Sable Sleepover Hide
Bird hide that becomes an overnight shelter · About 10 km from Phalaborwa Gate, over Sable Dam · SANParks (South African National Parks)
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Budget
Inside the park
Park-run (SANParks)
One of two SANParks sleepover hides, about 10 km from Phalaborwa Gate and overlooking Sable Dam. SANParks puts it plainly: a bird hide by day, it becomes a primitive overnight dwelling by night. Day visitors use it until the gates close, then it is yours. There is no water at all, for drinking or washing, and one light runs for about five hours on request. You bring bedding, food and water. The 2024/25 tariff priced a hide at R1,072 a night; ask SANParks for the current figure. Choose it for one unusual night near Phalaborwa; skip it if you want a bathroom. Owned and run by SANParks.
Pros and cons
Pros
- A night alone over a dam
- Close to Phalaborwa Gate
- Very low cost on the last published tariff
- Overlooks Sable Dam
Cons
- No water of any kind
- One light for about five hours, on request
- Public bird hide during the day
What's here
Arranged from the lodge:
- Birding
Read from Sable Sleepover Hide's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Kruger National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryR602 per international adult per day at USD 1 = ZAR 16.65 (6 Oct 2026); R692, about $42, from 1 Nov 2026.
- $36per person, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults pay $216 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
SANParks charges no vehicle fee for private cars at Kruger.
Almost every private lodge inside Kruger excludes the SANParks conservation fee from its rate, so you pay it on top for each night.
The full fee schedule for Kruger National ParkRates at Sable Sleepover Hide
Rates on request. No current rate found. SANParks' 2024/25 tariff listed the overnight hides at R1,072 per hide (base) per night, about $64 at today's rate; that tariff has since been replaced, so request a quote via SANParks Online Bookings or +27 (0)12 428 9111. Extra on top: the SANParks conservation fee (R602, about $36, per international adult per day until 31 October 2026; R692, about $42, from 1 November 2026 on figures SANParks has linked but we read through secondary sources) and SANParks' 1% community fund on accommodation and activities. SANParks says its rates and fees include VAT.
Self-catering. You cook. Nothing else is included unless the entry says so.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked 6 October 2026 and converted at R16.65 to the US dollar (rate of that date); re-check before you book. SANParks does not print its unit rates online, so every SANParks figure here is a reseller rate from krugerpark.co.za (Siyabona Africa) for 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027, quoted per unit and shown per person for two sharing. Private lodge figures come from each lodge's own rate page unless the entry says reseller. The SANParks conservation fee is extra almost everywhere: R602 (about $36) per international adult per day until 31 October 2026, R692 (about $42) from 1 November 2026.
Questions about Sable Sleepover Hide
What do I need to bring to Sable hide?
Everything: SANParks says no water, drinking or bathing, is available at the hide, and only one light operates for about five hours on request. Bring bedding, food and water.
Can other people use the hide while I am there?
During the day, yes. SANParks describes it as a bird hide by day that becomes an overnight dwelling by night.
Is the hide good with children?
We found no published child policy for the hide. Ask SANParks Central Reservations before you book with young children, since there is no water or fence detail on the page we read.