The most recent addition to Big Game Parks stable, KaMsholo Bushveld Safaris was acquired through the assistance of the James Marshal Foundation. In Ted Reilly’s early years, he spent many days and nights camping out in the area, gaining an intimate understanding of Nature and a love for the heat and dust of the lowveld. The area was previously known as Nisela Safaris.
KaMsholo is best known as a friendly pitstop for all travellers arriving into or departing from Eswatini through Laviumisa Border, with great restaurant facilities, take aways and clean rest rooms. Beyond the roadside facilities, KaMsholo is a nature-rich 700ha reserve, dominated by the Umbrella Tree (Acacia tortillis) with a surprising species list which includes giraffe, reedbuck, waterbuck and ostrich.
Tinsele Rest Camp provides a tranquil overnight retreat 2km from the Restaurant, situated at the foot of the Lebombo Mountains, perfect for families, small groups, nature lovers and birders. The Bushveld Backpackers at the main reception area provides budget travellers traditional beehive huts while Bhekilanga Guesthouse in Nsoko Village just 3km away, also managed by KaMsholo, caters for business travellers and conference guests.
Conferencing facilities at the main complex caters for conferences of various sizes.
Activities include Guided Game Walks, Game Drives, Pony Rides and Horse Riding while overnight guests may self-drive within the park.
Day Visitors are welcome to picnic, visit the restaurant or take part in guided activities.
The rustic Tinsele Rest Camp is named after the fearless, courageous, tenacious Honey badger (iNsele), an appropriate symbol of the heroic Game Rangers of Big Game Parks, to whom the Rest Camp will pay tribute.
| Name: | Room: | Rate: |
|---|---|---|
| Self catering family cottage | Sleeps 4 | From ZAR 720 |
| Double Cottage | Sleeps 2 | From ZAR 720 |
| Bushveld Backpackers | Sleeps 2 | From ZAR 200 |
| Camping | From ZAR 155 |
The comfortably rustic Tinsele Rest Camp is named after the fearless, courageous, tenacious Honey badger (iNsele), an appropriate symbol of the heroic Game Rangers of Big Game Parks, to whom the Rest Camp will pay tribute. Each of the 8 comfortable thatched huts in the Rest Camp is named after one of Eswatini’s famous Game Rangers and provides insight into the enormous challenges these great men have faced and the bravery they have displayed to enable Big Game Parks to achieve all that it has today, for Nature conservation and for their country.
A short drive through the park (about 1.5km) from the Lavumisa-Big Bend road, brings guests to Tinsele Rest Camp, with 8 neat cottages, a swimming pool a central dining and social area. During 2020/21, the cottages are being upgraded to fully contained self-catering cottages. Tinsele Rest Camp is reserved for residents only, and is available for group and function bookings who book out the accommodation simultaneously.
Two units are fully equipped for self-catering, each sleeping 4 people. Both units have a queen bed on the bottom floor, a kitchenette, bathroom with bath, shower, toilet and basin. Above the bathroom is a loft with two ¾ beds. Outside, a private braai facility is provided with parking alongside the unit.
Another 5 units have a similar configuration as above, besides the kitchenette which will be constructed one unit at a time. The eighth unit is a spacious double unit with two ¾ beds converted to a king.
Camp residents are free to use the swimming pool and common dining area.
Adjacent to the camp, a Hide is being developed overlooking an impressive dam, framed with mature fever trees. For those wanting to sit and soak up the bushveld, this is a serene spot. For functions and special occasions, the HIde provides a glorious setting for photo shoots and memorable moments.
The highlights of Tinsele Rest Camp include the relaxed ambiance amid the busy birdlife, the climax vegetation, the presence of the purple-grey Lubombo Mountains and the Hide. An added bonus is an easy self-guided walking trail around the nearby dam.
Self-catering units with maximum 4 people, an open plan with loft; shower , bath , personal veranda and braai facilitity. Swimming pool, Aircon in the Camp
Catered unit with maximum 2 people,shower, bath,personal veranda and braai facilitity. Swimming pool, Aircon in the Camp
Located at the Trading Post, next to the Restaurant and Reception area, with access from the main tar road. The Beehive Backpackers Village provides basic affordable accommodation with communal cooking/braai area, a communal wash up are and communal ablutions.
Situated near Reception with easy access to the restaurant and the main road is an affordable beehive village with 12 twin-share beehive huts, basically furnished.
Situated near Reception with easy access to the restaurant and the main road is an affordable beehive village with 12 twin-share beehive huts, basically furnished and newly rennovated (November 2020). These huts share a common ablution block with showers, toilets and basins. A nearby boma provides braai facilities and easy socialising space. The beehives have electricity. No smoking is allowed in the beehives. Rates are per person.
KaMsholo manages Bhekilanga Guesthouse in Nsoko Village. The building is fashioned on the old Pilgrims Rest architectural style, with 8 adjoining rooms, a dining and bar area. This facility is perfect for conference groups and business travellers.
Nguni Ranch House is set on the periphery of KaMsholo Bushveld Safaris, designed for the business traveller or groups travelling together,
Nguni Ranch House is a semi-self-catering facility with a main house and an adjacent accommodation wing all set in a large garden area with a swimming pool. Both buildings have a deep veranda wrapping around the entire building, a central lounge area in the main house and seating on the veranda.
Each of the 11 en-suite rooms sleeps two people, some double and a few twins, with one room accommodating a single guest. The rooms sizes vary although all 11 rooms have a small kitchenette, equipped with a microwave, small fridge, and cutlery and crockery to enable warming up food and basic food prep. Each room has a tea and coffee station.
Nguni Ranch House is perfect for independent business travellers or friends and family groups who rent out the entire lodge. Currently Nguni is accessed from Nsoko Village and is not connected to the park.
The Trading Post and Restaurant
The Reception building is known as The Trading Post, the hub of activity at KaMsholo. Within the building, a curio shop is alongside the Reception, showcasing local and regional curios and gifts, and the large 200-seater restaurant split into an inside dining area and the popular deck. Delicious local and traditional dishes are served a la carte or prepared as takeaways, with pizza and umcwembe being the hot favourites.
Conference & Function Facilities
Two Conference Centres adjacent to each other and close to the Trading Post, facilitate meetings of 30 and 20 delegates each (Covid protocol observed). Conference facilities include projector, flipcharts and internet.
Tinsele Rest Camp offers an alternative, more private conferencing venue 2km into the bush, with the prerequisite of accommodation booked for delegates. This area doubles as an impressive outdoor function area amid giant bushveld trees. This is the perfect venue for celebrating special occasions, for inspirational business meetings and for team building activities. It is also ideal for those looking for a quiet bushveld retreat in an idyllic setting, against a spectacular Lubombo Mountain backdrop.
Playground, Child Facilities & Garden
A child’s playground and a small animal park with bunnies and guineapigs keep kids entertained, while seating under the trees provides a welcome fresh air respite for all travellers, or simply a restful place to await your take away.
Swimming Pool, Picnic & Braai Facilities
A picnic area with numerous braai stands for day visitors, is located conveniently close to the Trading Post with easy access from the main road. The facility provides for fun days out for the family, looking east to the Lubombo Mountains.
All activities are booked at the Trading Post, or prearranged through Big Game Parks Central Reservations. Activities depart from Reception. Our guides are all trained in-house, take pride in knowing the area and animals well and enjoy imparting their knowledge with and learning from our guests.
Game drives are the traditional leisurely African 4x4 Safari, winding along bush roads and getting the wind through your hair. Early morning and late afternoon are the more popular game viewing times, capturing the “golden hours”. Drives are either 1 or 1.5 hours in duration and children are welcome.
Hourly Game Walks are guided along roads and game paths, or simply through the bush. These walks can take on a preferred focus – birding, general nature walk, or wildlife walk. Bottled water is included in our Guided Walks. Children are welcome in family groups.
Being a relatively small area, self-drive is restricted in in-house residents and not open to Day Visitors. Care must be taken in rainy season, when the clay-rich soils become tricky. Guests are requested to treat all animals with respect quietly observing from a fair distance. Maps are available in the shop and at Reception.
Demarcated Bushveld Walking Trails are being created across the park, designed for birding and nature walks. These will soon be open to day visitors and overnight guests.
PLEASE NOTE: Horse riding is currently unavailable at KaMsholo Bushveld Safaris, with exception of pony rides. The horses will be back soon! We anticipate December 2022.
Chubeka Trails has extended their operations beyond Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, now offering fantastic riding on KaMsholo Bushveld Safaris. The extention allows for the same great riding and guiding in a very different environment, with animals such as giraffe, waterbuck and ostrich, and the highlight possibly being Chubeka's new "Nguni Trails".
Kiddies Pony Rides
A fun activity for the little ones, who get to sit in a saddle and hang on while our friendly guide leads them on a set path near the Day Visitor Area.
Hourly Rides
To fully appreciate the beauty of KaMsholo and the surprising changes in the habitats, a two hour ride is the best option. Given time, the ride winds through giant thorn trees, dropping to the drainage lines where amazing fig forests and fever trees abound. Giraffe are often spotted, along with nyala, kudu, zebra and more. For the more experienced riders, trails will cross over to the eastern area, with good chance of seeing waterbuck and ostrich. Multi-night stays will ride on both the east and west.
Nguni Dipping Day
Being a regular ranch hand has always had its appeal... and to ride alongside, mustering the beautiful indigenous Nguni cattle is a real treat! It is not a fast ride, although when a beast breaks, it may require quick mitigation and a burst of adrenalin. Otherwise the ride heads out to first locate the herd, then move them slowly and safely to the dip area. During the ride, our Guides share stories and traditions about these amazing cattle, the intriguing naming of the different colours and patterns and of course any wildlife and nature interest along the way. The cattle live out in the western area of KaMsholo, and once a week the horses ride out, round them up and bring them in for mandatory dipping and a general health check. Due to the unpredictable nature of this activity along with a set goal of dipping, the Nguni Dipping Day is an estimated 2,5 - 3,5 hour ride.
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) has 12 borders, making access easy from almost anywhere along our boundry with either South Africa or Mozambique. To assist, we have created a "Suggested Borders" document for you.
Hlane Royal National Parkand Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuaryare the perfect extensions to a KaMsholo holiday with self-catering,
group accommodation and camping in the north-eastern lowveld and middleveld respectively.
