Pafuri
Northern Kruger
A forest of yellow trunks on the Luvuvhu floodplain, the far northern tip of the park.
Self-driveGuided
Stays near KrugerWhere to see
Where to see the Fever Tree Acacia in South Africa
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.
Vachellia xanthophloea
Planning 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
Ndumo
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.
Stays that give back
Where to stay for a chance to see the Fever Tree
Every stay on the Fever Tree page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.
See where to stay