A week in Kruger National Park was a unique and wonderful experience that will never be forgotten. We saw an incredible amount of wildlife over that time with so many memorable moments!
Getting There
We flew in to Johannesburg from Cape Town and then headed off in our hire car. It is about a 5 hour drive and you’ll want time for a stop-off. Important to note that the gates to the park close at around 6pm (times for opening and closing vary at different times of the year). So if you are late getting there you won’t get in! We got there at 5:30 pm which was a bit close for my liking.
If you would rather fly, you can do so from Jo’burg, Durban or Cape Town to Nelspruit (close to the south of the Park) and drive from there. Also from Jo’burg you can fly to Hoedspruit or Phalaborwa which are close to the centre of the park. I think Nelspruit is the most popular though.
Driving around Kruger National Park
Driving in South Africa was easy because they drive on the same side of the road as us in Australia! A definite plus as not many countries do!
In the Park itself, there are a few main bitumen roads but a lot of the roads are heavily corrugated, dirt roads. There are very slow speed limits throughout the park which is fine cos no-one should be in a hurry and you really couldn’t go very fast on the dirt roads if you wanted to! And whatever you do, do not get out of the car! Also each camp is closed by nightfall and you must be in by that time. Otherwise there is a huge fine to pay to let you in.
You can take a guided tour if you wish to see some wildlife at night. We did this once at each camp and it was worth it to get a very different view of the wildlife, particularly the lions, in our case. Other animals that we saw on our sunset guided drives included hyenas and bush-babies, neither of which we saw at any other time. John also did a couple of early morning walks with the guides which he enjoyed. Too early for me!
So each day we leave early when the animals are active, and drive around seeing heaps of wildlife, come back for lunch and a rest and then head out for a few hours in the afternoon and dusk. And that’s pretty much how it went each day over the week in Kruger National Park.
What sort of accommodation do they have?
Kruger is a massive National Park and it has a lot of accommodation called rest camps in which you can stay scattered throughout. Some rest camps are not much more than small camping spots. Others are huge centres with a lot of accommodation, a shop and a few restaurants. And yes, they are fenced, although there are a few monkeys, honey badgers and some sweet deer that seem to get in and wander around some of the camps.
Most of the self contained accommodation are small round bungalows. You may or may not have your own kitchen (which will be outdoors). There is also camping at all locations which is very popular, particularly I think with South Africans. A lot of them go to Kruger every year.
See details below on the places we stayed. Because we stayed a week in Kruger National Park we were able to experience a few of the different camps.
The accommodation does book out quickly so you need to book well in advance! Bookings open about 11 months out, I think. To check availability click on this link for the Kruger National Park accommodation page
If you would like luxury safaris you would probably stay at one of the private adjoining “concessions”, rather than the public Kruger. There are quite a few of these concessions which are privately owned extensions to the National Park.
Booking.comCrocodile Bridge Camp
We entered the park at Crocodile Bridge Camp which is at the very southern end of the Park and is situated on the banks of the Crocodile River. You must arrive by nightfall – check closing times! This rest camp is not too big, no restaurants but a shop where you can buy some basic provisions. I’d recommend getting a bit stocked up before coming in to the camp if you can. It will be cheaper and you’ll have more choice.
The accommodation is basic and there are various levels but you have cooking facilities, private bathrooms usually in round buildings. At this camp the kitchen is outside, and the fridge and bins are placed in cages that you lock, otherwise the monkeys will get it. Do not leave anything you’d like to see again on a table or anywhere in the kitchen that is not locked! We did see a monkey looking for something to eat in our kitchen but no luck. But John almost lost a lens cover for his camera.
The south of the Park has more wildlife than the central or the north and so you’ll find as soon as you leave the camp, there is wildlife everywhere and during the course of your time in Kruger you’ll very quickly lose count of the different species of animals and birds that you see! Just off the top of my head we saw elephants, impala, giraffes, rhinos, zebra, hippos, monkeys, honey badgers, various deer and antelope species, lions, leopard, warthogs and a variety of weird and wonderful birdlife. Lots of baby animals too and so many actually on the road or alongside the road! A rhino and leopard actually walked right in front of us on the road. Thrilling stuff!
Satara Rest Camp
The second rest camp we stayed in was Satara which is in the centre of Kruger. It was quite big and had a couple of restaurants, a bigger shop, laundry and pool. This was the biggest camp we stayed in. It didn’t have quite the atmosphere of little Crocodile Bridge though.
I remember one day looking out my window to see a honey badger exploring everyone’s outdoor kitchens for some titbits but I don’t think she had any luck.
On our way up here was a family of four rhino including a baby cross the road. Also just down the road from this camp is the huge group of monkeys all grooming each other at about 5pm each day and often they are in the middle of the road – so just sit back and watch – wonderful!
We had another night drive here too where we saw the following: civet, genet, jackal, owl, 3 lions (two up close), various antelope (steenbok, bushbuck, kudu and impala), vultures, crocodiles and more. It was great – some of the animals you see at night you just don’t see during the day so I would recommend doing this at least once.
Letaba Rest Camp
Our last rest camp was in upper central area of Kruger (we didn’t get up to the north) called Letaba. It has a restaurant, a pool and shop also. Not quite as much wildlife as there was further south – I think we were quite spoilt down south.
We had a shared kitchen here as the fully self-contained were booked out. It had some nice big trees and really great views looking down to the river. However, all the rivers, creeks etc were either completely or nearly dried out. We did go in a time of drought and I’m not sure that it’s any better now. I hope so.
Lots of lovely deer and monkeys around the grounds here too. I think they probably appreciated the shady trees.
If you leave from this camp to go back to Johannesburg you will go through some gorgeous scenery. Much different to the drive to the south entrance at Crocodile Bridge.
Wildlife Highlights
Some wildlife highlights of our week in Kruger National Park were:
- Sitting and watching big herds of hippo or elephants go about their daily life. Park your car and just sit and watch for as long as you like.
- Watching huge numbers of monkeys about 5pm all doing their daily grooming by the side of the road. So entertaining!
- Spotting the rare rhinos several times.
- Lots of lions. One especially where we were stopped our car to watch monkeys in the trees and a lioness came out, roared a bit and walked right by our car!
- Almost being charged by an elephant when we stopped too close and watched for too long. There was a group of three adults fanning a baby lying on the ground trying to cope with the heat (it was a very hot day) and I think it thought it was time for us to move on. So we did!
- Just the huge magnitude of animals we saw. Often around every corner was a sighting and sometimes they just pop up from behind a tree.
- Discovering I loved birds, the lilac-breasted roller was my favourite.
Please feel free to leave a comment or ask me questions on our experiences in Kruger National Park.
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Hope you’ve enjoyed this Travel Inspiration from an Empty Nester!
Useful links:
South African National Parks – Kruger National Park
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Hi Jenny brings back a lot of wonderful memories. Such a unique place! The great thing was you could self drive. I wonder how many other large game parks there are where you can do this! It certainly adds to the excitement.
Thanks, glad to hear it Yes the self driving is definitely a big plus!
What a wonderful post Jenny. For someone who has never visited Africa, and would love to visit the Kruger NP, this is a really informative post. I assumed you had to go on a safari. So, I very impressed to read you can do a self drive tour. And thanks for all the tips.
Thanks Estelle, and yes I think a lot of people don’t know that you can do self-drive in places like Kruger!
You make some good points Jenny and your descriptions bring back memories for me. I’ve had quite a few visits to the Kruger and to private game reserves nearby.