Average User Rating
Rating Breakdown
Write a User Review
scarlettvixxen007
AU
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Nov 19, 2017
Email scarlettvixxen007 | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beat the crowds and go in winter or early spring and layer, layer, layer!
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
Read more
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!
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.
Tony
GB
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Nov 11, 2017
Email Tony | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wildlife galore
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
Read more
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.
Takubo
JP
Visited:
October 2017
Reviewed: Nov 9, 2017
Email Takubo | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We could not more kinds of animals than Thornybush, but could see beautiful wild life in the park.
Jennifer
US
Visited:
October 2017
Reviewed: Oct 28, 2017
Email Jennifer | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
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!
James Autry
US
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 25, 2017
Email James Autry | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Luca Cambriglia
IT
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 17, 2017
Email Luca Cambriglia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Days out of the world
Read more
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/
Alfred Vermeulen
SG
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 7, 2017
Email Alfred Vermeulen | Experience level: first safari
chris
GB
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 6, 2017
Email chris | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
An amazing experience
Read more
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.
Remco Verkoeijen
NL
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 6, 2017
Email Remco Verkoeijen | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Wildlife is definitely better than Balule, but there are more tourists as well. All roads are paved.