Kruger National Park

I love Kruger, the bush vibe driving through. The wildlife. The people in the camps.

Super safari experience

From pick up to drop back in Johannesburg we were looked after by the superb team from Wild Planet Safari. We had a mix of camping and in a bungalow and moved from North Kruger to exit via the middle of Kruger. Our guides were extremely knowledgable and entertaining and were super cooks. We were lucky to see many of the animals but unfortunately not the rhinos. We were lucky to come across a pack of wild dogs with a kill early one morning. The elephants while fascinating and lovely to watch in their family groups, did not get my sympathy (as much as they should) because I felt they cause so much damage to the vegatation. That said we have many many beautiful pictures of the animals and scenery - the different vegetation areas, the river, the sun rises and the sunsets.
Moving around in the habitat of all these wild animals - and for the most part they do not object - was a privilege. You feel as though you are in another world and this was my best holiday ever. I came home so relaxed - was it something to do with being so close to animals who are truely living at one with nature.
Thank you to everybody in South Africa who is responsible for maintaining and protecting this part of our world.

Out of this world. To be so close to these animals was amazing a definite must if you love to see the world.

Food for your Soul

October in the Kruger is a magical time as many of the antelope are foaling, so there is lots of new life abounding. The first of the seasonal rains have fallen so the park is turning green but the bush is not too dense yet, so making game viewing still easy. ( the thicker the bush the more difficult it is to spot the game.
The magic of Kruger is the natural beauty, there small dirt tracks that take you into the quieter areas, where you can just switch off your vehicle and sit and listen to the sounds of silence. Animals roam freely so you may encounter any species at any time. Early mornings and later afternoons are the best times to get out there to see the animals. So make sure you are up at the crack of dawn and out till last light. Relax in the Chalet during the heat of the day. Sanparks provides comfortable accommodation without damaging the feel and look of nature. The most important thing is to slow down and move with the beat of the bush.

We could not more kinds of animals than Thornybush, but could see beautiful wild life in the park.

Great place to see the big 5 and experience the wildlife overall. We had an amazing 3 days here and really wish we could have stayed much longer. Choose the right lodge and enjoy yourself!

Days out of the world

My title is to explain that this experience has been farer than everything else I've lived in my entire life. Seeing a lion sleeping 1 meter from you in his habitat is one of that things that change you're life. The wildlife is simply amazing, I've been quite lucky spotting all the big five more than one time (except the leopard). Elephant and giraffes seem to love people because there are more of them on the road than in the bush. Roads are all kept in a perfect way, and also offroads for tourists cars are in a good situation. The scenery isn't so beautiful, it's mostly plane and with these bushes. In winter (season of when I was there) it's all naked and without a leaf. It's not a pleasure for the eyes, but it's perfect for spotting animals. I'm not a birder, but I can confirm to have seen loads of different type of birds, one more colorful or big than the other. Accommodations are a bit old fashioned, but comfy at the end (I've slept at Oliphant and Satara). I did gamedrives on both the sites, honestly I enjoyed more the ones at Satara, but in general the whole experience of Satara is more pleasant, mostly due to the people working in it: kindest and funniest persons ever. At Satara I've met what probably is the best spotter in the world: he spotted a chameleon, a spider and a tiny owl on trees in the sunset light while he was driving. Astonishing. We were really lucky with the weather. not a single day of rain, but a bit of fresh wind to cool down under the african sun. I'm trying to delete the memories of the food in those two camps: both restaurants were really bad, at Satara there is a pizza seller which is a bit better, but my advice is to try find something to eat in the stores. By the way all food it's not the most important part of a trip like this. The most important part are the animals and trust me when I say that i think Kruger park is the best for that, plenty of them and probably due to the high number of tourist they aren't scared by humans and seem to enjoy photos. You can check some images of my trip at this link https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucam96/

The wildlife experience is unique and memorable.

An amazing experience

Whilst staying on a local private game reserve we went into the Kruger on 2 days. I don't know whether we were just lucky or if its always like this, but we saw so many amazing sights on both occasions. We were helped hugely by having an excellent guide and driver on both occasions. I really think this is key to having a great experience. They know the animal behaviour and can spot so many animals we would have missed if we were on our own. Their knowledge of the park will have also helped massively. On both occasions we found the park to be quiet with not too many other vehicles to contend with. This was a concern of mine before going. We did find a few crowds where there were 5-10 other vehicles, but these were on the main paved roads where there were leopards, cheetah or elephants in water holes. The rest of the time we just explored and mostly were the only vehicle watching the animals. On both days we were there we saw the big 5 and so much more. A brief list of animals we saw whilst there includes: Lions, Cheetah, Leopard (3 in trees, one hunting), Jackal, Wild Dogs, Hyena, Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Buffalo, Ostriches, Vultures, Birds of Prey, Kudu, Impala, Steenbok, Nyala, Wildebeest, Warthogs, Waterbuck, Crocodiles, Hippos, countless birds, a couple of species of mongoose, baboons, monkeys, white rhino. We were also fortunate enough to see a black rhino. One thing to note is that it is well worth arriving as the gates open and leaving just before they close. The animals are out and moving around best when its a bit cooler and tend to stay out of the heat of the day a bit. It can be quite chilly at this time so warm clothes are advised and it can get stiflingly hot in the middle of the day. The area we visited was entering through the Orpen gate and heading North and South from Santara. It was September and incredibly dry which made viewing animals easier. All in all we found it a wonderful place and are thinking of saving for another trip, perhaps in a different season.

Wildlife is definitely better than Balule, but there are more tourists as well. All roads are paved.