Kruger National Park

We saw almost all the wildlife we had hoped to see.

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!

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

Wildlife galore

We flew from London to Hoedspruit via Johannesburg and picked up a hire car (a 2*4 SUV) at Hoedspruit. We drove to Satara via the Orpen gate and stayed in Satara for 4 nights.

The standard chalet that we had was simple, but clean and had everything we needed. The fridge, kettle, toaster and microwave enabled us to have a good breakfast before driving out on safari each day.
We took a packed lunch with us each day, because the long drives meant that it was too far to return to Satara in the middle of the day. In the evening we ate in the restaurant which had good, filling food at a reasonable price.
The weather started quite cool and I began to wonder if it had been a mistake not to bring a coat, but luckily it warmed up as the days passed. There was one cloudy day, the rest were sunny with some lovely sunrises and sunsets.

On the way in we drove on the H7 to Satara and on the way out we took the Rabelais loop back to Orpen.

On our three full days, we drove the s100 - s41 - h6 loop twice and the s40 - s60 - s39 - s36 - s126 - h1-3 route once.

Driving ourselves meant that we could spend as long as we wanted when we saw something interesting and we stopped frequently. We didn't feel that the park was too crowded, even though Satara is quite a big camp. At most animal sightings there were only 1 or 2 other vehicles present, while at bird sightings we were normally the only vehicle present.

We enjoyed the Sweni bird hide because there was always something happening. We spent a couple of hours there, on each of our s100 days, watching the crocodiles, hippos and all the bird life.
At the Sweni waterhole on the s126 we saw large numbers of elephants (100+) coming to drink in the evening.

One evening we joined a guided tour run from Satara. It turned into a long drive along the S100 to a reported leopard sighting, but was worth it as we had superb views of a leopard resting in a tree as the sun went down.

We saw all the animals that we hoped to see, plus lots more, with the exception of rhinoceros. The commonest sightings were impala, elephant, giraffe, zebra, kudu and wildebeest, plus lots of birds.

The highlights were the leopard sighting mentioned previously, the elephant and giraffe that walked right past us while we were sat in our car having lunch, the kingfisher slapping a fish on a branch to kill it, the lilac breasted rollers, the martial eagle and many others.

We thoroughly enjoyed our four days self driving in the Kruger, but it was a pleasant change to be driven on guided safaris for the remaining 6 days of our trip in the Sabie Sands and Klasserie reserves.

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.

Beat the crowds and go in winter or early spring and layer, layer, layer!

Kruger was never actually on my Wishlist. Over the last 15 years I've travelled to several different areas in Africa - Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa. 'Kruger' is the place that everyone asks about - 'have you been there'? I'm not a big fan of the tourist pathways and have gone along the volunteering route to experience a different side. A side that I love.

Having said that, I was actually volunteering at The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which is in the general vicinity of Kruger National Park. We were given an opportunity to visit Kruger on a day trip. Seeing that I was so close, I decided to see it for myself.

We left before sunrise in an open safari vehicle. The sides were up so the breeze was quite chilly. Our driver stopped so we could get pictures of the beautiful sunrise. Entering at Orpen Gate, we stopped for breakfast. Shortly after we found a leopard at the side of the road, relaxing. Eventually he got up and left. Two rhinos were spotted in the distance but we couldn't see them well without binoculars. A leopard tortoise also reposed in the middle of the road. He was a big specimen!

Elephants, lions and lionesses, zebras, kudu, wildebeests, impalas, nyala, waterbuck, giraffes, the usual parade were on view. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a lioness walking near to the road (our guide had missed her). We were the only vehicle around so had a good chance to follow and observe her without other cars. The best sighting was a group of spotted dogs, reclining in the shade. At the most there were 6-7 vehicles at a sighting at any one time.

Lunch at Satara Camp and time for souvenir shopping before the afternoon drive. By this time it was quite warm. Our group enjoyed the day and were happy to sit and watch the animals, rather than race around to see how many we could find. The safari guide was very compliant with our requests. Another stop at the Orpen Gate souvenir shop for anything we missed and a 'comfort stop' before heading back home.

If you want to see Kruger I'd recommend going in a low season to avoid crowds (unless that's your "thing"). More space for all to see and breathe!

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

South Africa's game parks are not known for scenic beauty and that's not why you go. There is a lot of wildlife and although we saw herds of elephant, we did not see any predators at all. Unless the animals are close to the roads, you don't see them and being such a vast area, we did not see much variety. We only stayed in the south of the park at Berg-en-dal and the centre and north may be different.

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.

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