While working in Mozambique about 12 years ago, we frequently visited the Kruger National Park as it was quite easy to get from Maputo to its southern entrance through the Crocodile bridge. Although the favourite camp for the family was Lower Sabie, we also visited Biyamiti Bush Camp, a favourite of mine.

“Biyamiti” is a word in the Shangaan language, which means “a fence of sharp wooden spears”(1). Built in 1991, it is the most recent of the bushveld camps in the Kruger Park and I like it as it has only 15 cottages and it has a small but interesting area that only the camp residents can drive in.

Some camps keep Visitors books that go back several years where people write their experiences while staying at that camp. I always read some of the more recent comments to get the latest information on animal sightings, just in case. At one of the bungalows a lady that clearly frequented the place talked about the “leopard tree” where, according to her, years back a leopard could frequently be seen with its kills (we looked for it but did not find it). There were also many references of finding leopards on the access road to the camp but we also missed them although we heard them close by at night!

At that bungalow I got my first surprise when I saw that someone that signed as Chris Barnard stayed there in 1993. I believe he was no other than Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the surgeon that performed the first heart transplant in 1967. (2)

At another bungalow I found that Lindsay Scott (with her family) stayed there in 2009. I believe her to have been the well-known Zimbabwean wildlife artist (3). Luckily I have bought some of her prints and a great painting of a pair of crowned cranes that I cherish greatly today!

(1) I think this is an ambitious translation for one word, but I cannot find another.

(2) Much less known is that he also did the first kidney transplant later the same year! See: https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/christiaan-neethling-barnard for more information.

(3) See: https://www.lindsay-scott.com/about.html and https://www.artbarbarians.com/gallery2/main.asp?artist=205