Abundant Wildlife
KRUGER is one of the world's most famous wildlife parks and is also one of the oldest - it's forerunner having been established in 1898 - and boasts the greatest variety of animals of any Southern African park.
Kruger has recently granted private concessions to a few leading lodge operators, so a luxury safari lodge experience is at last available within Kruger.
For those requiring a more cost-effective option, you can self drive and stay in the well maintained government rest camps, as it has a highly organised and developed infrastructure, making it ideal for those who wish to explore on their own without guides. However, this is not a suitable option for those who wish to have a true wilderness experience - the roads are mostly tarred and the rest camps large and well equipped.
However, it is still a place of immense natural beauty and wonder, and there are still enough quiet corners where the traveller can park their vehicle at a waterhole or atop a kopje (hill), wind down the window and listen to the intense and beautiful sounds of the African bush.
Bird and animal life is abundant, and if one spends the large part of the mornings and afternoons game viewing, the traveller should be rewarded with sightings of all the Big 5 within a three or four day period.
Travellers are not permitted to leave their vehicles except at designated picnic and view sites and are not allowed out the camp at night, except on Night Drives which are organised by the park authorities, and are well worth including in a trip to this famous reserve.
The southern portion of Kruger is more lush and wooded that the drier central and northern regions, and is where most of the camps are situated, as the largest concentrations of game occur there.
Travellers wishing to embark on a self drive excursion to Kruger, usually fly from Johannesburg to Skukuza, which is served by scheduled flights and is the main camp and headquarters of the National Parks Board, and from where car hire is available.
