The Red Rocks Loop (S52) runs along the Shingwedzi River and is one of the most beautiful areas in the Kruger National Park. The road passes through thick riverine forest and also allows visitors to see where the Shingwedzi River has carved a path across a Karoo Sandstone band. Here there are reddish cliffs and sheets of reddish rock. In August when we were there, the river had dried into several large pools.
The area has a rich bird and wildlife. There is a lookout point where you can get out of your vehicle, but being open to the veld (and the beasts that live there) it is not advisable to wander too far from your vehicle. There is a story that in the 1940s members of Kruger’s Board of Trustees had a close encounter with lions at Red Rocks.
As Willie and I both love looking at and photographing rocks, we did not want to miss this area. Finding the lookout point proved to be challenging as the way there is not clearly marked, and we ended up just driving around until we found it. It was well-worth the effort.
Panoramic view of the Red Rocks area – CLICK PHOTO to see a better resolution image ©WMB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
Buffalo horns: A warning about what will happen if you stand here too long?! CLICK IMAGE to read the text. ©LB/notesfromafrica.wordpress.com
This post is part of a series of Kruger National Park posts I will be publishing. It is also part of my daily posts for October 2016 – otherwise known as The October Dash
Notes from Africa 
Very interesting and informative. If one did not know and the last photo was not available, one could almost believe this was a part of Australia twixt the coastal lushness and the huge desert areas further inland . . .
I haven’t travelled around Australia, but from photos I’ve seen I agree with you. I travelled via Sydney on my way to New Zealand, and found the red rocks and red desert of Australia fascinating from the air.
Shingwedzi’s our favourite camp and Red Rocks is a must-see every time we’re in the area!
Feel the same way as you do! Will be visiting Red Rocks again when we go to Kruger next time.
We stayed at the Bateleur and Sirheni bushcamps when we were in that area, but passed through Shingwedzi a number of times. The situation of the camp is beautiful – that open restaurant area is a wonderful place to sit and watch the animals pass by. But I found it very hot in the camp – not sure if it was just a super hot day, or whether the situation of the camp makes it hotter than the other camps? I get very bad migraines from heat and humidity, so wouldn’t survive there if it’s the latter.
We visit Shingwedzi quite regularly, and I can’t say that we find it much different in climate to other camps – certainly we’ve experienced much hotter temperatures at Crocodile Bridge, Lower Sabie and Punda Maria. In summer the swimming pool is always a treat, and we like to buy our ice creams at the shop and then drive a few kilometers to one of the shady lay-byes next to Kanniedood Dam (S50 gravel road) to eat them 😉
It must have just been a hot week there. Don’t think we will ever go to Kruger during the summer, but it’s still hot enough in winter to buy ice creams and eat them at the Kanniedood Dam! 🙂 That whole area has such wonderful drives.
Shingwedzi, I agree is very well worth a visit! I have been to Kruger in summer – it was very hot and the lush vegetation made it more challenging to find wildlife. But it was still wonderful as it was my first visit.
It really sounds like you need to plan a trip to Southern Africa to visit Kruger and Namibia! 🙂