Balule Game Reserve

Balule Game Reserve is a 40 000 ha Nature Reserve, which is situated inside the Greater Kruger National Park. There are no fences between Balule Nature Reserve and the Kruger National Park, which means all the animals can move freely between Balule and the Kruger National Park. Balule is a Big 5 game reserve.

The Balule Game Reserve was created in the mid 1990s when a few enterprising farm owners decided to drop the game fences between their farms. Balule continued expanding all the time as other landowners join the initiative to become incorporated into the Greater Kruger Park Management Area. By the end of the nineties, the transformation was almost complete – of 45 landowners on the reserve, 40 had taken down their fences and had joined forces to gain admission to the Kruger Park. Soon, farms across the Olifants River had also joined the initiative and had been properly fenced off from surrounding farmland. The Reserve was then ready to approach the Association of Private Nature Reserves with a view to gaining their approval for the final fence separating Balule from Klaserie, Timbavati and the Kruger National Park to be taken down.

The Balule Game Reserve straddles both sides of the mighty Olifants River which flows for approximately 20kms through the centre of the reserve. The name ” Balule ” is the local Shangaan word for ” Buffalo” and the resident herds are often seen. Balule has a high concentration of wildebeest, waterbuck and giraffe and these prey species constitute the majority of lion kills. Nocturnal animals are abundant and guests often hear the calls of jackal, hyena and lion.