What many travellers don’t know, is that the Greater Kruger National Park is split into different areas. The Kruger Park proper is mainly a self-drive destination with fairly basic self catering accommodation. Then there are the private reserves which are linked to the Kruger Park and are known for their luxury accommodation and guided safari drives. There are no fences between the private reserves and the Kruger Park, allowing the animals to move freely and to follow their ancient paths without man-made obstructions.
Most of our guests visit the private reserves and stay at the luxury reserves. But every now and again, we have an adventurous soul who wants to go it alone. It is safe, fun and, because the roads are well marked, it is easy to do without a guide. But you must enjoy driving, because the going is slow (you have to stop and see the animals after all!) and the distances are huge. You can either base yourself in one area of the Kruger Park and do day drives from there. Or you can drive from camp to camp and see the animals along the way.
The accommodations are in rest camps and are always self-catering. The bigger rest camps, such as Skukuza or Letaba, have restaurants, pools, laundromats and shops. Smaller bush camps have no one but you! You can pick the smaller ronavels where you share ablutions or bigger houses that are well appointed and have views of the river. There is something for everyone. And a Cattle Baron burger to boot, if you visit Skukuza!
Our Cape Town tour guide, David, from See Cape Tours, took a drive through the Kruger Park. He spent 10 days driving from the Punda Maria gate, right down to the Crocodile Bridge in the south. He was blown away by the plethora of animals and birds that he saw. From great, and numerous, herds of elephant, hippos out of the water, plenty of zebra and giraffe and finally, on the last day, a jackal. David favours a sofa safari with a twist! His favourite thing to do is to park at a waterhole with his binoculars, a cup of coffee and his book, and just wait and see what comes to you. He is convinced that he sees more that way!
David isn’t the best photographer of all time! But here are some of his pics, and you really do get a sense of how much variety of wildlife he was able to see in his short time in the Kruger Park.
