Bateleur Eco Safaris

Bateleur is a 3500 hectare property located in the heart of the world renowned Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, an exceptional safari location. All artificial barriers between the Timbavati and the adjacent Kruger National Park have been removed and the Bateleur property itself shares unfenced borders with Kruger. Bateleur’s traversing area extends over 10 000 hectares of Timbavati Reserve.

This prime wilderness area boasts the Big Five, a large diversity of antelope species, the entire range of smaller predators, over 500 bird species, and a tremendous diversity of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates.

On this exclusive property we proudly offer Bateleur Main Camp, an 8-bed up-market Safari Camp, and Bateleur Mobile Camp, a very rustic tented safari camp for 4-18 people which is pitched in a different location for each group booking.

Our owner Andreas Liebenberg has owned his property in the Timbavati since 1991. He has been instrumental in creating what Bateleur is today and has been involved with everything from the design of the new main camp, to guiding groups and implementing the more specialist itineraries. Bateleur has evolved over the years to the excellent product which it is today. At the beginning, there was no camp at all – guests simply arrived with the backpack, sleeping bag and food and the ‘camp’ comprised a spot under a shady tree! Every day started off with an early walk, where guests were taught to track the big five on foot and identify marks and other signs left behind by the animals passing by. Guests each had a turn to do guard duty at night and everyone slept under the stars. In order to appeal to a wider market, numerous changes have been made with regards to the level of comfort provided, but the basic principles of creating as minimal a footprint on the environment as possible still remains, as does the focus of providing guests with exciting, memorable experiences rather than just on opulent accommodation. Andreas takes great pride in keeping his property in a pristine condition – erosion sites have been successfully rehabilitated, all artificial water holes have been closed and roads are constantly maintained. He has been the recipient of the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve’s conservation award for the most eco-sensitive land owner twice.