KNP HISTORY : History of camps

Joep Stevens is a keen historian who was introduced to the Kruger National Park by his parents in 1966. This ignited his interest in and passion for the Park.

Origin of Crocodile Bridge

The quaint little camp with rangers’ post adjoining, owes its existence to the Selati Railway line which, within the current boundaries of the Kruger National Park (KNP), has two major bridges, one over the Crocodile River and the second over the Sabie (spelt Sabi in early years). The two establishments were then simply named after these bridges, Crocodile Bridge and Sabi Bridge (which was the name used for Skukuza before 1932).

In Issue 10 of KRUGER MAGAZINE, we featured the history of Shingwedzi Camp. In this issue we look at Crocodile Bridge Camp.

History of the Crocodile Bridge area

The southeastern corner of the Park has a rich and diverse history. The current Mozambique capital, Maputo, lies about 64km southeast of the border. There certainly was trade activity for centuries between the east coast and the hinterland of South Africa, as we know it today. There was demand for the minerals of the area: tin, copper, iron and gold. Gold from Monomotapa or Ofira in what we know today as Zimbabwe, was of particular interest to traders. The Komati River, which forms the extreme southeastern boundary of the Park, got its name from MaKomati, meaning ‘the foreigners of Komati’. This refers to a Dravidian (Southern India) caste that was trading in gold and ivory about 2 000 years ago in the area through which the river runs.