Mopani Rest Camp — Hotel in Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

We have been visiting the KNP annually in October for many years and have not ever stayed at Mopani before. The camp came highly recommended by several people though, so we booked for 4 x nights. ||Sadly, it is not a camp I would ever return to or recommend. Everything about the camp (other than the lovely garden and plantings at the entrance) feels run-down and neglected. ||We booked an FB4 “2-bedroomed cottage” which is most certainly not a 2-bedroomed cottage. | |The 2nd “bedroom” is a small room with two single beds in it, along with the ‘fridge, the kettle and a large cupboard storing all of the cutlery / crockery etc. – definitely not a proper bedroom. There is nowhere to unpack / store clothing and not even a bedside table / lamp. There were only two plug points in the room – one which had the ‘fridge plugged into it (on the opposite side of the room to where the beds were) and one high up on the wall which had the air-con unit plugged into it – totally impractical for anything else.| |When I complained about this, I was emphatically told by the duty manager that it wasn’t their problem there were issues with baboons and badgers in the camp which necessitated the moving of all food etc. into the units. We never saw or heard a baboon and it was extremely strange to me, that given these problems with animals, that all the outside bins were open and unlocked and when I inquired about what to do with food waste, was told to just put it into the (open) bins ...||There was no microwave in our unit - one was eventually provided on day 3 of our 4-day stay. While the air-con units both worked, the was no remote for one of them and the remote that was supplied for the other unit didn't work so the only option for air-con was ON or OFF. The curtains in both rooms were dirty-looking, did not close properly and were sagging off the rails. | |The “ladies bar” overlooking the magnificent dam was closed and the restaurant upstairs has a huge, cavernous kind of “entrance” area which had a couple of random tables and a few bedraggled sofas in front of a television screen which were totally commandeered by camp staff as opposed to being for guests. The hanging lamps were all skew and broken and it all felt very strange and unwelcoming. Suffice to say we did not visit. Very, very sub-par and in no way comparative to the restaurant environments at Letaba, Shingwedzi, Olifants and Satara, where we had excellent meals and service.||The dreadful smell from the ablution facilities at the swimming pool meant that it was impossible to enjoy what could otherwise be a beautiful pool...

Mopani is one of the larger camps. Game drives and morning walks are available with rangers which can be booked at reception. I think it cost around R280 for adults and about 140 for children. We stayed in unit 45 had a river view. You pay extra for these views but well worth it. If you would like to book a specific unit, phone well in advance as they already start to allocate numbers about a month in advance. The unit was really big and spacious with a large veranda area. There is a table and chairs outside, and the braai area is in front of the unit. Inside are 3 bedrooms each with 2 single beds. One of the bedrooms have an ensuite bathroom with a shower and there is a bath in one of the other bathrooms. This unit also had a tv with a decoder (not all units have TVs). You have to pay a deposit to get the remote, but I just turned it on at the tv and decoder. There is a large fridge/freezer and all the utensils. There is a microwave, kettle, and toaster as well as an oven and stove top. A nice big lounge is off the kitchen too. The rooms have either a fan or an aircon. The camps have a big swimming pool which I imagine gets pretty packed in the summer months. There is a petrol station at Mopani too. The restaurant was way better than the restaurant which is run by Tindlovu at Olifants. The Olifants restaurant looks very run down and the food wasn’t amazing. The restaurant at both Mopani and Shingwedzi are run by the same company and their food is exceptional, I can really recommend either this chicken or beef burgers. The ladies that waitress at Mopani are very sweet and friendly. We also had sundowners on the deck at the restaurant which has the perfect view of the sunset. Elephant came down to drink which was nice to see. The parks shops stocks everything you need such as bread, milk, alcohol, veggies, meat etc. the meat is good, but it is a lot more expensive than you can get a local butcher, so if you can, buy, vacuum pack, and freeze and bring enough with you. We went on the Mopani trail which starts in front of the restaurant. Its not a very far walk. The one thing I wasn’t happy about was that the boards which are supposed to be informative as you walk are so sun bleached that you can’t read them, and nobody has bothered to type new ones. Its not that difficult to do. Quite embarrassing as a South African that things just get left to ‘rot’. These boards would add a really nice touch to the walk. The same goes for many of the bird hides. The boards have never been...

🦡 Mopani Rest Camp – Dam Fine Views and a Midnight Honey Badger Bandit

Mopani Rest Camp is beautifully perched next to a massive dam, which makes for some prime animal spotting — and possibly some existential gazing across the water with a gin and tonic in hand… assuming you snag one of the limited view-facing tables at the restaurant before the 5:30pm dinner rush.

🍽️ Restaurant Vibes: The restaurant overlooks the dam, but getting a seat with a view is like winning the Big 5 lottery. And just when you’re settling in for some star-lit hippo-watching, the bar closes at 9pm sharp — because apparently, nightlife at Mopani is reserved for the animals.

🏡 The Chalet: The chalet? Pretty snazzy by Kruger standards. It’s neat, tidy, and the outdoor kitchen is so well-equipped, you’ll feel like a bushveld MasterChef. There’s a lovely braai area — bring your wors and wood, and enjoy the soundtrack of crickets, crackling fire, and the occasional distant roar (or snore).

🦓 Game Watching: This area delivers! With the dam and nearby river, game viewing is top-notch. Think elephants bathing, crocs lurking, and fish eagles yelling like they’ve stubbed their toe.

🦡 Night Visitor Alert: Brace yourself for the real star of the show — the honey badger. This fearless, bin-raiding renegade has zero respect for personal boundaries or your leftover steak. He’ll swing by in the early morning hours like a furry trash-panda on a mission. Moral of the story: lock up your food, your dignity, and your bin lids.

⏱️ Final Verdict: Mopani is a great stopover for a night or two — peaceful, scenic, and full of surprises. Just don’t expect a late-night bar crawl… unless it’s to chase a honey badger out of...