A Short History Of The Kruger Eden Lodge

There is not much history about the Kruger Eden Lodge as it is new. But of course there was something before that.

Story of Marloth Park
Marloth Park Holiday Township was incorporated on December 7, 1977, covering an area of ​​approximately 1548 hectares divided into 4000 lots totaling 55% of the area. Marloth Park is named after the Aloe marlothii. The Aloe marlothii owes its name to the German-South African botanist, chemist and pharmacist Dr. Rudolf Marloth (1855-1931), who made a name for himself with research into the Cape flora. Many other plants were named after him. He originates from the same district in Germany as the current owners of the Kruger Eden Lodge. Aloe marlothii blooms from May to August, during the dry season. Flower color ranges from deep orange-red to yellow and can grow up to 4 m tall.

Marloth Park has its own reserve called Lionspruit which was established in 1992 and covers a total of 1500 hectares and 96km of driveways. The property of the Kruger Eden Lodge consists of 3 plots:
Buffel Street 4456, 4457, 4458. There are no other properties between the Kruger Eden Lodge and the Crocodil River that borders to the Kruger National Park.

The thatched main house with 2 bed rooms was built around 1992 and used as a private bush retreat. About 2001 the owners changed and a spacious thatched guest house with 2 additional bed rooms was built. However it remained for private use only. In 2019, the current owners acquired the ensemble to use it as a private base camp for their travels throughout South Africa and for game drives in to the Kruger National Park. It was extensively and completely rebuilt and modernized.

“The idea of the conversion was a high quality but plain elegance that doesn´t compete with nature but blends in harmoniously.”

Founding Kruger Eden Lodge
One day the idea came up to share this jewel with the public and make it accessible to other guests during the unused time. The name was obvious from a quick glance at the beautiful trees and animals in the garden.The guests loved it.

Then Covid hit. But instead of simply closing up, the decision was made to use the time to expand and modernize.

The following extensions were carried out before end of 2022:

– New construction of a generator house
– New construction of a modern staff residence
– Conversion and extension of the old garage into a guest house with 4 rooms and a reception
– Extension and construction of a large terrace with jacuzzi
– In addition, the neighboring property could be acquired with further modifications
– Conversion of the garage into laundry, storage and a room for nature guides
– Building a generous boma- New construction of a gym with fitness equipment
– 1 Luxury Thatched Bungalow with 2 bed rooms and an additional outside shower 

The following building will be completed by Mai 2023:

– 1 Luxury Bungalow with 2 bed rooms and an additional tent on its outlook platform 

Since 01. of Oktober 2022, the team of Kruger Eden Lodge awaits all guests with great pleasure.

We want to give you an unforgettable time at this magic place.

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The post Game Drive and Photography Part III (Post) first appeared on Kruger Eden Lodge.

My husband, our 2,5-year-old son and I just spent three wonderful weeks at the Kruger Eden Lodge. Coming from Germany the flight over night was surprisingly unproblematic, most of it was sleeping, even without any jet lag for we stayed in the same time zone. It’s a truly amazing accommodation. The rooms are chic and comfortable, the staff was super friendly and the garden is so beautiful with lots of big trees and different animal visitors every day. Our son had a blast discovering warthogs, monkeys, baboons, bushbocks, impalas, bushbabies and even zebras nosing around the garden right in front of us!

The lodge borders right to the Kruger Park. We just had to walk a few steps off the property and there was a pathway running along the fence of one of the most famous National Parks in the world. How cool is that?! From there, you have a wonderful view over the Crocodile River, with beautiful sunsets in the evening. We actually had an amazing encounter with an elephant there. For some reason he decided to walk right up to us to the fence. We got to see lots of elephants on our safari tours at the Kruger Park, but this was special – not watching it from the car, but standing so close to this wild, big animal. We also met a herd of zebras with a baby on our side of the fence. They were so curious, we could have stroked them.

These close animal encounters were a wonderful addition to our safari tours at the Kruger Park. There we got to see the Big Five, but also many, many more animals – small and big. We were completely overwhelmed by the density and variety of wildlife there and had different adventures every time we visited the Park. Starting a safari tour from Kruger Eden Lodge was perfect because the Crocodile Bridge Gate is really close and after an hour of driving through the park there is this really nice restaurant with a panoramic view in Lower Sabie – perfect for a late breakfast or an early lunch. We also did a night safari which we would definitely recommend as you get to see animals you don’t usually get to see during the day.

While staying at the Kruger Eden Lodge we enjoyed a day trip to the beautiful Botanical Garden of Nelspruit with its waterfalls. We also visited the mountains at Graskop where you can walk through tropical vegetation around a huge waterfall. My husband was even brave enough to take a bungee-jump-like leap with the big swing there! Another family highlight was a visit at the Elephant Whisperer’s. Our son still talks about how he stroked and fed a real elephant.

We already very much miss our days at the Kruger Eden Lodge. Having daily adventures, bathing in the warm jacuzzi while looking at the wonderful garden and its animal visitors and sitting around the campfire in the evenings having braai (traditional South African barbecue). We want to thank the team at Kruger Eden Lodge for this unforgettable holiday and will definitely return!

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Part II: What and how to photograph? 

Remember: Setting “P” is not for “Professional”!

In principle, you can photograph anything that seems interesting to you. Animals, landscapes, individual trees or plants. Some also collect the usual suspects, such as the Big 5. Photos in which people are in the picture with the animals are also popular, thus capturing the closeness and atmosphere.

Of course there is a difference between photographing an elephant and a butterfly. Therefore will be a separate news article for macro photography. The camera system is not so crucial, but rather the right choice of lenses. Here are a few recommendations for choosing the right lens:

Insects: macro lenses approx. 100 to 150 mm
Small birds: fixed focal lengths approx. 500-600 mm
Dynamic situations: fast zoom lenses with focal lengths of 70-300 mm
Medium animals: zoom lenses about 70-200 mm
Large animals: zoom lenses approx. 20-100 mm
Landscapes: wide-angle zoom lenses approx. 15-80 mm

In fact, one is somehow restricted on a game drive. When photographing animals, one often tries to photograph from a special or unusual perspective. But the perspective is clear here. You sit either in the car or in the open safari vehicle. Depending on where the animal is, you can photograph it from the front, above or below and from exactly the distance that the animal has to the road, because getting off or driving off-road is prohibited in Kruger Park. This is not a disadvantage, however, as this applies to all photographers equally, and zoom lenses are also flexible.

II.3. exposure time
The exposure time is the time that the light (that is used for one image) falls on the sensor. The shorter the exposure time, the more static the object is imaged. Long exposure times lead to blurred images or traces of movement, which are sometimes desirable, e.g. with running water. On a game drive you might regulary use exposure times of 1/250 to 1/500, as you can not use a tripod and other people are moving in the car. When it comes to any movement on scene, you might need something from 1/1.000 sec to 1/2.000 sec.

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What animals can you see without even leaving Kruger Eden Lodge?

Theoretically, you wouldn’t need to go to the Kruger National Park and you could still see almost all of the species that live there. You could just stay in our lodge and see a lot. You could also walk along the fence to Kruger Park from here, even with a chance of seeing the Big 5. We therefore recommend planning a few more days and not just rushing from safari to safari. So it’s well worth spending the day relaxing on your own terrace or in the jacuzzi and enjoying the 24-hour wildlife show from there.

This is a very incomplete list of species that can regularly be seen directly in the lodge. Of course there is no guarantee. But the more time you spend, the more you see. The nature experience is even more intense and relaxed than in the car, especially since some animals also come very close. When a mighty kudu buck mauling a bush just 2-3 m away from you with its huge horns, it can be more impressive than seeing a lion lying asleep 100 m away in the gras. Feeding or touching is of course strictly prohibited!

Mammals:
Blue wildebeest
Zebra
Bushbuck
Kudu
Warthog
Impala
Duiker
Striped mongoose
Baboon
Vervet monkey
Fruit Bat
Lesser Galago (Small Bushbaby)
Greater Galago (thick-tailed Bushbaby)
Civet cat
Genet cat

Birds:
Ostrich
Paradise flycatcher
African Fish Eagle
Hadeda Ibis
Grey Lourie (Go Away Bird)
Purple-Crested Turaco
Nightjars
Natal Spurfowls
Helmeted Guineafowl
Red Chested Cuckoo (Piet My Vrou)
African Barred Owlet
Verreaux´s Eagle Owl
Brown-Hooded Kingfisher
Trumpeter Hornbill
Crowned Hornbill
Southern Yellow-Billed Hornbill
Black-Collared Barbet
Black-Headed Oriole
Dark-Capped Bulbul
White-Browed Robin-Chat
Crombecs
Sunbirds

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The Mystery of the Ancestral Tree

When you visit our lodge you will definitely be amazed by the wonderful looking wood that you will find in some of the rooms, e.g. as a tables, bedside tables, shelfs or outside as handrails and stairs.

This is the wood of the ancestral or leadwood tree, the largest species of bush willows in southern Africa. (Combretum imberb, Afrikaans: hardekool, Sotho: mohwelere-tšhipi, Tsonga: motswiri/mondzo, Zulu: impondondlovu)

It has a spreading, rather sparse, rounded to slightly umbrella-shaped crown. The small, grey-green leaves are borne on spiny, thin branches. The branches and leaves are hairless. It grows up to approx. 20 m high and the trunk can reach a diameter of up to 1.5 m. The characteristic bark is pale to dark gray and deeply fissured in the longitudinal direction. It reminds a little of crocodile skin. The wood is very hard and heavy, as the colloquial name suggests.

The Hereros and Ovambos of Namibia attach a special cultural and religious significance to the tree, as for them it is the great ancestor of all animals and humans. Kruger Eden Lodge is proud of the presence of ancestral trees on our property, which we treat with respect and even leave dead trees in the place where they lived their lives.

Our wood comes exclusively from settlement fellings in the region. Normally it would be burned in the process. In a small local craft business, however, the wood is saved from this fate and given a second life as a wonderful piece of furniture, which is exclusively and individually made for us with great craftsmanship. With good care, it can last for centuries and thus delight many generations.

But there is another mystery of the ancestral tree, related to its wood. The stored heartwood is unsightly grey. However, if you oil and polish it, it turns a wonderful dark brown. On colder days the special oil must be heated up as to be seen on the photo. Particularly beautiful are the yellow edges of the outer layers that border the brown heartwood and even show up in some places on the furniture.

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How and where to legally and safely walk around in the Kruger Park

For real Kruger Park fans and die-hard nature lovers, there is hardly anything more exciting than walking in the Kruger National Park. In addition, sitting in the car for a long time is tiring and you long for some exercise.

At first this doesn’t seem like a good idea. From the car you can see hundreds of dangerous animals such as crocodiles, elephants, hippos, lions, leopards, buffalos, rhinos, wilddogs, hyaenas and poisonous snakes in an unimaginable density. You might think that you can hardly get a few steps far. Of course, the animal inhabitants of Kruger Park also have to survive somehow. However, they are usually faster and/or can see, hear, smell better, have better reflexes and/or better camouflage or have natural protection like armoring or weapons.

However, our ancestors also had to walk, but paid a high price for it. Even today, some people want or need to walk through Kruger Park. There are the rangers for example, who do this day in and day out. But they are always in pairs, have a lot of experience, are armed and unfortunately also very endangered.

If you want to hike in the park as a tourist, you can only do so with a professional and armed escort on fixed routes. You can find a number of interesting offers on the Internet. Professional walking safaris should therefore not be considered further here. In fact, there are also other safe ways to get out of the car and move around freely. Be it for exploration, for relaxation and movement or simply for the feeling of freedom. We are concentrating more on the south because it is easy to reach from the Kruger Eden Lodge.

Observation hideouts
There are a few hides scattered throughout the park. For example the Gardenia Hide on the S119 or the hide at Lake Panic near the H11. These are positioned at strategically favorable locations such as rivers, reservoirs, mud pools, etc. Here there is always the possibility to get off, walk a few steps and observe or photograph animals directly and without a fence or car doors.

Picnic places
The public picnic areas such as Nkulu on the H4-1 or Afsal on the H3 are not fenced. You can move freely there and also walk a few hundred meters. Many animals visit these picnic areas because sometimes something falls off. There are often good opportunities for photos here.

Bridges
You can disembark on high bridges that are already within the park but before the entrance gates, such as Malelane Gate or Kruger Gate. But not on flat bridges, such as Crocodile Bridge. On bridges behind the gates, disembarking is generally not permitted. But there are a few exceptions, especially further north, where signs allow this. Yellow lines limit the safe area, but you should always stay close to the vehicle.

View points
At some view points, such as the Stevenson-Hamilton Monument on the S22 or Granokop on the H1-1, you can leave the vehicle and explore the area. Some signs indicate the boundaries of the areas. There are fantastic views here. Also ideal for some gymnastics.

Skukuza Golf Course
The golf course is located directly in the Kruger Park and is not fenced! Some photos then also show hyenas, leopards or wild dogs on the green. Another highlight is a tee across Lake Panic, where hippos and crocodiles lie. Balls that land in it are lost forever! Guests who do not play are also welcome, but are not allowed on the pitch.

Half marathon
Once a year a half marathon takes place in the Kruger Park. Running there is a dream for every long-distance runner. However, the places are limited. The entire route is well guarded, but the race often has to be interrupted because lions, wild dogs, elephants, etc. claim parts of the route for themselves.

Campsites
The campsites are an exception and do not really belong in this list because they are fenced. But because of their size, you don’t really notice it that way. There you can sometimes walk a few kilometers, often with magnificent views. There are also restaurants, pools, cinemas and shops. In Berg en Dal you can find a view on a reservoir and the Rhino Walking Trail.

Walking the fence
Walking along the fence in Marloth Park is particularly popular. The trail starts a few meters from our lodge. In principle, this trail is not in the park either, but it leads several kilometers along the Crocodile River and offers a constant view on the river and the Kruger Park with everything in it. On our side of the fence you already see a lot except the Big 5 which makes it a lot safer. However, you shouldn’t hike alone, as the fence isn’t really tight and even lions make it through sometimes. Please infrom yourself before you start walking. 

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Part I: What to photograph with?

Whatever you read here, please always remember rule #1 of photography:

“There are no immutable rules in photography!”

When it comes to photography, the first thing you need to decide is what you’re in the mood for:
1. Just a picture for your own reminder
2. Something you only want to show your friends and family
3. Semi-professional printouts or presentations
4. Professional images for competitions or even sales

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