Kruger National Park
Limpopo · Best Apr to Sep
5 places
Trees & flora
Fever Tree
Vachellia xanthophloea
Vachellia xanthophloea is a tree in the Fabaceae family and is commonly known in English as the fever tree (local East African names include olerai, kimwea, murera, and mwelele).
Species insights
When to visit
Recorded year-round
Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.
Best monthsAny month
Records878 records
Curve from 878 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.
Where you'll find it
KwaZulu-Natal and beyond
Provinces where Fever Tree is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.
878 records, iNaturalist
Parks where hosts record the Fever Tree
Stays that give back
Across South Africa
Bonamanzi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe
From R 240a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Punda Maria Rest Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 319a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Pafuri Border Camp
Kruger National Park
From R 3,458a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Singita Sweni Lodge
Kruger National Park
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
Umlalazi
Umlalazi Nature Reserve
From R 230a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Ndumo
Ndumo Game Reserve
From R 190a night
Fever Tree recorded here
Singita Lebombo Lodge
Kruger National Park
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
&Beyond Phinda Zuka Lodge
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
&Beyond Phinda Vlei Lodge
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
&Beyond Phinda Rock Lodge
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
&Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
&Beyond Phinda Forest Lodge
Phinda Private Game Reserve
Price on request
Fever Tree recorded here
More stays nearby
Oceans Away
Benguela Cove, Hermanus
From R 51,428a night
Thabile Lodge
Oudtshoorn
From R 1,400a night
Baobab Hill House by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 17,120a night
Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse
Riebeek Valley, Riebeek West
From R 5,636a night
Rhino Sands Safari Camp
Hazyview
From R 22,680a night
Babylonstoren
Klapmuts, Simondium
Price on request
Welgelegen House by RETURN Africa
Gardens, Cape Town
From R 2,800a night
An African Story by RETURN Africa
Bakoven, Cape Town
From R 9,900a night
Tanda Tula Safari Camp
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
Price on request
Pafuri Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
Nkula Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 8,380a night
The Midlands
Next stop
Rolling green hills, dairy farms, and pottery studios
See places that give backPlanning a trip
When and where to find the Fever Tree
The fever tree is the acacia with yellow bark: a smooth, lime-green to sulphur trunk that photosynthesises like a leaf.
Where to base yourself
Pafuri
Northern Kruger
PafuriA forest of yellow trunks on the Luvuvhu floodplain, the far northern tip of the park.
Self-driveGuidedStays near KrugerNdumo
Ndumo Game Reserve
NdumoFever trees around the pans on the Mozambique border, with some of the country’s best birding.
Self-driveGuidedStays near Ndumo- Lake Nakuru
Yellow woodland on the lake shore below the escarpment.
Self-driveGuidedStays near Lake Nakuru - Ngorongoro
The Lerai Forest on the crater floor.
GuidedStays near Ngorongoro
Species
Vachellia xanthophloea
Records
878
iNaturalist observations
Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.
Questions travellers ask
A record means a host has seen the Fever Tree on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.
More about the Fever Tree
The fever tree is the acacia with yellow bark: a smooth, lime-green to sulphur trunk that photosynthesises like a leaf. It grows where the ground stays wet, along rivers, around pans and on floodplains, and early travellers blamed it for the malaria they caught in the same places, which is how it got its name. The mosquito was the cause; the tree only shares its habitat.
In South Africa the great stands are in the far north and the far east. The fever tree forest at Pafuri, in the northern Kruger, and the pans of Ndumo in northern KwaZulu-Natal are the best known. In East Africa it rings the Rift Valley lakes: the woodland on the shore of Lake Nakuru and the Lerai Forest on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater are both fever trees.
It is at its most striking in late afternoon light, when the yellow trunks glow against the green.
Why is it called a fever tree?
Early travellers caught malaria in the wet, low-lying places where it grows and blamed the tree. The fever came from mosquitoes breeding in the same water.
Where are the best fever tree forests?
Pafuri in the northern Kruger and the pans of Ndumo in South Africa; Lake Nakuru in Kenya; and the Lerai Forest in Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater.
When is the best time to see the Fever Tree?
The Fever Tree is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; Phinda Private Game Reserve: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Ndumo Game Reserve: year-round, dry season May-Sep; uMlalazi Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.
What is the Fever Tree?
Vachellia xanthophloea is a tree in the Fabaceae family and is commonly known in English as the fever tree (local East African names include olerai, kimwea, murera, and mwelele). This species of Vachellia is native to eastern and southern Africa. It can be found in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
