Kruger National Park

Kruger is enormous, and the size of the park and its openness to all kinds of vehicles makes for more potential animal sightings. It also makes for more potential traffic jams. Sightings rely on animals being close to the roads, but there is more area available to traverse. This is helpful in the case of hippo sightings; we could go right to a watering hole where there are usually hippos. Some of the more "exciting" sightings are a little frustrating if there are a bunch of cars. The landscape and natural beauty in the park is phenomenal though. The rock formations and landscape are very pretty.

Amazing experience, endless vistas, the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, large viewings of so many different species of animals in different environments, amazing!

We personally liked sabi sands more. It feels wilder and less crowded with people. No concrete roads and nobody else driving around, only authorized safari drivers

Really amazing experience

This has been my 2nd safari experience. Everything went in a woderfull way. We (couple) organized all by ourselves, booking via the official website of the park. We spent three whole days driving our car in the southern part of the Kruger. We had the chance to see a lot of animals (4 out of the 5 big, we missed the lion). We spent our nights in the camps (Lower Sabie and Skukuza): both are really nice, well organized and clean, even if we preferred the LS. We had two organized safari, one in the afternoon/night (good experience) and one by walk early in the morning (not really a interesting experience). We also had dinner into the camps (good). We were in South Africa two weeks before Christmas so we didn't find a lot of tourist and we had the opportunity to maximize our Kruger's experience.

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.

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.

Days out of the world

My title is to explain that this experience has been farer than everything else I've lived in my entire life. Seeing a lion sleeping 1 meter from you in his habitat is one of that things that change you're life. The wildlife is simply amazing, I've been quite lucky spotting all the big five more than one time (except the leopard). Elephant and giraffes seem to love people because there are more of them on the road than in the bush. Roads are all kept in a perfect way, and also offroads for tourists cars are in a good situation. The scenery isn't so beautiful, it's mostly plane and with these bushes. In winter (season of when I was there) it's all naked and without a leaf. It's not a pleasure for the eyes, but it's perfect for spotting animals. I'm not a birder, but I can confirm to have seen loads of different type of birds, one more colorful or big than the other. Accommodations are a bit old fashioned, but comfy at the end (I've slept 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/

Excellent Trip

We went to South Africa on a rock climbing trip so went to Kruger for a couple of days when we were resting. It did not disappoint. We started off at the Malanane entrance driving over towards Lower Sabe and then onwards to Pretorioskop to stay overnight.
The Bridge at the Malanane entrance is a great place to spot birds and crocodiles and we spent quite a long time there.
I liked the way that you can drive yourself around and you are pretty much guaranteed to see wildlife. You probably may see a bit more if you go with a guide but there is so much to see that it is not essential to be guided around especially if you like your independence
The birdlife was pretty interesting with lots of species that you will never have seen before if you are a European.
The camp at lower sabe is a really nice place to stop for lunch as the open air restaurant looks out over the river and we saw hippo and giraffes while we ate our lunch.
We had brilliant stay at Pretorioskop in really smart bungalow accommodation. Not all the accommodation here is the same we were lucky to be in a really smart place that exceeded our expectations but there is accommodation of varying standards so if you want something smart it is best to check carefully what you will get for your money.
I got some pretty good photographs and only had my 125mm lens with me. I really regretted not having my telephoto with me but was pretty pleased with quite a few of the photos I took
Overall a good couple of days

An awesome exsperiance and I make sure I visit the KNP more than once a year.

If you are prepared to wake up early and go back to the campsite at closing times you will see a lot of wildlife.
The scenery differs a lot in the KNP depending what you prefer. I love the lower part ( Crocodile bridge & Lower Sabie) of the park and the top part ( Punda Maria & Pafri ) the most.

In the lower part of the park ( Crocodile bridge & Lower Sabie) you are almost guarantee to see the big 5 in one day.

The top part ( Punda Maria & Pafri ) have the oldest trees and beautiful Fever tree woods.

The weather is average 30 degrees Celsius during the day and 15 degrees Celsius at night.

The are beautiful air-con accommodation in most of the rest camps.

Food is good but expensive and can be pursues much cheaper in towns around the park.

Not sure about Transportation but I think it will be good to hire a vehicle for a company and travel to the KPN to be able to spend the night inside the park. This way you can enter the park very early. 60 minutes before the gate opens for day visitor's.

By a guide book from any store that will indicate all roads and animals including birds that can be found in the park and safe the money for the guide:-))

The safest place in SA if you adhere to the park rules.

A very special and exhilarating experience in one of the great parks of Africa!

Sometimes photographing birds and wildlife just seems too easy. It's stunning how close you can get to the animals in their natural surroundings and the amount of wildlife you get to see is unbelievable. Having breakfast in the park (because you need and want to start your safari very early) is an extra bonus and was very well organized. We did more than one safari (recommended!) and all our guides were thorough professionals and very knowledgeable. Transportation in the safari vehicles was great; they are built so that everyone in the car has an excellent view which is, of course, very important.