Where ecotourism and adventure meet
We enjoyed a 2 night getaway to Somkhanda Game Reserve in Northern Zululand. The reserve provides an ideal opportunity for self driving and unfenced camping in a Big 5 Game reserve. We spent 2 nights camping in the wild as it was an unfenced campsite and the game was free to move through our camp. We did an animal tracking game drive on Saturday morning and a wild bush walk on Sunday morning. This is well worth a long weekend if you get a chance.
Somkhanda Game Reserve is a community-owned Big 5 game reserve located in northern Zululand stretching across 12,000 hectares of rolling hills and natural bushland habitat. The Reserve is owned by the Emvokweni Community Trust (ECT), who represent the Gumbi community, and is co-managed by WILDLANDS – a programme of the WILDTRUST. The Reserve focuses on improving ecosystem management and driving interventions that conserve endangered wildlife and species vulnerable to poaching and the illegal trade. Somkhanda promotes growth for the Gumbi community through ecotourism and environmental education opportunities. Currently these initiatives employ around 100 community members. Wildlife ACT oversees the conservation of this area. Read more about the history here.
Getting there
Approaching Jozini dam, you turn off onto a nondescript dirt road that leads to Somkhanda Game Reserve some 20kms after the turn off. Driving through rolling valleys and hills, you can’t imagine that you will find big game roaming these peaks and valleys.
Somkhanda is definitely off the beaten track as you make your way through small villages in remote wilderness areas in the northern part of KwaZulul Natal. This is not a game reserve most people have ever heard of. It’s a 4 hour drive north of Durban and a 6 hour drive from Johannesburg (through Ermelo and Piet Retief).
Somkhanda offers a very low key, unpretentious experience. The reserve also functions as a base camp for training field guides, so book a game tracking experience and see the guides in action.
During our visit in February, the foliage was plush and the game was spread out across the reserve as there was plenty of water following good rainfall. We knew this from the get go, so we didn’t have great game viewing expectations.
Our Experience at Somkhanda
We had our first true wild-camping experience at Somkhanda, sleeping in a tent in an unfenced camp in a Big 5 Game Reserve. The newly cleared “Haak en Steek” unfenced camp (see more below) was where we would spend our Friday and Saturday evening.
The Haak en Steek and Tambotie camps are next to each other and can be found just off the main road as you make your way to the main lodge. The campsites are situated under beautiful thorn and Tambotie trees with a clearing for your fire and cooking area. Your shower and bush toilet are inconspicuously built into the bushes 25 meters away. These campsites were recently cleared and still had quite a bit of long grass around the camp so it wasn’t ideal with muddy feet in the early morning dew.
Some of the more interesting items on the information pack, when staying at Haak en Steek, include an Indemnity form with the following highlights:
12) – Do not walk around the camp after dark without a very bright torch.
13) – Look out for the reflective eyes of an animal and if you spot something do not proceed until you have determined that it is safe to do so.
14) – If you see eyes or hear a noise do not run. If it is a predator this will only encourage it to chase you. Shine in its eyes and slowly walk back to the safety of the fire, tent or vehicle.
15) – If the animal continues to approach you, and you feel that you are in danger, the best thing you can do is stand your ground and make as much noise as you can. If necessary throw something at the animal. You want the animal to feel that you are more dangerous than it is. Do not wait until it is charging you, you should take the initiative.
Everyone is all talk until the sun sets. Once dark, every leaf rustling in the wind is thought to be an angry bull elephant or stalking leopard approaching your tent. Sadly we had no wild interactions in our camp but our neighbours at Scotia Camp were lucky to have lion sightings and over at the training camp they had a pride of male lions chasing a herd of buffalo through their tents at 4am.
If you are interested in wild and rustic bush camping, www.getoutgo.co.za is a dedicated website with very detailed campsite reviews and a Southern African map with similar campsites. Christoff runs the site as well as a very informative Youtube channel. Follow him on instagram @get.out.go
The best time to go is in the winter months from April/May – September/October. It will be a little cooler and the game sightings will improve with the less dense bush and game visiting the watering holes around the reserve. It’s not all unfenced wild camping, there are a variety of other options available including tented camps, fenced camps and lodges at Somkhanda.
Accommodation at Somkhanda
Haak en Steek and Tamboti Unfenced Campsites
We stayed here, this is rustic wild camping at its best. You are provided with a galvanised bucket to warm water for the bucket shower platform. There are no flushing toilets and no electricity or running water. It’s really basic but well worth the experience if you have the right camping gear.
- Haak en Steek Camp – can accommodate up to 5 vehicles (R250 per person per night)
- Tambotie Camp – can accommodate up to 5 vehicles (R250 per person per night)
- Haak en Steek and Tambotie do not need to be booked on an exclusive basis for groups of 6 adults or less. There is no minimum charge but you may need to share your campfire with others if you choose this option.
Some of the practicalities of rustic bush camping:
- You need to bring all of your own drinking water
- There is no electricity access, no phone charging, or lighting
- If you want a warm shower you need to warm the water in a bucket by the fire
- You will probably need a cooler or 12V fridge to keep food fresh and cool. You could manage with a cooler box for a weekend.
- Although there are trees, you may need to bring additional shade.
Your bush toilet is discreetly tucked away and you will find a metal frame with a plastic toilet seat positioned over a long drop. Once you have completed your ablutions, you will cover it with excavated sand and wait for the dung beetles to do their thing.
The campsite is provided with 50 litres of borehole water to be used for dishes and a bush camp shower (they provide the wooden structure and shower bag) but you need to take all your own drinking water with you as the borehole water is not for consumption. You can collect some drinking water at reception if you run dry.
At the Haak en Steek and Tambotie camps there are no other shower options except for the manual bush camp shower. Do try it, it’s surprisingly refreshing in the February heat and it gets the job done.
Scotia Unfenced Camp
Scotia Camp is situated much deeper into the reserve and is a more established camp site with a good clearing and camping area but still lots of shady trees. This campsite is 5 star when compared to Haak en Steek but still provides a great rustic bush camp experience. This is definitely the most popular site so advanced booking is essential.
- Scotia is booked on an exclusive basis with a minimum rate of R1500 p/night for the campsite. Scotia comfortably accommodates 5 to 6 tents (10 to 12 guests).
- Rustic open – air ablutions (x2 showers and x2 toilets) with hot water.
- Fireplace with a half barrel braai with braai grid.
- A basic dome tent with extension & trestle table for use as a kitchen.
Fenced Campsites
There are 3 designated campsites within the fenced area. Perfect for guests that wish to bring their own camping equipment/rooftop tents but are still able to enjoy the facilities within the tented camp. These campsites are near the main lodge and therefore have access to gas showers, flushing toilets and the swimming pool. There is also communal access to 220V at the washing up area.
- R250 per night per person and R125 per night for children under the age of 12
Somkhanda Lodge
6-unit Bush Lodge accommodates 16 guests and comprises of:
- Two 4-sleeper family rooms (1 double bed and a 2 single bed loft)
- Four 2-sleeper twin rooms (single bed or double bed options)
- Rate R700 per person per night and R350 per night for children sharing a room with 2 adults.
The Bush Lodge facilities include a modern, fully-equipped communal kitchen complete with a dining area and mini game-viewing deck. Lodge, tent and camp guests have access to two separate braai areas and a pool.
These communal areas were lovely and they all overlook a big waterhole which is popular for game viewing in drier months. A great chill zone area is set up next to the pool with hammocks, pool loungers and a communal boma under a large shady tree for when you can’t escape the heat of the day at your campsite. We spent a good few hours here on Saturday afternoon lounging in the pool, cooling down.
Marula and Zebra Tented camps
Marula Campsite
10 safari-style tents, sleeps up to 20 guests
Zebra Campsite
13 safari-style tents, set across the hillside, sleep up to 30 guests.
This site includes access to:
- A Basic kitchen tent
- A Braai area
- Ablutions
- Rate R300 per night per person and R150 per night for children under the age of 12
Cell C is the only reliable network on the reserve. Drinking water can be collected from the Lodge.
Large bags of wood are available at reception for R150. Large fires help to deter wild animals from roaming too closely to your campsite.
Unique Wildlife Experiences
Bush Walks: Explore Big 5 country on foot
If you are interested in experiencing the magic of Somkhanda Community Game Reserve on foot, you can arrange to go on guided bush walks, accompanied by armed professional field guides.
The field guide service is provided by Bhejane Nature Training who use Somkhanda as a satellite base camp for their student training programmes. Some of their students may join along for the bush walk as part of their training requirements. Our field guide on the day was the very knowledgeable and entertaining Dylan Panos who is the passionate owner of Bhejane Nature Training. We would go so far as to ask for him by name as his knowledge and insights made all the difference. He also has a very active and informative Instagram account with authentic naturalist content – check him out on Instagram @dylanubhejane
We opted for this experience on the Sunday morning, departing from the reception area at 5:30am. You are briefed in great detail about safety and bush walk etiquette before heading off. Surprisingly, animals are really cautious and frightened of humans on foot, so most encounters with even the normally relaxed impalas would send them scattering in all directions as we approached.
We used the 4 hour walk to take in the beautiful scenery, sample some of the wild fruits and herbs the bush had on offer (under strict guidance from our trained and knowledgeable guides), animal tracking and birding. Listening to the stories of animal encounters and wild adventures told by the guides inspired us to find even more remote wilderness areas to explore. We were unlucky not to encounter any real large game, but that is the reality of the bush in summer.
The cost at the time was R350 per person. It’s well worth the money.
Animal Tracking: 4×4
You can join the field guides on an animal tracking conservation drive. You head out really early (the safari vehicle collected us at 5am at our campsite) to catch the game when they are most active in the hot summer months. The field guides use radio frequency equipment to geo-locate collared game. The search is on as the guides navigate heavy 4×4 terrain, through thick vegetation to get as close to the signal as they can. From there you hope to hear a call or breaking of branches to give away the animal’s position. This equipment is used for conservation purposes, to monitor wildlife, their movements and their habits.
The thick vegetation in summer makes it nearly impossible to spot game even if we knew the animal was close by. The early morning drive through the reserve to its highest peaks, offers magnificent views over the valleys and hills, just as the sunrise burns off the mist. The off-roading through beautiful dense bush, the abundant bird life and the numerous nyala (antelope) that we spotted were worth the trip.
The roads in Somkhanda can get a little overgrown in the very plush summer. This may deter certain vehicles as the bush gets thick and the terrain quite rugged. You can get to all the camps without a 4×4 but some of the other roads in the reserve may need some extra muscle. We suggest organising a morning game drive on the game viewers and leave all the driving to the field guides.
The cost at the time was R350 per person.
Booking and contact details
For accommodation and activity bookings email, bookings@wildconnection.co.za or contact Lundy directly on Whatsapp (limited signal) – 081 816 2541.
Despite the lack of game sightings, there is something tranquil and special about Somkhanda. The friendly staff and field guides, the secluded camp sites, the rugged-ness of the roads, all contribute to its authenticity and make for a memorable experience.
Our Summary
A rare opportunity to enjoy a rustic and wild bush camping experience in a community-focused Big 5 Game Reserve.
Til the next mile,
Wes & Lieza