Tanda Tula
TIMBAVATI PRIVATE NATURE RESERVE & Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, SOUTH AFRICA
With a mission to celebrate Africa, explore wild places, inspire change and connect our people
Tanda Tula is a leader in conscious travel offering an authentic and connected safari experience at their luxury camps – Tanda Tula Plains Camp and Tanda Tula Field Camp.
Tanda Tula Safari Camp is being rebuilt and will reopen in June 2023.
TO LOVE THE QUIET
Tanda Tula, meaning to love the quiet, is inspired by the people and wildlife-rich region of the Greater Kruger National Park. This is a safari business that has been around for more than 30 years and thanks to committed owners and a strong team is regarded as one of the best camps in South Africa. Here you connect to a distinctly authentic and immersive safari experience in Kruger.
Tanda Tula Safari Camp is where it all began and it will return as a gorgeous new camp in June 2023, in its same prime location in the Timbavati. In the meantime, Plains Camp will fill its shoes during the build, offering guests the same atmosphere, experience, and unforgettable staff. It will join Tanda Tula Field Camp, which was launched in 2014, and is the first of its kind in South Africa. With the owners passion for real, connected and wild experiences, this non-permanent explorer-styled tented camp has a dedicated focus on being a top, environmentally friendly camp in South Africa.
The Timbavati Private Nature Reserve is regarded as one of the top safari destinations in South Africa. The reserve comprises of individual landholders who together have formed a protected area of over 53 000 hectares (131 000 acres) of unspoilt natural wilderness adjoining the Kruger National Park in an open eco-system. The Timbavati is a highly professional and well managed reserve, that protects sustainable populations of many endangered species such as black and white rhinoceros, pangolins, saddlebilled storks, southern ground hornbills and many others.
Founded by Don and Nina Scott, Tanda Tula is an owner-run company alongside the Jackson and Mathebula families. This family feeling is ever present throughout each and every staff member and it continues on to every guest that passes through their doors.
FAST FACTS
RATES
Safari Camp:
R 16 500
per person per night
Plains Camp:
R 12 600
per person per night
Field Camp (Exclusive use):
From R 36 930
per night
ACCESS
FLY:
Daily flights into Hoedspruit from Johannesburg and Cape Town. Daily scheduled flights into Timbavati Rockfig Airstrip.
Drive:
45 minutes from Hoedspruit, 15 minutes from Timbavati Rockfig Airstrip
CHILDREN
Safari Camp & Plains Camp:
6+ years
Field Camp:
13+ years, children under 13 years are not able to participate in walking safaris.
Tanda Tula is better suited to families with children in their teens and older.
What we love
celebrate AFRICA
Offering a distinctly authentic and immersive safari experience, Tanda Tula is proudly committed to Africa and sharing this passion with all guests.
explore WILD PLACES
Responsible tourism is the foundation of an authentic safari experience that protects habitats and keeps wild places for wild animals.
Inspire CHANGE
Telling Africa’s story in a new and honest way inspires guests to be part of a conscious journey and a movement of change.
Connect OUR PEOPLE
Authentic moments of connection inspire real relationships and new friendships between the team and guests at Tanda Tula.
Tanda Tula
The impact of your stay
Tanda Tula has always been committed to strengthening communities, empowering individuals and conserving wild spaces. Through responsible business practices and people-facing programs, they enable change immediately and provide growth for years to come. Tanda Tula are focused on community development and conservation.
Their community development programs are largely associated with education, but also provide support for small business development, the establishment of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and encouraging environmental awareness. Through support from guests they contribute to various important projects in the Timbavati and Greater Kruger National Park.
Every stay contributes through:
- When staying at any of the Tanda Tula camps, you contribute towards the Tanda Tula Education Foundation and the Greater Kruger National Park conservation initiatives in the Timbavati Private Nature reserve.
- Knowing that responsible tourism is the foundation upon which Tanda Tula’s conservation efforts, community programs and research projects have been built.
- Contributing R 200 (2023) & R 150 (2024) per person (all ages) per stay to the Tanda Tula Foundation.
- This contribution made by each guest goes a long way in helping make the scholarship program truly sustainable. Tanda Tula’s vision is to assist with educating the next generation and provide them with the knowledge to build a stronger future.
- Paying R 510 (2023) & R 575 (2024) per person (all ages) per night Conservation Levy.
- 100% of this fee goes to the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve and directly supports the Greater Kruger National Park conservation projects including anti-poaching and security, as well as sustainable development for communities.
- Finally, every stay at Tanda Tula contributes to a monthly fuel donation and feedback on any endangered ground-hornbill sightings for the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology researcher.
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TIMBAVATI PRIVATE NATURE RESERVE
Safari Camp
Reopens 1 June 2023
The much loved Tanda Tula Safari Camp is situated in the heart of the Timbavati, adjacent to the Kruger National Park where game roams freely between the Timbavati and the Kruger, providing an unforgettable safari experience. This East African styled camp is set on the banks of the Nharalumi Riverbed, shaded by majestic trees with magnificent views of the wilderness ahead.
After 27 years of operation Tanda Tula Safari Camp has undergone a complete revamp (literally from the ground up), modernising the infrastructure and by doing so protecting the wilderness for generations to come. Guests are welcomed back to a more ecologically sensitive camp with a lighter footprint. The new design embodies the essence of Tanda Tula Safari Camp which will continue to connect guests to the African wilderness through canvas.
7 Spacious tented suites and 2 family suites are dotted amongst the majestic trees, each with its own private deck overlooking the Nlharalumi Riverbed. All tents are en-suite with an indoor bath and outdoor shower. Relax in the various seating areas of the main area, including by the pool, or in the bird hide overlooking the waterhole.
SEASONALITY: Open all year
CHILDREN: 6+ years
Safari Camp
7 Suites
2 Family Suites
TIMBAVATI PRIVATE NATURE RESERVE
Plains Camp
Permanently Closing 18 April 2023
Tanda Tula Plains Camp, our home for the next year, is perched on a ridge with sweeping views across the Timbavati plains stretching to the lowveld mountains in the distance.
At Plains Camp, guests will be hosted by the same wonderful team they have grown to know and love from Safari Camp, including Chef Ryan and his culinary creations, and the warm and knowledgeable safari specialists who guide them through the same wild spaces by vehicle and on foot. The Tanda Tula family remain the heart and soul of the guest experience through authentic moments of connection.
The camp is comprised of 8 luxury suites, including 2 family suites, all complete with private plunge pools, A/C, and indoor and outdoor showers. All this is highlighted by the same look and pieces of Safari Camp, keeping you connected to the atmosphere that Tanda Tula is known for.
SEASONALITY: Open all year
CHILDREN: 6+ years
Plains Camp
8 Tents
Klaserie Private Nature Reserve
Field Camp
“Treading softly on the surface of the earth” is a foundation principle of everything that Tanda Tula stands for, and a principle that is echoed throughout each element of the Tanda Tula Field Camp experience. This camp has evolved to meet the growing requirement in the market for privacy, exclusivity and immersion into the wild in one of the few remaining private wilderness areas in South Africa.
Tanda Tula Field Camp is a unique safari experience unlike any other. Consisting of four custom designed tents, each with en-suite open-air bush bathrooms (hot water bucket shower and a compostable toilet) and a communal mess tent. The camp caters for between 4 and 8 guests on an exclusive-use basis only. Guests are hosted by some of the safari industry’s leading iconic guides who accompany them on an extraordinary journey of exploration and adventure.
Field Camp does not have wi-fi or electricity but operates with oil and solar-powered lanterns.
SEASONALITY: Open 1 April – 30 September. Minimum stay 3 nights.
CHILDREN: 13+ years, Field Camp is a walking experience and by Klaserie Park regulations children only 13 years and older are permitted to participate on a safari walk..
Field Camp
Exclusive Use
4 tents
Tanda Tula
Featured Offer
Tanda Tula & Pafuri Free Flight Offer
Receive free return flights between Hoedspruit Airport and Pafuri when you combine 3 nights at Pafuri Tented Camp with 3 nights at Tanda Tula Plains Camp.
Flight special based on double adult occupancy. Not applicable to children under 18 years.
VALID: until 18 Apr 2023
Tanda Tula
Featured Journey
Safari Sandwich & Island Unwind
We call this our "slam-dunk" combination as it offers fantastic diversity, easy access and is available all year round. It is also well suited to couples and families alike.
Tanda Tula
Location
Getting there
FLY
There are two daily flights into Hoedspruit from Johannesburg, and one daily flight from Cape Town.
In addition, there are daily scheduled charter flights from Johannesburg to Timbavati Rockfig.
DRIVE
45 minutes’ drive from Hoedspruit Airport to either Safari Camp or Field Camp, and 15 minutes’ drive from Timbavati Rockfig Airstrip to Safari Camp.
Availability
Contact
Email:
reservations@tandatula.com
Tel:
+27 15 793 3191
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm. Based in Hoedspruit.
Safari Camp is closed while undergoing a rebuild, and will be reopening in June 2023.
