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Kruger National Park in Southern Africa
Come and experience a jewel of nature as true and African as can be. Truly a remarkable trophy to make all South African's proud. The Kruger National Park will leave you immersed as you experience the unpredictability and endless wilderness that is the true quality of Africa.
The Kruger National Park is larger than Israel (the largest in South Africa). Almost an astounding 2 million hectares of land, stretching for 352 kilometres (20 000 square kilometres) from north to south along the Mozambique border, filled with wildlife and splendour to create the ultimate wildlife experience.The Kruger National Park lies across the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo in the north of the country, just south of Zimbabwe and west of Mozambique, forming part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier.
The shadows cast by the baobabs, fever trees, knob thorns, marula and mopane trees create the perfect spot for the Big Five to cool down under the hot African sun. This is also home to the ever-popular Little Five (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion and rhino beetle), the birding Big Six (ground hornbill, kori bustard, lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, pel's fishing owl and saddle-bill stork) and more species of mammals than any other African Game Reserve.
TheEcosystems within the Kruger Park is divers. Six rivers feed the park - an area that encompasses an astonishing 16 vegetation zones including 1980 plant species and 300 tree species. Winter time (April - September) is definitely the best time to see game. During the winter season water is restricted to rivers and waterholes, where the wildlife congregates. Less dense vegetation gives way to excellent visibility. The rainy summer season (October to March) is glorious - everything is lush and green, and the birding is excellent. November and December are the calving months.
The park has 8 main gates that allow entrance to the different camps. The names of these gates are Paul Kruger, Numbi, Malelane, Crocodile Bridge, Punda Maria, Orpen, Phabeni, Phalaborwa and Pafuri.
Wildlife
Elephant, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, warthog, lion, spotted hyaena, baboon, hippo, impala, kudu, vervet monkey, waterbuck, tsessebe, wildbeest, bushbaby, mongoose, duiker, steenbok, klipspringer, genet, bats.
You may see: leopard, wild dog, cheetah, roan antelope, sable antelope, bat-eared fox, rhino, honey badger, porcupine, rhebok, aardvark, aardwolf, civet, caracal, serval, suni.
Birds
Vultures, owls, bee-eaters, rollers, eagles, bustards, hornbills, starlings, shrikes.
Plants
The Kruger National Park is divided into six eco-systems: Baobab sandveld, Mopane scrub, Lebombo knobthorn-marula bushveld, mixed acacia thicket, Combretum-silver clusterleaf woodland on granite and riverine forest. Altogether it has 1,982 species of plants.
Precautions
Malaria area-wearing light, long sleeve clothing will minimize mosquito bites. Make sure that you also bring along a supply of effective insect repellents (containing Diethyltoluamide DEET) to rub on exposed skin. At night always ensure that all the doors and windows in your accommodation is completely screened against mosquitos and make sure to sleep under treated mosquito. Having a fan or air-conditioner on at night will further suppress mosquito activity. The three most effective anti-malaria tablets on the market are Mefloquine (Lariam or Mefliam), Doxycycline and Malarone (Malanil). It is still possible to contract malaria while on malaria prophylaxis. Note that Lariam may present serious side-effects - please test before you depart.
Park Tours
The Kruger is a self-drive destination, although there are guided tour operators, with an excellent infrastructure that includes picnic sites, rest camps, waterholes and hides. It's a remarkable reserve offering an incredible experience of Africa at its most wild.
The park's tours have been compiled by experienced Tour Operators, allowing the traveller a stress-free holiday in the Park with all aspects of the trip taken care of.
Attractions
Game drives:On a safari the highlight of your day will definitely be venturing out on the back of an off-road vehicle. Hold on tight but keep your eyes open as the vehicle makes its way through the bush in hot pursuit of the latest pride of lions, sighted feeding on a kill just over the rise. Regular game drives with an experienced ranger are part and parcel of your trip when booking a safari or at a private game lodge. Those on self-drives through the Kruger, Olifants, Mopani and Letaba restcamps provide night drives, whilst most of the restcamps offer early morning, mid-morning and sunset game drives.
Accommodation
No national park in the world quite lives up to the same level of service offered by thewide range of accommodation available within the park. The park consists of a large number of rest camps, bushveld camps and lodges and even some overnight hides, all run by the South African National Parks Board.
Some parks worth mentioning:
Pestana Kruger Lodge:Situated on the Crocodile River, Thisdeluxe lodge provides the perfect setting for spectacular views of hippos. The game drives are the best way to get up close and personal will the famous sought-after Big 5, while you are surrounded by 336 types of tree, 49 species of fish and 507 species of bird.
Jock Safari Lodge: Get ready for the ultimate wilderness experience. Jock Safari Lodge is located on the old wagon route that ran from Delgoa Bay into the gold fields of the interior, the area is famed for its diversity of game.
Main Restcamps
- Berg-en-Dal (with satellite Malelane)
- Crocodile Bridge
- Letaba
- Lower Sabie
- Mopani
- Olifants
- Orpen (with satellites Maroela and Tamboti)
- Pretoriuskop
- Punda Maria
- Satara (with satellite Balule)
- Shingwedzi
- Skukuza
- Tsendze
Bushveld Camps
- Bateleur
- Biyamiti
- Shimuwini
- Sirheni
- Talamati
Overnight hides
Bush Lodges
Luxury Lodges
- Imbali Safari Lodges
- Jock Safari Lodge
- Lukimbi Safari Lodge
- Rhino Walking Safaris
- Shishangeni Private Lodge
- Singita Lebombo Private Game Lodge
- Tinga Private Game Lodge
- Pafuri Camp
Wilderness Trails
- Bushman
- Lebombo
- Machampane
- Massingir
- Metsi-Metsi
- Napi
- Nyalaland
- Olifants
- Shingwedzi 4x4 Eco-Trail
- Sweni
- Wolhuter
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