Unique Places in Kruger National Park

This image is not so good due to the late time of the day I took it, but we could spot on the tree a kind of lizard, not sure exactly what is it. With its camouflage it hard to tell where the lizard end’s and where the tree starts.

Nelspruit is the biggest town close to Kruger. It has grown phenomanally in the last decade and I think of it as a little city now actually.

It was first visited in the late 1980's with my family for short holidays. I recall the thick humidity and the relentless sun. The insects seemed far bigger than they actually were and the hot sunny days were deliciously endless.

I made a good friend whilst studying at art school, whose family live here, and so my times here increased, as did my interest, and I grew to love this part of South Africa even more.

It is the throughfare into (in my personal opinion) this greatest of game parks in Southern Africa, the Kruger National Park.

One thing we were going to pass by but decided, "what the heck, let's stretch our legs & go see it," is the Sweni Hide. Located on the Sweni River on the S37 road (east and south of Satara rest camp), the Sweni Hide is a blind that allows you to view hippos in the river very close up. We caught our very best views of hippos at the Sweni Hide. Any other time we saw hippos, they were quite far away.

The Sweni Hide is definitely worth a look!

A hide is a man-made structure, usually constructed with natural materials, designed to blend into the natural environment. Sometimes they overlook a water hole, other times a vantage point high up on a cliff. They are great places to while away an hour or two in silence, watching and waiting for animals, birds and insects to make their appearance.

The hides are usually clearly marked on your Kruger Park map, so do make sure you include one or two visits to a hide during your stay. Little kids may get bored, especially if there is nothing "exciting" for them to watch, and if they don't find sitting in silence easy (!) then perhaps give the hides a miss!

Most animals head down to the waterholes to drink at dusk and dawn. Try to plan your driving route so you head towards a waterhole near to these times…These are great places to park your car, and sit with your engine turned off and just watch and listen to all the wildlife around you.

Watering holes are great places to catch animals coming down to drink and a marvellous site you won’t forget in a hurry is watching the elegant giraffes manoeuvre themselves over the water, stretching out their legs – wide, wide apart – to get their long necks low enough to the water to drink.

I really enjoy sitting by the waterholes. If you have a pair of binoculars, make sure you scan the surrounding bush and veld as well as just what is on, around, and in the water...you could well catch sight of animals making their way - slowly - to and from the waterhole.

Take note of the little things too: the frogs, the birds, the turtles and terrapins - and the myriad of footprints in the mud around the waterhole...who was the last visitor?

A tentative Kudu waits patiently for nighfall at the edge of the scrub near the waterhole. He wanders out and has a look before nervously retreating to the sanctuary of the trees. I am not sure if it was the vehicle we were in that made him nervous or the large crocodile that was sunning itself 30 metres away.

It is incredible to see the amount of damage these huge elephants do to the environment. Love them or hate them they deserve their place in Africa but it is sad to see the barren wasteland left after the elephants have pushed over trees and destroyed waterholes through their rolling in the mud. Other animals can only stand by and watch knowing that they will not get a drink.

An amazing array of animals take their chances every evening when they aproach the waterholes for a refreshing drink. I can not understand why they then stand motionless as if they are waiting to be eaten!