Kruger National Park

Plenty of wild life in the park. Relatively easy to spot the big five.
All elephants have tusks, kudos to South African conservancy programs.

too many cars to enjoy the quietness we expect when observing animals

If you want to see the "Big Five" up close, this is the place! We saw them all, plus so much more.

There is a surprise behind very corner of the road!

Excellent Trip

We went to South Africa on a rock climbing trip so went to Kruger for a couple of days when we were resting. It did not disappoint. We started off at the Malanane entrance driving over towards Lower Sabe and then onwards to Pretorioskop to stay overnight.
The Bridge at the Malanane entrance is a great place to spot birds and crocodiles and we spent quite a long time there.
I liked the way that you can drive yourself around and you are pretty much guaranteed to see wildlife. You probably may see a bit more if you go with a guide but there is so much to see that it is not essential to be guided around especially if you like your independence
The birdlife was pretty interesting with lots of species that you will never have seen before if you are a European.
The camp at lower sabe is a really nice place to stop for lunch as the open air restaurant looks out over the river and we saw hippo and giraffes while we ate our lunch.
We had brilliant stay at Pretorioskop in really smart bungalow accommodation. Not all the accommodation here is the same we were lucky to be in a really smart place that exceeded our expectations but there is accommodation of varying standards so if you want something smart it is best to check carefully what you will get for your money.
I got some pretty good photographs and only had my 125mm lens with me. I really regretted not having my telephoto with me but was pretty pleased with quite a few of the photos I took
Overall a good couple of days

An experience filled with bucket list material

A very positive trip. I enjoyed the time we spent with bush camps as home base, because self-driving with a small group (three biologists/photographers and myself) gave us the most opportunity to see interesting wildlife at our own pace. Early one morning while idling to see some bird on the ground, a pack of wild dogs materialized and walked quietly past and around our car. Awesome. In general we left the camps as early as possible, and generally returned about 30 minutes before the gates closed. Long days of driving, but very rewarding. The park guides were of varying quality, from excellent to just OK. We used them for a couple night drives.

An awesome exsperiance and I make sure I visit the KNP more than once a year.

If you are prepared to wake up early and go back to the campsite at closing times you will see a lot of wildlife.
The scenery differs a lot in the KNP depending what you prefer. I love the lower part ( Crocodile bridge & Lower Sabie) of the park and the top part ( Punda Maria & Pafri ) the most.

In the lower part of the park ( Crocodile bridge & Lower Sabie) you are almost guarantee to see the big 5 in one day.

The top part ( Punda Maria & Pafri ) have the oldest trees and beautiful Fever tree woods.

The weather is average 30 degrees Celsius during the day and 15 degrees Celsius at night.

The are beautiful air-con accommodation in most of the rest camps.

Food is good but expensive and can be pursues much cheaper in towns around the park.

Not sure about Transportation but I think it will be good to hire a vehicle for a company and travel to the KPN to be able to spend the night inside the park. This way you can enter the park very early. 60 minutes before the gate opens for day visitor's.

By a guide book from any store that will indicate all roads and animals including birds that can be found in the park and safe the money for the guide:-))

The safest place in SA if you adhere to the park rules.

Other parcs where more adventorous

The Kruger NP is one of the premier parks in the world for wildlife . This also applies to all the private concessions which abut the Kruger. It is an easy destination to get to (flying/car) and attracts around a million visitors a year. This is also reflected in the number of people visiting the private adjoin concessions, Hence the bush vibe which you get in some of the remoter parks and areas in southern Africa (eg Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania)) is not as pronounced. This may be different for some other South African areas

Have seen several lioness and a lion close to our car. That has been the highlight.
We have spent 2 days in that National Park but you can spend even more time because there is a lot to discover.