matthysen, the original nursery was placed on a plot of land. In 1983 the nursery was moved to its current location. The nursery has a wide selection of plants for sale, with over 1.2 million individual plants in their collection, which originally began with roughly 3,000 plants. As it is run by the SANParks Scientific Services Department, the nursery also performs a broad spectrum of botanical research. A wetlands boardwalk is also available, allowing visitors to take in a rehabilited wetland area up close. The nursery is open 7 days a week, including on public holidays (except for Christmas Day). The Lowveld Honorary Rangers run the parks on weekends and holidays. The nursery holds regular events for related holidays. There are also picnic tables, toilets, and ice cream for sale.
Library
The Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library and Museum at Skukuza houses a selection of ecological and history-related books, as well as paintings, documents and artifacts related to the history of Kruger National Park and the area. The library was opened on 14 October 1961 and is a brief walk from the Cattle Baron and reception. The hand knife used to kill a lion which attacked legendary ranger Harry Wolhuter, as well as the lion's skin, are on display in the Stevenson-Hamilton Library.
Sports
Quite unique to Skukuza is a full 9-hole golf course near Lake Panic. Originally built as a recreational facility for employees at the camp, Skukuza Golf Course is now open to the public. The course is not fenced in, meaning it's fairly common to see impala, warthog, baboons or even hippo on the golf course. Play has been stopped multiple times due to predators on the fairway. In 2014, a 29 year old son of a park employee was killed while retrieving golf balls from a lake. Because of the potential danger, players must sign an indemnity form prior to playing.
Skukuza also has its own cricket club, which has hosted several teams from around South Africa and from abroad. Skukuza hosts occasional cricket matches against teams from the surrounding area of Mpumalanga and other South African national parks as fundraisers. The cricket field is unfenced like the golf course, and at least one leopard kill has had to be removed from the field. Because the cricket field is in the Skukuza staff village, cricket can only be played by invitation.
Little Heroes Acre
The Little Heroes Acre is a small dog cemetery in Skukuza paying homage to the working dogs who have helped Kruger Park through its days. Several of the graves tell stories about the dogs, such as Tessa, who fostered three lion cubs and eventually was killed by a black mamba while rescuing a human.
Conference Facilities
Skukuza has two separate conference facilities, which can support groups of varying sizes. The Goldfields auditorium is a single theatre room with rear projection facilities that can seat up to 158 people. The newer Nombolo Mdhuli Conference Centre, which was built as part of the SANParks commercialisation strategy, is significantly larger.
Nombolo Mdhuli Conference Centre
The Nombolo Mdhuli Conference Centre, named after a corporal who served in the park from 1919 until 1958, was built in the early 2000s to provide a larger, more modern conference facility at Skukuza with facilities for up to 500 people, with up to four breakaway rooms with a variety of configurations. This conference centre is also air conditioned. The facility has hosted multiple international conferences, including the 15th Annual Savanna Science Network Meeting in 2017 and the 2019 Species on the Move conference.
Medical Facilities
A private medical practice, Kruger Park Doctors, serves residents and visitors at Skukuza and surrounding areas. Special dispensation to enter Kruger Park via Paul Kruger Gate in order to visit the doctor is provided, as long as the doctors' receptionist stamps the form. The doctors also provide 24-hour emergency services. The closest full hospital is Nelspruit Medi-Clinic, a 260-bed private hospital. Skukuza Airport has an air ambulance, which allows quick transport to hospitals such as that in Nelspruit.
Activities
As the biggest camp in the park with a sleeping capacity well in excess of 500, Skukuza offers a wider variety of activities than most of the camps in the park. This comes at the cost of having to share activities with many others, which is less likely at the smaller lodges. Skukuza also has an AM Spa, which is open seven days a week.
Game drives and bush walks
Like most of the major camps at Kruger, Skukuza offers game drives, split into the options of sunrise drives, sunset drives, and night drives. All-day drives can also be booked ahead of time, subject to driver availability.
Skukuza offers guided morning walks much like those at other camps. Trained field guides will take groups of up to 8 adults into the bush for several hours, where they will track large game on foot. Unlike most other camps, Skukuza also offers afternoon walks, which are considered by reviewers at Getaway Magazine to be some of the best walk experiences in Kruger. These afternoon walks typically leave at 4 PM.
Metsi-Metsi Wilderness Trail
Skukuza the hosting site of the Metsi-Metsi Wilderness Trail. This 2 day (3 night) hiking trip begins with a drive to the first trailhead near the Mozambique border, where the first night's camp is set up. The next two days consist of morning and evening hikes, with a break in the middle of the day. This trail crosses the Lindanda plains, where black rhino, cheetah and lion are common, as well as plains birds such as ostrich, kori bustard and secretary birds. Marula and knobthorn trees are quite dominant on the landscape. The camps on these hikes are not fenced in and have no electricity - simply four A-frame huts for guests. Lunches and dinners are prepared by cooks at each camp.