Related Kruger National Park Favorites Tips

Favorite thing: We just got back from Jo'berg / Victoria Falls / Kruger / Capetown, and late September worked for us. It was still cool in Kruger, and still dry so the animals congregated at water as advertized. Kruger was spectacular -- animals virtually on the road all over the place.
Cape Town was unseasonably cool (or so the locals told us), but it was nice and sunny 5 days out of our 6. The rainy day we used for wine tasting.
Victoria Falls was low-water, so not as spectacular, but then again I understand that in high water the mist obscures the view anyway. Perhaps some day we'll make it back to Vic Falls in the high water season and see the difference. We enjoyed the low-water Vic Falls very much and I'd recommend a September trip as a good all-around compromise.

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Favorite thing: I have been to Kruger many times over the years, and am going again in January 2009!! :)

Something to remember when visiting the park in summer... when it is greener and lusher... is that the animals are harder to spot then. We have had some of our best sightings in winter, when they are easier to see.

The best place to view animals in the summer time is near the water, they congregate near the watering holes early morning and late afternoon, when it is a bit cooler. Midday is far too hot to be about, so they lie in the shade and coolness of the trees and shrub.. which makes you seeing them a near impossibility. This is a good time for you too to have a rest, swim, eat lunch etc.

In summer it also gets very hot in your car (unbearably so), and you shouldn't drive with your window open... so make sure you have air conditioning. You might very likely get rain during summer - although I doubt constant, winters are very dry in this region.

We do most of our viewing early morning and late afternoon.

Favorite thing: 1. The Southern part of the park has higher rainfall, thus more game population than the northerm part - bear in mind that it is much busier though.
2. Allow approx 2.5hrs between camps, speed limit is 50KMPH and you also need time to view the game, hence the 2.5 hrs.
3. Early mornings and evenings are best for game viewing.
4. Fuel is available at larger camps but must be paid for in cash
5. Book for game drives, walks etc before arriving at the camp as these get booked up well in advance and you could be disappointed.
6. Check the notice boards in the park before setting off to find out where the latest sightings of animals have been, you may get
lucky too.

Berg en dal, Pretoriouskop, Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Satara, Letaba, Mopani, Shingwedzi and Punda Maria all have swimming pools.

When entering the park do pick up from one of the shops a guide to the animals.

The Park is about 350 Km long and 60 km wide

There are very many historical sites in Kruger worth keeping your eye out for, these are but a few:

First tourist hut
Jock of the Bushveld Plaque
Albasini Ruins
Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial
San Paintings
Skukuza Memorial Library
Crooks Corner

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Favorite thing: Have any South African friends? You may want to make some - quick. 2 of us (Tourists) took 2 South African friends with us. We paid less for all 4 than the price for 2! How did we do it? One of our South African friends drove to the gate and bought tickets for all 4 of us "South Africans". That's right - locals get in cheap!

I have provided the link below of the current traiffs.

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK ENTRY CHARGES

Favorite thing: For those who have never been on a safari you can actually just drive in the wild with the animals! This may seem like a silly ‘tip’, but before we went we just couldn’t grasp the fact that people did self drives in KNP! We figured that it must be safe since others did it! There are great signs throughout the park that lead you to the rest camps. Everything was so easy and worked out great.

Favorite thing: There are daily conservation fees for the park and South African citizens and International citizens pay different prices. We found it to be cheaper (not much) to buy the WILD card. This will also allow us to get into other South African National Parks for free during our stay in the country. You can buy the WILD card at the Nelspruit airport, at the gate or online.

Favorite thing: I was wondering how much gas we would use in a week and it less than I thought. We used a gas of tank, which I did not think was bad at all. Gas is available at the main rest camps and they do not take credit cards.

(There seemed to be ATMs throughout the park.)

Favorite thing: The official Kruger National Parks website is:

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/

We booked all of our accommodation on this site including our morning drive. Very helpful forum also if you don’t find all the information on Virtual Tourist!