Beautiful Letaba Rest Camp 'Paradise'

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Geo: -23.95, 31.117

.Need pics of camp gate

One South African described Letaba as a paradise compared to the camps further south. It has big trees and lots of palms is scenic.

We always enjoy camping there though.

not much big game but lots of neat birds (goliath, saddlebill, maribou stork drove toward Mopani and saw a secretary bird

We have always enjoyed camping at Letaba but were a little worried this year because of the drought and would there be any water in the river when we got there. Letaba is usually the furthest north we go in the park to camp.

Many of the South Africans we talked to said Letaba was a paradise compared to the parks further south. The landscaping around the campground is very lush compared to some of the others and there are some nice trees, palms and even lawn in some areas.

Found Letaba to be quite busy but were able to find a place near both the ablutions and cooking area. Discovered too late we were in the sun a great deal of the day but decided we would just deal with it. Did put up one of the solar blankets across the tent to block some of the afternoon sun.

Did see some nice birds on our drives such as the goliath heron, saddlebill stork, maribou stork and others. Drove into Phalobowra to do some shopping and get some needed supplies. Went to the restaurant we had been to before and it has changed owners but we were able to get a good signal and were able to do some uploading and writing of stories. Heard lions during the night for two of the nights we were there but never did see any.

Because we do not have cooking facilities of our own, we do all our cooking at the communal cooking facilities. As a result, we have some interesting conversations with people that come up to wash their dishes. Because we have a non lighted campsite, we sit near the kitchen area at night using its lights for illumination and work on stories and visit with the people coming to the kitchen. They are always fascinated by the fact we are camping and traveling around in their country.

One night we were sitting at our table having a glass of wine and a couple came by and asked if we were ok. Think they thought we were sleeping in our car and just were sitting at our little table until time for bed. Assured them we were fine and showed them where our tent was.

Drove toward the Mingerhout dam and did see a lovely giant eagle owl and then decided to drive up toward Mopani and see if we could see any good sightings. Got one of our favorites, a secretary bird in an open area and got to watch as it strutted around checking things out!

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