HISTORY KNP : 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.
Olifants (24,005628S 31,740443E) – the camp with the best view
In Issue 17 of KRUGER MAGAZINE, we featured the history of Balule. In Issue 18 we look at the history of Olifants Camp.
Origin of Olifants
Back in 1953 mention was already made of a replacement camp for Olifants River Camp (referred to as Balule from 1960 onwards).
Gorge (also called Olifants Gorge) had logistical problems relating to water and access.
The Eastern Province Herald of 6 October 1953 reports as follows under the heading “New Developments in the Kruger Park”: “A new Olifants River camp site under the magnificent trees would be the largest of the new camps. The new camp of 200 beds would be built opposite the causeway.”
Having been opened on , 34 years after the Kruger National Park proclamation, Olifants is the first large second-generation camp to be opened in the Park. Soon after the end of World War II, it was realised that additional beds were required in the Park and plans were developed in order to achieve this. In the first ten years (from to ), the number of guests grew almost three-fold and in thirty years (from to ) this figure grew 10-fold. The factwhen all camps remained open all year round, certainly contributed to these growth figures. There was also an inventory deficiency and many of the camps were expanded considerably during this era, , Skukuza and Satara.
