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This is a lovely rest camp within KNP offering restaurant facilities for those not wanting to self cater. The rooms here are beautiful in comparison to other rest camps, the permanent tents being fairly spacious with wonderful large decked balconies. The camp site was also beautiful and the hide overlooking the waterhole here was truly magical. The only downside was that if you weren't camping, you had to walk through the campsite to reach it. This felt quite rude as it felt like we were imposing on people's privacy. That said, the atmosphere and friendliness of those camping was so infectious, we wished we had camped instead. This area is so beautiful and it is far away from the busy roads and sightings in the south. The restaurant whilst very small, offered good good and outdoor seating. Other than the very smelly bats in residence in the roof here, it was lovely. We even watched Genet's running around on the roof and in the tree's here.
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Date of stay: April 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Smaller than the other main Kruger campsites but the waterhole was quite special. We had a very lucky sighting of leopard and buffalo at night, as well as lots more game.
We saw more game and birdlife in the surrounding area than anywhere else in the park.
There are no allocated sites here so it is first come first served and some campers have a lot of stuff spread out. It becomes a bit of a case of leaving the park as early as possible to find a site rather than being able to enjoy the park. We had to hunt around for a brai we could use.
Monkeys could be very cheeky here but they did have someone patrolling with a catapult to keep them away.
There was an issue with the drains while we were there mainly affecting the female ablutions but it seemed they were trying to fix this so hopefully not an ongoing issue.
It seems friendly customer service isn’t a thing at reception in most of the Kruger camps!
FYI: No WiFi available here
This is a fenced campsite.
Washing machine and tumble dryer (not that you need to use this in the heat) available here.
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Date of stay: September 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Punda Maria is in a small, quiet camp in the northerly region of the Kruger Park. It can be easily reached through the gate with the same name, but also from Shingwedzi (3 hour drive) or Pafuri (2 hour drive). The camp is small with a choice of tents and bungalows. The camp has a very friendly atmosphere and the people running it are very friendly. The shop is well stocked and the restaurant is the best of all restcamps in the park ( and we saw them all). We prefer a bungalow over a tent and stayed in a three bed bungalow at the end of the second row along the main street. Small but cosy with a good air conditioner (it was 38 degrees). Of course the density of game is less than in the southern part of the park, but there is a lot to see when driving the Mahonie loop S99 around the camp. Take at least 2 hours. On a previous visit we drove on this road for 20 minutes behind three male lions. There is a resident leopard. The nyala’s and the Baobabs give the drive a special flavour. A trip to Klopperfontein is always rewarding for zebra, elephant, kudu, tsessebe and other animals. Highly recommended.
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Date of stay: October 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Punda Maria Tented Camp would be amazing if the Park's maintenance is up to date. The planks of boardwalk to our tent gave way as it had serious cracks and has not been maintained for at least a few years. We booked 6 months before our arrival and were never informed nor pre-warned about the construction taking place next to our tent. So we had to live with 2 days of noise by angle grinders. The next door neighbour informed to the manager about it, but got little response.I also spoke to him about it without seeing any constructive action. Such a pity, as all the other camps we stayed were well maintained, but not as beautiful as Punda Maria's tented camp..
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Date of stay: May 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was a bit worried about the state the rooms might be in as Punda Maria is the oldest camp in the Kruger. But, when we arrived at the Russel Cottage, I was pleasantly surprized! What a lovely, well kept cottage! It was so clean and I liked the historical theme a lot. It was light and bright with bug screens at the windows and doors which was a huge comfort to me! The cottage is spacious with a fully equipped kitchen AND pretty wine glasses.
Thank you Sanparks for our amazing family stay!
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Date of stay: March 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We only used this camp as we needed to get across the border to Zimbabwe as early as possible the next day. We tried to book a tent but there are so few none were available so we ended up in cottage 12 opposite the ablution block. The cottages are quite small and only have a view onto the road from a narrow terrace where there is a table and 2 chairs. Across the road there is also a Brai and cooking area. Because the rooms are so close together and if you have noisy neighbours it can be a problem if you are trying to get an early night for an early start the next morning. We wouldn't stay here again unless we could book one of the tents
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Date of stay: March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We love the northern part of KNP but cannot stay in the safari tents at Punda Maria camp anymore. Since we first stayed there a few years ago, absolutely no maintenance had been done. The one we stayed in (no 6) was so bad that it is unsuitable to accommodate guests in safely: planks and railings were missing or broken, a roof flap was torn and hanging loose, the door lock didn't lock from the inside, a sharp screw stood out at the bottom of one of the chairs, the bulb in the veranda light was out, locks on the kitchen doors have been replaced off-centre and one of the lights on the walkway was hanging on exposed wires. We had a talk with the manager, Mr Garth Holt who offered a number of lame excuses and promised to do something about our main complaints. The next day after we had come back from our game drive, we were shocked to see that nothing had been done! There is also a general air of neglect and bad safety in the camp: several full gas bottles were standing on the main road. Safety laws require that they should be caged which they weren't for the 3 days we were there. Cleaning and maintenance staff were sitting around texting on their cell phones in public areas. It is no wonder that our tent's walls were also very dirty.
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Date of stay: August 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Our tent was very nice with a lovely stoep. Punda Maria is a nice camp, smaller and more intimate than others, tents are a bit far from chalets and camping, so it’s very quiet. The waterhole offers nice sightings. We found a lamp that couldn’t work and the sink in the toilet that drained slowly. The next morning we reported it to the reception and in some minutes two men came to our tent to fix the issues and we appreciated it. We think that SANParks should take more care about maintenance.
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Date of stay: August 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed September 2024 and have to say this - along with Sirheni - my favourite camp in the Kruger.
There’s a permanent waterhole and hide where you can watch elephant and Nyala quench their thirst. The camp has a shop and a restaurant / cafe. Staff are lovely and helpful.
We stayed in the new tent. Much nicer than the cottages which look teeny. The tents are further away and we had full privacy. Self contained kitchen, beautiful balcony and outdoor area and a braai area. The tents have their own bathroom and ours even had aircon! It was heaven.
We had a troop of baboons visit so lock things away. They used our tent as a slippery dip! We also had a resident kudu bull just outside the fence who was happy to graze when we weren’t looking!
Wish we could have stayed longer.
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Date of stay: September 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Â Book one of the new tents - we had tent 3. Much better than the cottages
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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I stayed here for two nights, with my brother's family. First stop of a two week stay in Kruger. Punda Maria is a small and old camp, but located in an excellent position for visiting the northern part of the park, the least crowded with tourists given the lower density of animals and the (relative) difficulty of reaching it. The camp has a small restaurant with a good menu and a fairly well-stocked small shop. The rest of the family stayed in one of the two large two-story cottages. I settled in bungalow no. 2. It is a small structure that shows its age but is overall quite good. The bathroom is a little small and the bed short but comfortable. The negative note is the fact that the pitch of the thatched roof in front of the entrance door drops to 170 cm from the ground and... for those who are taller it is a big problem. Inside the camp we saw galagos, genets, various species of birds and several bushbucks, as well as a band of annoying and impudent vervet monkeys... but you quickly learn to take measures of those in Kruger. From the camp's observation hut we didn't see anything interesting, but we were there very little and we heard of notable sightings (leopards, etc.) For those based in Punda Maria I can only recommend going to the Klopperfontein Dam and dedicating some time there: there is certainly no shortage of sightings, at least in winter (August). More distant and noteworthy are the Pafuri area to the north and the combined S56 + S52 Serso Shingwedzi, but each destination requires a whole day.
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Date of stay: August 2023
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Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Â Attenzione ai loadshedding (blackout programmati), che possono comportare disagi dato che i...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
They sent us a mail before our stay to apologize in advance for drilling activities. In all honesty, they were drilling besides the gas station and we didn’t hear a thing.
There are more places to choose from in the Kruger National Park area.
LOCATION
South AfricaKruger National Park
NUMBER OF ROOMS
24
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