5 August 2026

Best place to photograph a wild honey badger?

Hi everyone,

This forum is great! I’ve started planning many of my holidays based on the information I’ve found in trip reports.

Thanks to this forum, I’ve already managed to see striped hyenas in India and aardwolves in South Africa – so I’m hoping you can help me with my next dream sighting!

My dream is to photograph a wild honey badger. Does anyone know of a reliable place where honey badgers can be seen on a regular basis? So far, I’ve read about sightings around Satara Rest Camp in Kruger National Park.

Is there perhaps another location that is considered even more reliable for honey badgers, or maybe a particular private reserve or lodge where they are seen relatively regularly?

Any advice, personal experiences or tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much in advance!

Best, Sandra

 

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Sandra
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8 Comments

  • 5 August 2026
    Ben Chapple

    Hi Sandra, I’ve seen them around Satara, and even more reliably at Tamboti, a little satellite camp near Orpen (also Kruger). I’ve had them come to investigate while I’ve been cooking dinner (and one also broke into my fridge and stole some sausages). Although I haven’t been there in a couple of years

  • 5 August 2026
    Michael Kessler

    Although this is many years ago (mit 90ies), I saw them at Okonjima lodge in namibia. They had this amazing water hole with a blind near the lodge where at night we had up to 5 honey badges simultaneously along with 8 porcupines, as well as caracal and brown hyena. And during the day there were some mongooses and lots of birds. No idea if that is still the case, but you might ask them.

  • 5 August 2026
    Jon Hall

    In Mana Pools in the early 1990s they would always be around the campsite. Kgalagadi and Okonjima should both be good for them – indeed they are a species I am looking forward to reconnecting with in both places on the trip next year that I just advertised https://www.mammalwatching.com/community-post/advertising-south-africas-specialities-with-mammalwatching-november-2027/

  • 5 August 2026
    Eduardo Ruiz

    The easiest place should the the camps in Kruger: Satara, Orpen, Tamboti and Mopani have regular visits to steal food around the camp, sometimes they get chasen away by the staff for some weeks/months so you would really need to go to any of the Kruger sightings facebook groups and check where they are still visiting closer to the date you are going, or simply organize spending a night at least around 2-3 of those camps and see if you are lucky. Outside camp they are also easily seen around the Satara area. Other area of South Africa where they are regularly seen is around St Lucia Wetland, they even visit some of the hotels in the area at night for the trash and you can drive around at night or book a night drive with any of the
    Local companies and they can take you to try to find one where they normally roam. If you check the reports from last year in here, Zhou Fangyi saw it in Mopani, Zac Babbit in Saint Lucia and Matt Pep inside Skukuza and Satara Camp so if you hit several of the mentioned areas in the right season you should definitively see one! For a daytime sighting best would be driving around Satara or visiting Kgalagadi. Good luck!

  • 6 August 2026
    Craig Smith

    Not sure if you are limited to South Africa, but we saw honey badger fairly easily at Halili rest camp at dusk in Etosha National Park , Namibia, in 2017. It was scavenging around a bin and we were told they often do that. (Craig, Melbourne, Australia)

  • 15 August 2026
    benbalmford

    Just to second Craig’s Halali recommendation. We were there in Oct 2023 and for 2n and had two sightings. Second one it chased a spotted hyena and then a rhino. Parents there the following night and another turned up. Just sit and watch from the waterhole. I think that late dry season (Sept) is often the best but don’t know for sure.

  • 17 August 2026
    Robi Watkinson

    I can recommend the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (South African side). Drive the Aub and Nossob dry riverbeds at dawn and dusk and you stand a decent chance of seeing honeybadgers. On a four day trip there in 2023, I saw honeybadgers on every single day, and twice saw what I assume to be a mated pair.

  • 18 August 2026
    kylecmsmith

    Adding to what two others said: Tamboti Camp in Kruger National Park.

    I studied abroad in Kruger for a semester in college, and when we stayed in Tamboti, we saw lots of honey badgers running around the camp each night. I never saw them at any other location in my three months in South Africa.

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