Mlambane River, Kruger National Park

Afrikaans name: Mlambane Rivier

Mlambane River

Photo © Steven Herbert

Mpumalanga

The source of the Mlambane River is near the Wolhuter Trail Camp, north-west of Berg-en-dal Camp. It flows westward until it eventually joins the Crocodile River near the junction of the S119 and S25 roads. The new H3 bridge over the Mlambane River is much higher than the low-level crossing that it used to be. Remnants of the old causeway can be seen below.

For most of its course the Mlambane River flows through mixed bushwillow woodlands. A wide variety of game can be found in this habitat including Lion, Spotted Hyena, Buffalo, White Rhino, Sable, Giraffe, Kudu and Steenbok.

Photo © Steven Herbert

You can follow the course of the river from the H3 tar road by taking the Mlambane Loop which is made up of the S118 (8 km) and S119 (6 km) dirt roads. There are a couple of loops which take you closer to the river and there is a particularly good spot just before the S119 meets the S25. The Gardenia Hide can also be reached along the S119. When you reach the T-junction of the S119 and S25 roads head east for a short way until the road crosses the river. Sometimes you can get some good sightings here.

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What sightings have you had in this area?

Here is some trivia... In June 2013 I parked on this bridge and jotted down some details of all the cars that passed me. This is what the stats show:

What makes of vehicle?

What types of vehicle?

What colours were the vehicles?

Which direction were they heading?

During the hour I saw the following wildlife: Nile Monitor, Slender Mongoose, Pied Kingfisher, Arrow-marked Babbler, Village Weaver, Three-banded Plover, Fork-tailed Drongo, Olive Thrush and Blacksmith Lapwing.

References and further reading

For more info on Kruger National Park: SanParks

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