Kruger National Park in South Africa

I went to Kruger National Park in South Africa for four days of safari. It is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and covers an area of 19,633 square kilometres. It extends 360 kilometres from north to south and 65 kilometres from east to west.

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger with Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

We entered Kruger National Park thorough the Phalaborwa gate travelling southwards. We stayed at four different camp. Olifants, Satara, Skukuza and Berg-en-Dal of which I really liked the settings at both Olifants and Berg-en-Dal.

45 intense minutes the last morning

We were fortunate to see the “big five” during our days in the park. Still we had to wait until the last morning before we saw a Leopard. That morning was glorious as we saw the “big five” in under 45 minutes. During that time we actually saw both the White rhino and the Black rhino.

I really liked the different activities we did and I particularly liked the game walks as it was nice to see the wilderness up close and discover how different the wildlife reacted to your presence when they saw the human form, and not just a block shaped vehicle.

There are a couple of things that I brought back from my first days on safari. The first is that the mornings are more productive than the afternoons. The second is that you need more time travelling between camps than you think, especially if you are trying to look for game at the same time, and the third and last is that it is much better to select a few camps so you don´t have to move each day.

Photo Album: Kruger National Park 2009