Kruger National Park

Another amazing trip to Kruger

I realised on Wednesday evening that I had nothing planned for the upcoming weekend, and booked 4 nights of camping in the Southern Part of the Kruger Park,1 night at Berg-en-dal and 3 nights at Pretoriuskop.

I've been going to the park since I was a child but it had been a few years since I was last there as I've been travelling Asia for the past 2 years. It was magical to go back, and this time with my new hobby of photography. Magical warm weather (despite it being winter) and great sightings being the bush is truly my happy place.

If you'd like any more info or to see some of my photographs please feel to connect with me www.thefreedomfighter.net.

Kruger - a remarkable and life-changing place on this earth

We stayed at Lion Sands Resort, which shares borders with Kruger National Park: same wildlife, closer views, fewer potential interruptions via too many people on the dirt roads at once. Our guides made sure that we were always the only range rover on a particular unpaved track and this fostered a very intimate vision of the beauty of Africa...almost a dream.

Our guides were extremely knowledgable about this wonderful place and creatures and took great care in moving about quietly. They really knew where to look for amazing animal sightings including gazelles, elephants, lion prides, giraffes, hippos, Cape buffalo, all manner of incredible birds and on and on.

One of the most rare sighting was of a female leopard and her two young kits; watching her pad down a dry wadi and call her kits in a strange feline cry was amazing...they will only emerge from their hiding spot when they hear their mother's specific voice and sure enough, they bounded out and we watched for quite some time as they rebounded and moved on to the local watering hole.

Venturing out three times a day - for about 2.5 hours each trek - ensured that we would see the beauty of the land and it's inhabitants in a realistic variety of ways, not just a standard zoo-like single and contrived view (we actually visited a "game reserve" on the south eastern coast of Africa a week or so later and it is unworthy of camparison (we are mad for wildlife so we did this day trip too; 'recommended only for those who can't make it for a full safari or just passing through - otherwise, no thanks, we were irrevocably spoiled by Kruger!

The scenery is a mix of plains, jungle, rivers...all of the things you may have dreamed about Africa. Our accommodations were quite comfortable with all amenities, located on the edge of a river so we could view various creatures making there way to the river's edge to eat, drink and bathe.

The cuisine was quite good - getting a lot of face-time with the real Africa takes some energy and after three jaunts, you really enjoy a nice meal and a good glass of wine. Lion Sands is absolutely superb in this manner of hospitality - it's a mannered, hospitable place and very relaxing - highly recommended.

Seeing something so rare like Kruger - this beautiful and remarkable place - is life-changing and this is a feeling we will always carry in our hearts and minds. We wish the same for you in your safari. Jambo!

An incredibly humbling and rewarding adventure I WILL do again with my son when he is of age.

Kruger is a breathtaking and surreal place, I cannot effectively describe it but I will try. From the moment (and in the way) you arrive you Kruger you will feel like you're in a fairy tale, each camp receives you with such care and kindness, it even seems as if the animals all follow suit. The feeling you get while walking through the African wilderness with nothing but a guide and a bottle of water will drive you wild, you will begin to feel like prey and you will really grasp a better understanding of how big and beautiful the world is. The accommodation we stayed at (Tanda Tula) made you feel like you arrived in heaven. The home made local food, the interaction with all of the staff and the beautiful decor and provisions were always top notch, not to mention the drinks ;). A tour at 530am and then again at 4pm allowed you to see all angles and aspects of the wild. Our guides were so personable, and geared their tours to suit our personalities and needs. If you go - pray you get stuck in a down pour, its the most romantic experience.

A real wild life experience,one must see in life time

I saw all big 5 and many more,experienced a night safari in bushes.Good rangers well trained. Skukuza camp had all facilities,good food,nice accomodation in chalets,Safari jeeps designed for full view for game drive
Excellent camp manager(Peter) at Skukuza.
Take a break for Panaroma,3 hours wonderful pine and ecalyptus forest, a drive away from Skukuza ,Natures gift ,the Canyon,God's window,Lisbon falls

Kruger National Park never disappoints!

After many visits to Kruger in the past 6 years, I can honestly say that no matter what time of year or which season, Kruger never disappoints in the opportunity to see an abundance of wildlife in their most natural state. Every trip had certain highlights - on my most recent trip in March, because of the arrival of the rains, we saw lots of young babies of many species. It was quite a delight. Whether doing a self-drive through the park or using the services of the restcamps or independent operators, one will be able to experience the opportunity to see life and death in its most basic form. I also appreciate the courteousness of other Kruger visitors and park staff. There is something magical about an African safari and Kruger Park is certainly one of the best managed in the world. I will be back again!

An experience that makes you hunger for more.

Visiting the Kruger for the first time was a fantastic experience. We loved the atmosphere and beauty of the bush, added some 20 new bird species to our birding lists, ate well at the Mugg and Beans now available at several camping sites and enjoyed satisfactory accommodation. Although our visit was shortly after the drought and we didn't have as many wildlife sightings as we could have, the size of the park and the knowledge of an abundance of species kept us in anticipation of what we could see around the next corner. We boasted for weeks after with memorable photographs and we knew instantly that we would purchase a wild card and visit the park more regularly. A bush-lover's dream.

wonderful experience, we were blessed to see the big five within two days, cant wait to return!!

The weather was perfect. In total we saw 555 animals! 28 different species. We only did 10% of the park!
We started at Crocodile bridge, spent the night there, which was idyllic. I saw my first bush babies there. They were about one metre away and were not scared. The following day we went to Lower Sabie. Stunning!! Elephants , hippos, crocs, monitor lizard, water buck , we stayed at Berg en dal that evening. We had a wonderful time driving around and stopping off at different places for brunch etc. I love the Kruger National Park. We will definitely be returning, but for a lot longer next time!! Please look at my Flickr account to see my photos kaz3160.
If undecided, I would definitely recommend that you go!!!

Fantastic Fun on Safari!

Visiting Kruger in early April, we were lucky with the weather as it was dry and warm. Kruger National Park is absolutely huge and I can only comment on the tiny portion I have seen, however I had the opportunity to do both an evening sunset safari and a full day safari and was lucky enough to see a huge range of wildlife.

Guides
The guide for the sunset safari, Rick was brilliant: loads of fun, had a good sense of humour, great interactions with everyone in the jeep and of course was incredibly knowledgeable about the park and the wildlife. The guide for the day safari, Nicky, unfortunately was not as good. She was knowledgeable about the park and wildlife, but wasn't great at interacting with the clients and rushed from place to place without giving us the time to really watch the animals interacting with their environment.

Wildlife
No matter who the guide is, the park still has loads of absolutely amazing wildlife to observe and the best time to see the animals is at the cooler parts of the day around sunrise and sunset. In all my safari's I have been ridiculously lucky and have seen so many different animals, including the solitary ones such as Cheetah and Leopard. In my two safari's at Kruger I had the opportunity to see Lions, Elephants, Cheetah, Leopard, White Rhinceros', Giraffes, Impala, Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Hippos, Buffalos, Zebra, Warthog, , Scrub Hare, Blue Duiker (smallest antelope breed - almost extinct), Nightjar (part of owl family), Kudu, Hyenas with pups, Klipspringer, Water Terrapin, a Water Monitor and Woolley Neck Storks.

Park Facilities
The park is well set up and the roads are all clearly marked. There are toilet facilities provided at set locations in the park and there are also places to stop for food and souvenirs. We stopped for morning tea at Skukuza, which was brilliant, there were a few different food options, accommodation options and a large souvenir store. We spent our lunch stop at Pretoriuskop which was tiny and had very little to offer (we were very unimpressed that this was our lunch stop as Skukuza was so much better).

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Kruger National Park and would highly recommend visiting!

The only thing ever on my bucket list, everyone should go!

The Kruger was everything I had dreamt about, and more. I stayed with god friends that live in Jeffrey's Bay and have been several times. We stayed at the Mopani Rest Camp. The accommodation was spotless and even though your neighbors are close, there is plenty of natural bush between them that it is still quite private. The restaurant at the dam has some amazing views. Sunset there is incredible!! Was lovely to just sit there in the evening and watch the birds and look out for other wildlife. We did a night drive, a sunset drive, and a game walk. Amos was our guide on all three (the walk also had Able) he was amazing, funny, informative, professional, polite.

We did self drives days, this was incredible. We saw so many elephants, water buffalo, zebra and all so close. The birding is incredible, not a major birder but getting into it, and coming from Bermuda every bird in South Africa was new. The Kruger helped my bird list reach 118 species spotted! Many of the raptors were easily spotted. We saw jackals and hyena but no big cat, but that didn't impact the joy I got on my trip!

We did visit Letaba for a little while, the river, the different landscape, it was awesome. The fact that you can drive around and see different types of terrain, dry areas of scrub brush, to lush plains. This experience is the best of my life! I hope to return one day and visit more of the Kruger!

Kruger is fantastic for wildlife but becoming too crowded and hectic to enjoy the experience. It's a good place to visit for first-timers but tick it off your list and head somewhere more adventurous next time.