The uniquely revamped picnic site offers visitors to the Park the opportunity to stretch their legs and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the African bush from the comfort of the newly built patio, decorated with rustic yet comfortable lounge-style chairs, says Allison Graham, chief executive of Tourvest’s Destination Retail division.
“Here, guests can either cook their own food on braai’s or hire a "skottel" from the Trading Post. Alternatively, the new site has an extraordinary South African menu, cooked on the open fire in front of the guests. The meals on offer are truly unique yet deliciously simple” she says. “Slowly cooked venison 'potjie', freshly baked 'roosterkoek' with 'nastergal' jam, homemade Kudu and Buffalo pies, frikkadels with zingy 'tamatiesmoor' and chocolate filled marshmallows roasted over the coals and then placed between two Marie Biscuits, are only a few items to choose from.”
The picnic site was established as a ranger’s post by Stevenson-Hamilton, the first warden of the Kruger National Park in 1928. It was then named after an old Shangaan chief in the area – Chokwane. Today it offers comfortable stoep-style seating under the light of a new structure, while the rest of the site is dominated by a huge sausage tree (Kigelia africana). You can’t miss the impressive stone-clad braai flue, which stands alongside the aforementioned tree, where all the action takes place.
The Tshokwane Trading Post and Picnic Site harks back to the days when travelling through the Kruger National Park was a great adventure filled with excitement, and that anticipation of the journey itself was as important as reaching the next camp.
