SA: Kruger National Park – Shalati Train, Skukuza

The first view you get of Kruger Shalati is as you cross Crocodile Bridge in Kruger Park. You can just make out the train that almost disappears into the mighty steel and stone structure of the historic bridge across the river. Kruger Shalati is a hotel in a train on that bridge, one of those rare properties that will amaze you as much for its engineering and its history as for its service and hospitality. A feat of the imagination and of much calculation has resulted in a luxury boutique hotel suspended audaciously 50 feet above the Sabie River. This is safari – with a difference. What that means, for one, is that you can lie in your bath and tick off wildlife sightings most people can only dream of. The idea for the hotel was inspired by the location’s history – a disused railway bridge adjacent to what is now SANParks Skukuza camp in Kruger National Park, that was last in use in the 1970s. The line was originally built more than a century ago as part of a railway link to different gold sites in the Northern Transvaal. Tourism was soon added and in 1923 South African Railways introduced a nine-day tour through the Sabie Game Reserve, that included an overnight stop on the bridge (now in Skukuza) for wildlife viewing. The only way to view game in this area then was by train – this was long before roads were introduced and motor travel and rest camps became the modern way to experience the wild. The train experience was eventually discontinued because of the danger to wildlife. The hotel is essentially a train, made up of 12 carriages on the bridge, which were converted from 1950s relics recovered from a “railway graveyard” in Ladysmith. Rusted, burned out and vandalised the carriages were transported to Germiston on the East Rand in Joburg to be gutted, re-engineered and refurbished. It took 12 weeks to finish a single carriage and then each carriage – a 36-ton load – was transported over a four-day journey to the Kruger Park. One year to the day from the first carriage being placed on the bridge, the last carriage (built for universal access, with a specially designed lift for wheelchair mobility) arrived – in March 2021. Chef Andrew Atkinson heads up the kitchen, offering an exciting mix of cuisines with influences as diverse as Asia and the Middle East. The team here are brimful of enthusiasm and we found service to be utterly top-notch. Kruger Shalati excels at the welcome. We are excited to find out that the staff have been recruited from surrounding communities as part of land claims settlements, and that the hotel has offered opportunities to many who previously had no employment. A fantastic use of space and commitment to the community. A MUST STAY.

🙂 Fantastic concept, stunning room, great pool, friendly service. Sundowners with a hyena. Black rhino and calf!

🙁 A little more work required on the food to deserve the 5 stars

Paul and I treated ourselves to two nights at Shalati. We were so excited and were not disappointed. We received a very warm welcome at Reception after parking our vehicle outside. Lunch was served which was a delicious steak sandwich.

Our room was stunning – the views are spectacular. On arrival we spotted hippos, elephants in the distance and a pack of wild dogs resting in the shade next to the river!!

It was really hot so we had time for a swim and a relax before we headed off on our afternoon game drive.

Quite divine.

We headed off on our private game drive – first sighting a leopard in a tree! But there was quite a queue so we explored further with the intention of returning after the crowds had to head back to camp when the gates closed – the beauty of being with Shalati!

Our Guide, Bonga was the Head Guide and extremely knowledgeable and great fun. We had our sundowners with a hyena! He had taken some incredible photos of a wildebeest jumping over lions which had gone viral!

A great game drive …followed by a great dinner… our bed was beautifully made up.

The next morning we were up at 04h15 and on the road at 04h30 when the camp gates opened. A glorious morning and spoilt with cute hyena sightings – our fav animals!

We had some sassy elephants too!

There was also a tiny wobbly baby!

We headed to Mathekeyane lookout for our morning coffee with a slug of Amarula!

We enjoyed a drive around Renosterkoppies and spotted some lovely buffao.

We headed back and enjoyed a delicious breakfast. After breakfast I headed to the honeymooon suite where I had a wonderful full body massage on the deck with the sounds of the birds and the bush soothing me…bliss. Paul worked while I had my massage.

After breakfast we chilled by the pool and then Vannessa and Ben arrived and we enjoyed lunch together and more pool time …so lovely to see them.

We enjoyed another afternoon game drive and another stunning sunset. Highlights were the hyena den, a porcupine (!) and a leopard back in camp in the car park where we were being dropped off! Sadly we suspect this is the same leopard who attacked a staff member in the staff village and was subsequently euthanised.

After another lovely meal we had an early night as we were up again at 04h15 the next morning for our final game drive. We had the pleasure of more gorgeous hyenas , elephants and then the HIGHLIGHT! A stunning sighting of a black rhino and her calf – she did the usual black rhino behaviour and kept coming closer to our vehicle until she was really close, then she snorted and off they went! Just beautiful – we were buzzing but could not unfortunately share this sighting with anyone to ensure that they were not put at risk of being poached – may they stay safe. We finished the morning with an Amarula coffee and felt marvellous!

What a memorable stay. Lovely staff. Lovely food. Lovely sightings. When we collected our vehicle it had even been washed and valeted! Highly recommended!

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