Set within a 10 000 hectare private concession this is truly the “Gem of Kruger”. Hamiltons Tented Camp was named after Colonel Stevenson-Hamilton, who was instrumental in establishing the world famous Kruger National Park.
Hamiltons Tented Camp epitomises luxury with an outstanding safari experience. Magnificent tented suites complete with teak floorboards, dreamy mosquito nets, slipper baths, private plunge pools and a superb view of the complete seasonal river, linked to the main lodge area by raised timber walkways amongst ancient Jackalberry trees.
Uncompromising elegance and breathtaking beauty identifies Hamiltons tented Camp. Activities include Nomadic African Spa treatments and open vehicle safaris, where, guests will enjoy some of Kruger’s most spectacular landscapes and an extraordinary variety of wildlife, birdlife and plant life. A fine tradition of luxury in true ‘Out of Africa’ style.
Luxury with an outstanding safari experience situated in Kruger National Park. Magnificent tented suites complete with teak floorboards, private plunge pools and a superb view of the seasonal river. Uncompromising elegance and breathtaking beauty identifies Hamiltons Tented Camp. With a fine tradition of luxury in true ‘Out of Africa’ style.
ACCOMMODATION
Our guests will experience absolute privacy within their luxury elevated tented suites, set on the banks of the N’waswitsontso river. Each of the six sumptuous spaces have picture windows and spacious timber decks from which one can enjoy the riverine forest positioning.
The recent addition of exclusive Sala lounges for each tent boasts leather couches and hospitality cabinets and include mini bars, tea and coffee making facilities. Private plunge pools are suspended upon the extended teak decks which have been positioned to enjoy the breath-taking views.
The Décor is themed to replicate an authentic turn of the century in “Out of Africa” style. Traditional fittings and features such as old brass light switches, steamer trunks with vintage labels revealing exciting journeys and sepia-stained photographs enhance the tradition and style of this ‘turn-of-the-century’ luxury safari tent; modern comforts such as electricity, air conditioning are the only clues that we live in a different time.
DINING
Dine as you would have in the 1900s. Hamiltons Tented Camp ensures, whatever the occasion, meals are a classy affair. From fine crystal wine glasses to pewter silver water jugs, revel in the dining traditions of old in spectacular bushveld surroundings.
Our butlers wear their traditionally styled uniforms proudly and are trained to anticipate your every need. A beautiful white linen table, silver cutlery and crystal glassware set the mood for a unique dining experience on the teak decks overlooking the water and ancient riparian vegetation.
Cuisine is curated lovingly by the chefs of Hamiltons – fresh locally procured produce is selected with great care to ensure the perfect gastronomic experience in beautiful surroundings, to the accompaniment of the sounds of the bush.
From champagne breakfasts to an English High Tea, from a romantic three course dinner to the light and refreshing salads and nourishing soups, the Hamiltons staff are prepared and will provide even the most discerning traveller with a world-class experience.
WELLNESS & TREATMENTS
Enjoy a relaxing & soothing massage with blended aromatherapy oils of ylang-ylang, cedarwood & vanilla to soothe your soul while overlooking the African bush from the comfort of your deck!
Please book your treatment with the wellness therapist or alternatively you can speak to the camp manager who will arrange this appointment time for you. Our therapist at Hamiltons Tented Camp is from the local community and has been professionally trained, empowering the ladies to support themselves by being “hands-on”.
ACTIVITIES
Activities at Hamiltons Tented Camp include traditional safaris in “Big Five” country, bush picnics and champagne breakfasts. Wellness treatments are available on request by the African Spa team. These may be taken at the poolside area or on a secluded deck of your suite.
BIRD WATCHING
Our guides are more than happy to share their unrivalled knowledge of our feathered friends with our guests. There is so much to learn about birds on our Concession. From the fierce Marshall Eagle to the smallest and most delicate Blue Waxbill.
LOCATION
Hamiltons Tented Camp is located within the private 10 000-hectare concession of Mluwati in the western region of the Kruger National Park, bordering the northern Sabi Sands and Manyeleti Game Reserves.
Spread across 10 000ha of pristine African Bushveld, providing exclusive access only to guests staying at Hamilton’s Tented Camp, Hoyo Hoyo, or Imbali Safari Lodge. This area offers the ultimate secluded and private Kruger Park Experience, set over the basalt plains of the Satara Region, this is said to be the ultimate Kruger Experience!
On this magnificent basalt range, we find a well-established Mixed Bushwillow Woodlands Eco-Zone. This Eco-Zone features some iconic Trees of Kruger Park , which include the following trees: Baobab, Marula, Leadwood, a variety of Bushwillows, Tree Wisteria, Jackal Berry, Fig Trees, Knob Thorn and a variety of acacia species.
We are privileged enough to offer sweet grass (Low Lying Areas) as well as Mixed grass on our midslope to upper crest areas. This attracts a wide variety of Plains Game (From Duikers to Elephants and everything in between) which provides the perfect variety of food on offer to the flagship predators of Kruger!
KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Paul Kruger, one-time President of the former, Transvaal Republic was the visionary behind the idea of creating a national park to ensure the long-term survival of wildlife in natural surroundings.
In 1898, the Sabie Game Reserve was officially proclaimed, although it would take another 12 years for the area between the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers to be declared an area of restricted hunting. James Stevenson-Hamilton was appointed as the park’s first warden in 1902.
The very first tourist venture took off in 1923 and included an overnight stop at the Sabie Bridge, better known today as Skukuza. The tour was organised by the South African Railways and offered visitors accommodation by sleeping inside the train; an appointed game ranger accompanied them, sharing tall tales and interesting facts about the bush around a blazing campfire.
The popularity of this tour gave rise to a range of tourist facilities in the park, including the opportunity to sleepover in rest huts at designated points in Satara, Pretoriuskop, Letaba, Malelane and Skukuza, among other areas in the park.
The first proper roads were built in the 1930s, allowing self-drive tourists to enjoy the park at their own leisure. By 1934, some 1 200 kilometres of roads were completed.
Touring the Kruger Park and delighting in its astonishing variety of flora and fauna is now almost 100 years old, and the park has become one of the world’s most premier game-viewing destinations. Kruger is home to an estimated 1 500 lion, 12 000 elephant, 2 500 buffalo and 100 leopards, as well as both white and black rhino.
Big Five aside, there are a vast diversity of other wildlife species to be admired; an estimated 145 mammal species occur in the park, including cheetah, wild dogs, serval, hippo, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and many other iconic African species. Keen birders will be thrilled by the Kruger National Park’s almost 500 bird species.
And that is not all. Other than wildlife, the Kruger Park is home to almost 254 cultural heritage sites, including 130 recorded rock art sites, 300 archaeological Stone Age sites and San Rock Art. Imbali Safari Lodge was, in fact, built at the site of an ancient African settlement.
SAFARI EXPERIENCE
A private concession within the Kruger National Park comprising three lodges – Imbali Safari Lodge, Hoyo Hoyo Safari Lodge and Hamiltons Tented Camp, Mluwati Concession was born out of a spirit of ensuring the future sustainability of the national park.
As one of the first private concessions in the Kruger National Park, Mluwati has worked tirelessly to ensure the sustainability of this pristine wilderness that for over 100 years has been a sanctuary for over 114 reptiles, 34 amphibians and 147 mammal species, including Africa’s Big Five.
Keen birders will delight in the hundreds of bird species that call Kruger home. Over 500 species, in fact, many of which occur in the Mluwati Concession including the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Crested Barbet and Burchell’s Glossy Starling.
Guests will enjoy some of Kruger’s most spectacular landscapes and an extraordinary variety of wildlife, birdlife and plant life within the Mluwati Concession, ensuring that each safari experience will be unique.
Experience a morning and evening safari during your stay at Hamiltons Tented Camp. Witness the excitement of the first rains; the terrapins playing in river pools, the call of the Pied Kingfisher and steady chirping of sociable tree frogs.
Savour the rich smells of the bush, hear the shrill calls of the magpie shrike and see the wind blowing through the feather grass dotting the savannah plains. A safari at Hamiltons Tented Camp will reveal new scents, curious sounds and the beauty of an extraordinary African landscape to delight your senses.
Accompanied by your private guide, on-board the powerful open 4×4 Land Cruiser vehicle, you will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore the one hundred square kilometres private concession area within the Kruger National Park.
Experience the inimitable thrills of a safari inside the National Park in pursuit of the legendary “Big Seven” species that call our concession home. You will be able to join the twice-daily safari, the morning and afternoon/evening.
If you would like the unrivalled experience of discovering the magnificent Kruger National Park on foot, or would like to spend time focusing on the smaller things out in the bush, our guiding team will be on hand to ensure that we provide you with an unforgettable wildlife experience.
SELF DRIVES
Venture out of the concession and explore the endless wonders and expanse of the Kruger Park at your own leisure from the comfort of your personal vehicle or rental car. Stop off at one of the many picnic sites for an Ice Cream or an ice-cold Drink during summertime.
DAY IN THE LIFE OF…
Kick-start your day before the sun rises, dunking a homemade rusk into a steamy cup of coffee before setting off on your morning safari with your assigned ranger. Watch as the bush awakens around you; the dew glistens on the webs of the Golden Orb spider and Lilac Breasted Rollers flash their startling sky-blue bellies as they flit past your game vehicle.
See wild dogs laze under the Acacia trees and elephants leave their distinct trail as they chomp through the bush at a leisurely pace. Steal a glance at the leopard eating its prey high up in an old Tamboti tree, zebra foraging alongside large herds of wildebeest and impala flashing their characteristic ‘M’ as they disappear in to the thick brush.
Enjoy a traditional breakfast in Hamiltons’ comfortable dining room; a stylish affair complete with crystal water glasses and pewter teapots. Then retire to your luxury tent and relax, enjoy a Swedish massage or request a bush walk for an up-close encounter with the Kruger.
Lunch is served on the deck with beautiful views of the surrounding bushveld and the Nwaswitsontso River; the resident hippo making an occasional appearance to much applause. Guests are treated to light salads and tasty desserts before retiring to their rooms for an afternoon siesta.
Afternoon tea, served on the deck, heralds the imminent departure of your special evening safari through the Mluwati Concession. Spot a pride of lazy lions lounging casually in the tall grass and the associated warning call of nature’s tattletales, the Grey Loerie, as they inform the surrounding species of impending danger.
Sip a sundowner G&T as you watch the sky turn from the brilliance of an African sunset to a bright band of stars; the persistent call of frogs, owls and nightjars accompanying you back to Hamiltons Tented Camp for a romantic dinner on the deck, a canopy of stars watching over you.
Bursting with the day’s extraordinary bush experiences, all that’s left is to retire to the comfort of your comfortable room with nothing but the reassuring sound of the crickets and frogs lulling you to sleep.