Kruger National Park

Amazing African Safari

From the time we began our booking enquiry to the time we returned from our trip the customer service with this company was outstanding. Christine was very responsive, helpful and insightful about what to expect, what to bring, where we were going and assured us that we would enjoy our trip – my gosh she was right! Our guide Anthony ‘Hoppy’ was a wonderful man who made sure we made it into the Kruger Park when our flight was delayed into Jo’berg on the first day, and his knowledge of the local area and the Kruger Park itself was amazing.

We were a family of 5 from Australia travelling together and luckily ‘Hoppy’ was our personal tour guide over the next 4 days. Hoppy was up first every morning ready with coffee and biscuits for us before the early morning drive, and breakfast, and would teach us something new each day. Hoppy has been a tour guide in the Kruger for some years and this was evident as he knew all the spots of where to find the animals and would allow us time to stop for photos whenever we wanted. We saw all of the Big 5 on numerous occasions, except for the Leopard which eluded us, however we saw many other animals which amazed us, including two rare white rhino – Hoppy even gave us a check list to mark off the animals which was great!.

We stayed at two rest camps over the four days, and they were both clean, had good facilities and were of a decent standard (aircon, fridge, shower and little balcony) – they were not 5 star but I didn’t expect that either, you are in Africa after all. The dinner at the restaurant at Skukuza camp was very impressive and the selection was endless, additionally all other camps were serviced by a ‘Mug and Bean’ which was also very good, believe me you won’t go hungry!

Thank you Wildlife Safaris for being a wonderful ambassador for tourism in South Africa, I would recommend your company and ‘Hoppy’ to everyone. We will be back some day, hopefully sooner rather than later!

Thanks – The Johnsons (Leanne, Gab, Charmaine, Charles and Bianca)

Kruger Still Has It!!

When my girlfriend and I first visited Kruger National Park in October 2010 it was our first visit to Southern Africa as well as our first safari. We had 4 nights in the park splitted between Lowers Sabie and Olifants Camp and we loved every minute of it. On our flight back to The Netherlands we were already making plans to return to Southern Africa and since our first trip we visited some of the best reserves in Southern Africa such as Moremi & Chobe in Botswana, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in South Africa and Etosha in Namibia.

For 2015 we had decided to revisit South Africa and Kruger National Park was one of the reserves we wanted to explore some more and we were very curious if we would still enjoyit as much as we did in 2010 after visiting those other famous parks in the previous years as some of them are much more adventurous and/or wild than Kruger. We had booked 9 nights in 4 different camps (Lower Sabie, Satara, Shimuwini & Berg-en-Dal) and I can honoustly say we again had an amazing experience and still loved every minute of it!! Of course Kruger can be busy, especially when you come across a big pride of lions on the tar road between Lower Sabie & Satara but if you know where to go and count to 10 sometimes it's still one of the best reserves to see the Big 5. We had 4 leopard sightings, multiple lion sightings, we saw hyena's, wild dogs and even a pangolin!! Some sightings were hectic, those on the tar main roads mostly but we had several amazing sightings with no (with the pangolin) or only a few other people around. We also liked the fact that we could chill in the fenced camps for once as it can be very relaxed and enjoy a good meal at one of the restaurants so we didn't have to cook ourselves. That's something you can't do when your at an unfenced camp in Moremi or Chobe in Botswana or the Kgalagadi. That's awesome as well of course but like I said before, we still loved Kruger!!

Wonderful - we could not have asked for more.

We went with Wild Wings and was guided by Simon. Three days at Sabi Sands, picked up by Simon in Jo'burg and staying in Skukuza. There were only four of us so the journey was comfortable and it was a great group. Simon was brilliant at finding and spotting game.

What we saw was amazing - within an hour of arriving we saw a baby elephant only a few days old, the hind legs of its mother still stained from the birth. By the end of the time we had seen just about everything except Cheetah. We even saw a pack of wild dogs.

The accommodation was very comfortable, in spacious bungalows with flushing loo and full shower. Simon cooked well for us and really looked after us. Out at 4.30 each day for the morning drive in an open sided vehicle, out again at 3.

Three things became clear - you need to be with an experienced guide; you need to be in an open-sided vehicle and you need to be based inside the park. Anything else and you are short-changing yourselves.

Bring binoculars, a good camera with a zoom lens and you will leave with a bright heart and a lifetimes of memories. We could not have asked for anything more.

How lucky I am to have experienced this.

Four of us visited Mpumalanga in November 2015 and stayed at Sabie River Sun in Hazyview. We were about 12 miles from Phabeni the nearest gate for Kruger NP. The completion of the forms, vehicle search and paying entry fees is a bit slow.
The main roads in the park and tarmac and ones we traveled are well maintained. The other roads are dirt but are good although in a small car could be tricky especially in wet weather. We were there in the rainy season but chose not to go to the park when the weather forcast was bad.
There is wildlife everywhere but you have to look for it. Driving slowly is the best bet and when you see something pull to the side of the road. The next vehicle along is likely to stop and ask what you are watching, unless it is obvious - elephant, giraffe, rhino!
Lots of people seem only to be interested in the big 5 and the larger animals but, in my opinion, you will be missing a great deal. I was pleased to have spotted a dung beetle rolling his dung and a tortoise. There are also lots of birds and some with amazing plumage but again you have to look for them. We did not see and lions or cheetahs when we visited which was disappointing until you consider what we did see.
Watch when you see elephants - they sometimes decide that you are too close - they will let you know and then back away slowly. They are bigger than you!
Plan your route so that you can leave the park before the gates close. We did not use a guide but next time I think I would try that.
We went to Skukuza camp for breakfast - really terrific and good value.
We have booked again for November 2016.

Kruger National Park - The best place on earth

Kruger National Park, South Africa.
We have visited Kruger many times and can only report positive about the park and the facilities. But you have to comply with a few traits to enjoy this park, (and any other nature reserve). You have to love: nature, a peaceful environment, absence of city life, no traffic lights, tranquillity and spotting and observing animals (including birds).
The park is large, about 400km long by 60km wide and is dotted with many so called rest camps for the lower budget travellers and lodges for the more upmarket visitors. All camps are fenced, so one can freely walk around. Most camps have a shop where one can buy groceries and other goodies as well as a restaurant. The restaurants used to be mediocre, but this has greatly improved lately now that Kruger no longer operates most of them, but rather commercial restaurant chains. Also most camps have a swimming pool. At various locations in the Park you will find picnic spots (also at every camp) where you can even hire a gas bottle and pan to prepare your own breakfast.
Accommodation in the camps varies from camping to chalets completely fitted with all requirements with various options in between like permanent tents, basic huts (with communal ablution) and more advanced huts. We only encountered neat and clean accommodation.
The occurrence of games varies, but Kruger is well stocked and there are also various waterholes where one can leave the vehicle and wait for the animals to come. The big five are there of course.
In case you go with a tour operator everything is organized for you. But if you want to do it on your own, here some tips:
Book in advance via this website http://www.sanparks.org/tourism/reservations/
One can drive by car (about 400km from Johannesburg airport, excellent road) or fly directly into Kruger to Skukuza airport with daily Airlink flights (from Johannesburg and CapeTown) and rent a car on arrival. (Avis) http://flyairlink.com/
There is a daily entry fee for Kruger of R280 for foreigners, which at the current exchange rate is about USD18, which you pay when entering the Park. If you go many nights you can buy a Wildcard making it cheaper. At the gate staff can advise you.
Don’t forget to buy a Kruger map at the gate where you enter, makes travelling so much easier.
Don’t forget your binocular and that long lens in case you like photography.
Every camp has one or more communal kitchens where you can cook a meal in case you want to skip the restaurants and stay in a tent or hut without kitchen.
Search for the Facebook page “Kruger National park – Best Place on Earth” if you want to see and read how others experience Kruger.
And once in Kruger you can follow other people’s sightings on your tablet at https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger/
Kruger is large and the max speed 50km/hour, so don’t book one night in the South and the next in the far North, you won’t make it.
The southern part of Kruger is busiest as far as cars and people are concerned. The camps in the far North, like Punda Maria, Mopanie and Shingwedzi for example are much quieter.
In every camp you can book a game drive with an experienced game ranger, during the day or the evening. They mostly know where the animals are by talking to their colleges via radio.
All in all, Kruger is a fantastic place, it’s a place that missed most that we call progress !
And finally, having been in Kenya as well with its hectic traffic, corrupt policemen and parks costing USD70-UDS90 a day just to get in we can only conclude that Kruger is a visitors paradise.
Tjeerd en Diny de WIt

Amazing mammal and bird obersvations, an absolutely once in a lifetime place to visit!

The scenery at Kruger is dry and vast. It's also very hot when I was there in November. Most all the observations of birds and mammals is done from inside a vehicle driving around on the roads. The few days I spent in the park birding and photographing mammals was an absolute highlight of all my travels. The accommodations were nice, and the food was great.

All of the Big 5 in one day!

As far as viewing wild game, few places come close to Kruger. From the minute we entered the park we began to see game, and it continued for the next several days. It was amazing. The campsites are clean and well appointed, the guides are professional and knowledgeable. The scenery is beautiful. Our group went in November and the weather was quite warm and was lovely. There wasnt much of a true "bush" vibe as Kruger accommodates a lot of tourists, but it was still quite lovely and didnt really detract much from the overall aesthetic.

Plentiful and varied wildlife

We saw over 100 elephants, 2 rhinos, 50 cape buffalo, 1 lion

Amazing place, unique in the world. It's so huge, so beautifull !! You can spend weeks in it without using the same tracks twice. So many crazy animals.
The facts that you can drive you car yyourself changes everything. landscapes are amazing too. For me it's THE place to gove for safari.

Kruger offers excellent game viewing from your own (rental) vehicle.

We were in Kruger for three nights staying in a riverside bungalow in Skukuza Camp. The AC was well able to cure the 40+ degree heat upon our return at the end of each day. The beds were comfortable and the plumbing worked. Cooking facilities (not used by us) and refrigerator were outside. The nearby Cattle Baron restaurant serves good food but the one time we ordered red wine it was absurdly warm...stick to beer.

We were on a private birding trip organized by Rockjumper Birding Tours with our guide Greg de Klerk. Prior to joining Rockjumper, Greg had 13 years experience guiding in the Kruger area so we had a great advantage over first-timers driving themselves around. We saw almost all the mammals that one could expect to see and lots of birds too. I was very impressed at how close we were able to view the mammals; make sure you have a short to medium length lens because very long lenses suitable for birds will very often be too long for mammals.