The Magnificent Kruger Park…

Since I was a small child, I’ve always been amazed at the exotic animals in the zoo.  So, when we decided to travel to South Africa, a safari was at the TOP of my list!  With no time to waste, on the second day after we arrived, we headed out to Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in all of Africa!

“Possibly one of the most famous parks in the world, Kruger is one of the largest game reserves on the continent and covers an area of 19,485 square kilometers (7,523 sq. mi.), sharing borders with Mozambique to the east and Zimbabwe to the north.  It was first protected in 1898 and became South Africa’s first national park in 1926.  According to the government, over 1.6 million people visit it each year.”  Nomadic Matt

Kruger is visited by over 1.6 million people a year and it can get very crowded.  There are several reasons for this but the biggest reason it is so wildly popular is because it is cheap and easy!  You can do a drive through Safari for about $25 a person and see thousands of animals all day long including the Big 5.

The park itself is massive covering an area of 19,623 km² (7,576 sq mi) in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west.   It takes about 5-6 days to drive through the whole thing!

Our Arbnb host and new friend Trudie was our guide and she was invaluable!  Trudie used to work there and it seems like she knows every inch of the massive place.  Her friend Coco also accompianed us and she knew her share of great places to find incredible wildlife viewings as well.

We were up at 5:00 am and out the door by 6:00 and after a short one hour drive, we were at the gates.  The entrance fees were more than affordable at R460 each, which is equivalent to about $25 US each.  What a bargain… we were actually getting to go on a “real safari!”  My excitement was bubbling over with the thought of seeing elephants, giraffes, lions and zebras!

Let me just say… It was AMAZING!!  We spent the entire day driving through the park and saw thousands of animals.  We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were NOT at a zoo… that this was THEIR natural habitat.  No fences meant NOT being able to get out of the car to move in for a closer look.  There was something magical about being able to watch them… how they moved,  how they ate,  how they crossed the road in front of us and how some of the different breeds seemed to get along just fine with each other.  Some traveled in packs and others seemed to like roaming solo.

You can’t leave your car as you drive through because literally you’re in the wild and it’s dangeorous.  However, there are “Camps” scattered throughout the park that are gated and fenced and you can park and walk around, have a picnic and some of them even have restaurants and places to stay the night.    Some of the other ones are just fenced viewing and walking areas.  One of our favorites was the Lake Panic Viewing area where we watched a family of Hippos play in the water.  We also saw Crododiles and dozens of different species of birds!  It was a gorgeous area and we ate lunch there and sat for hours just watching all of the animals.

As we drove through the park we saw animals at every turn.   Many were far away and in larger herds and they were really cool to watch through the binoculars.   However, the best were the animals that were close to the road or even crossing it in front of us and behing us.  They were everywhere and as we drove we would shout out, “Elephants!  Zebra!” and pull over and just watch them from yards away.  We were able to see 4 out of the Big 5 (no rhinos sited) and we even witnessed a pack of wild dogs that had not been seen in a long time evidently!

Kruger has some amazing guides for sale in the gift shop at the gate and I highly reccomend you purchase one in your language.  It details all of the animals in the park so you can effectively see and check off the ones you are looking at.  We had many a discussion as to what we were actually seeing and this book was invaluable!

We love nature and often times see aimals in the woods but frankly it’s a good day if you see 10 or 12 and sometimes you see nothing.   Conversely, in a Zoo you just walk along and see tons of animals, but they’re all in cages and just seem less than happy.  Kruger was a mix between the two…  you just drove around and like a Zoo, animals were everywhere.   However, the fact that they were wild and in their element was what made it so special!

We also learned how ignorant we are as Americans once again.   We were under the immpression that these magnificant animals just roamed around Africa everywhere, but what we found is that by and large they are extinct from poaching and the destruction of their habitats. As a result, almost all of them live on game reserves like Kruger.

We were so thankful that the government has taken steps to not only protect these animals, but to designate such an expansive and beautiful natural location for them to live in peace.   Our Kruger trip was one of the most wonderful excursions we’ve done and we’re definitely going to go a few more times before we move on from South Africa!