Kruger National Park

Good introduction, but perhaps not quite "wild" enough

I went to the southern section, from Malelane gate up to Skukuza. This is probably one of the the most popular parts of the Kruger. Access is easy, there are many lodges close by. But popular means busy; this is not the wide open savannah, its relatively dense lowveld, and visitors must stay on the roads and tracks. There are sightings on the roads, and some good ones too, but as guides usually have radios to keep in touch and report sightings, anything interesting tends to be soon surrounded by a traffic jam! I had a two guides, one okay, and one great which helped a lot, but even then we didn't see any cats at all. That's just down to bad luck. :-( Overall whilst it was a great introduction to the whole safari experience, I found it felt "managed" and somewhat canned and commercialised. I wanted and still want a "wilder" safari experience.

Just stunning

Kruger is a piece of Africa's heart. There are a lot of wild animals that are easy to spot, including mammals, birds and reptiles. I saw at least once a day lions, leopards, elephants, kudu, rhino, hippo, cebra, wildebeest and plenty of different species of bird. In addition, the landscape is awesome, specially the sunset, you can take amazing pictures.

The accomodations, shops and restaurants are really good.

I recommend to avoid weekends because there are too many people.

Amazing kruger

For a Malagasy that come from a tropical biodiversity hotspot, Kruger was an amazing experience.
My dream to observe the big 5 became a reality.

I didn't spend too long at Kruger, and dind't see a lot either. I am not a big fan of all the traffic, but you will see a lot of animals. Very good place for birding.

Kruger - The rewarding NP

The Kruger National Park is unlike any other park I have ever been to. Having been to many National Parks, Nature Reserves and Game Farms throughout Southern Africa my idea of the ‘bush’ consists of long, dusty roads that rattle your car apart (Which has happened to me on several occasions), ablution blocks that consist of a whole in the ground for you to do your business and a bucket full of holes to be used as a shower if anything! These for me all make up part of the overall experience, which is why I was so surprised to find tarred roads, supermarkets and fully equipped ablution blocks (you can even do your laundry there!) in the Kruger NP and for those willing to spend a little extra there is luxury accommodation to be enjoyed. At first I wasn’t sure if I liked this about the park because this meant that every guy and his dog (Pets aren’t allowed) could drive through in their tiny little car causing traffic jams at every sighting of a lion or leopard or any other members of the ‘BIG 5’. However that is exactly what is so great about the park; it is one of the very few places you can drive though by yourself and see the ‘BIG 5’ on your first day. I often hear people talking about Kruger and boasting about how early in the day they had seen the entire big 5. That’s just the ‘BIG 5’ that everyone has built a hype around, the park offers way more of just about anything, being a birder the Kruger is a great place to see over 550 species of birds thanks to the large diversity of habitat, it is hard to leave the park without a photo of the beautiful Bateleur or Lilac-breatsted Roller. Overall I was able to overlook the traffic jams and commercial traits because the park always delivers.

We had a great experience in Kruger, especially due to our oustanding guide, Simon. We stayed in the rondavels in Skukuza, which were very clean and comfortable. Skukuza camp has everything you need and is very pleasant.

The Big Five in Abundance and so much more!

From the moment we drove into Kruger National Park with WildWings Safari, we encountered wildlife. As we crossed the bridge in the entrance, there was a herd of elephants in the dry riverbed below. We turned around the first bend and came upon a herd of impala. We all oohed and aaahed and Simon, our guide, patiently paused while we took some photographs. After that, he told us it would be the last time we stopped for impala because they are such a common sight, we won't need to. Simon was right about that! Next, we came upon a leopard in a tree who was actually eating another leopard. Simon informed us he'd never seen that before, though he'd heard that it happens upon occasion when territory becomes an issue. Over the course of the next five days, we saw rhinos, lions, cape buffalo, kudu, zebra, giraffe, mongoose, hyena, hippos, crocs, monkeys and baboons. The only animals we wished we'd seen that we didn't were cheetahs and pangolin. It was spectacular to see everything in its natural habitat, and though we certainly saw other vehicles, there was not a sense of crowds. We stayed at Kruger in Skukuza Rest Camp right in the park. Down the way, we walked to listen to the hippos every evening and enjoyed camp meals each morning and night. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was greeting the fuchsia sun each morning with the giraffes and seeing it set tangerine against the acacia trees at dusk. Because we were in Kruger in July, it was cool and dry. The animals were fairly easy to find, but of course, there probably weren't as many as the wet season. Over all, it was a spectacular trip and I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Huge and majestic, with a variety of landscapes and vegetation and abundant wildlife. A very popular destination, so you are seldom alone close to dams, wells or open savana. It is better where vegetation is thicker, or in the less accessible north section, but the chance of spotting animals is limited. Accomodations are for all sakes and pockets

Kruger is amazing but you're stuck to the roads. For a more entrenched experience, try visiting Sabi Sands.

Kruger National Park is massive, beautiful and diverse. The accommodation can be anything from a tent to a 5* resort. The Game lodges like Lion Sands allow you to see and learn about the animals but the Kruger gives you the respect for just how rare some of the animals are and how lucky you were to see them.