Olifants Rest Camp

Olifants Camp occupies one of the great viewpoints in southern African wildlife-watching: a cliff 100 metres above the Olifants River, with an uninterrupted view across the valley floor. From the terrace you can watch elephants, buffalo, hippo, and crocodile along the river, and raptors — including fish eagle, bateleur, and martial eagle — circle at eye level. The sunsets from this terrace are remarkable.

The Olifants River road is one of the park's best drives. It follows the river through dense riverine vegetation and more open areas, with good chances of leopard, elephant, and lion. The N'wamanzi loop north of the camp offers a different habitat — more open, with spectacular koppie (rocky hill) scenery and good chances of sable antelope, one of the more handsome and less commonly seen large antelopes. Olifants is in the middle of the park geographically, making it a good staging point for north-south journeys.

things to do sight
A story
The Olifants River's name means "elephants" in Afrikaans — a reference to the massive herds that once migrated seasonally through this valley. In 2015-2016, a mysterious die-off killed dozens of elephants near the Olifants and Letaba rivers, and subsequent investigation identified a combination of pansteatitis (a disease linked to contaminated fish) and other factors, raising questions about the health of the river ecosystem. The investigation changed how conservation managers monitor the park's rivers.

Other places in Things to Do