ABOUT US


Let us welcome you to the magic of Africa!

Sausage Tree Safari Camp is situated in the Olifants West Nature Reserve, part of the Greater Kruger National Park and sanctuary to Africa’s famous Big Five. We have over 3500ha of traversing, including 5kms along the Olifants River and you can look forward to a true safari experience of wilderness and undisturbed biodiversity. All of this plus easy accessibility as we are only 25 minutes away from our local town of Hoedspruit.

Uniquely positioned in the bush between Marula, Acacia and Sausage trees with its own special view above and beyond the thorn trees, our waterhole and the majestic Drakensburg range on the horizon, Sausage Tree Safari Camp is a place not easily forgotten!


Championing Sustainability

Sausage Tree Safari Camp is a sustainability beacon. Solar-powered, we minimize our Olifants West Reserve impact. We employ local staff, procure nearby, and clear alien plants while nurturing indigenous flora.


We're educators, sharing local knowledge and culture. We support Rhino Revolution, Rocking 4 Rhinos, and the Black Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit, safeguarding rhinos. Every guest reservation results in a R50 donation to the Daktari Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage that does such good work incentivising pupils from underfunded local community schools. We also promote tours to the Nourish Village self sustainability project.


To find out more about our Eco-Friendly approach

FOLLOW THIS LINK

Pack for a Purpose Project


We are proud members of Pack for a Purpose, an initiative that allows travelers like you to make a lasting impact in the community at your travel destination. If you save just a few kilos of space in your suitcase and take supplies for the projects we support in need, you’ll make a priceless impact in the lives of our local children and families. Please click here to see what supplies are needed for our project/projects.



The Daktari Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage supports 400 children from ages 12 through 14 years old. The school has developed an immersive educational experience for local children to learn about the wildlife around them, the environment, anti-poaching, and a wide variety of other issues, right in the middle of the bush. Our work extends into their communities through Eco Clubs at the secondary schools, job hunting for the youth, and community development projects.


To see our Pack for a Purpose list

FOLLOW THIS LINK
Pack for a Purpose

Sausage Tree [Kigelia Africana]



The Sausage Tree of sub-Saharan Africa is beautiful in flower. The fragrance of the flower is not pleasing to humans but attracts the Dwarf Epauletted Fruitbat (Micropteropus pusillus), its pollinator. As the flowers drop from the tree, animals come to feed on the nectar-rich blooms. Impala, duiker, baboons, bush pigs, and birds all feed on the flowers of the Sausage Tree.

The blood-red flowers bloom at night on long, rope like stalks that hang down from the limbs of this tree. The fragrant, nectar-rich blossoms are pollinated by bats, insects and sunbirds in their native habitat. The mature fruits dangle from the long stalks like giant sausages. They may be up to two feet (0.6 m) long and weigh up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg).

The rind of the fruit is used to aid the fermentation of the local brews. The pods are kept as religious charms and fetishes, and produce a red dye when boiled. Ointment is made from the fruit and is used to treat skin conditions. The ‘Mokoro’ is a dug-out made of the trunks and large roots of the Sausage Trees, these canoes have been used for thousands of years as transportation in the Okavango River Delta in Botswana. The ‘sausages’ cannot be eaten but the skin is ground to a pulp and used externally for medicine. Its most important use is for the cure of skin ailments especially skin cancers. The fruit is burnt to ashes and pounded by a mortar with oil and water to make a paste to apply to the skin.

a tree with a label that says ' kigelia africana ' on it
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