Safety Tips in Kruger National Park

Within its boudaries, Kruger's animals wander freely. One of the consequences of this is that you frequently encounter animals standing in the middle of the road or crossing the road in front of your vehicle. This why it is essential to obey the speed limits within Kruger. We had a close call when an elphant stepped out onto the road in front of us from behind some bushes and trees. We were able to stop in time, but would have hit it had we been speeding. After we recovered from our initial surprise, we did get some great close-up photos!

DO NOT under any circumstances, leave the vehicle that you are travelling in, while in unprotected areas of the park. Danger lurks around every corner.
Wear sunscreen, and use insect repellant. If you have an allergy to bees - do not wear perfume or bright colored clothing- these attract bees&b. Its a good idea to use anti-malarial tablets. . Doxycycline is a safe anti-malarial, but use sunscreen- it makes skin more sensitive to sun.

Please remember you are visiting the animals home, respect their need for space, allow them right of way, be careful not to invade their peace and certainly take care not to get between a hippo and the water, an elephant or any animal and it's young and if they wish to cross in front of you then take a wide berth to give them room to do so.

You are not in a zoo, these animals are wild.

Refrain from feeding the animals, you may think it's an act of kindness in fact it is quite the opposite, not only does it encourage aggression it also means they do not eat the correct foods to keep them healthy and some foods in fact do harm them.

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If you want to visit Kruger, you need a very expensive camera and loads of film and/or a big memory card. Here is the thing. Animals move! Boy, do they. They are just thinking survival. They often move their rear ends to face you because they then have the ability to run in the exact opposite direction should you pose a threat. They are thinking lions and not being on the carnivore daily specials menu. Only the Elephants slowly walk towards you, and that can be a safety issue too. Do not be ashamed if you have to buy postcards. The big cats like to hide in direct proportion to the amount of money you paid for the holiday AND the cost of your camera multiplied by how new it is.

Animal butts, get used to it!

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Look cute don't they? Distructive thieves are what they are.

There are several places in the park that allow you to get out of the car to observe things like Hippos in the river. Roll up the windows! This cute mother and son ended up in our car when we were not looking.

They take things, run away and throw whatever they have stolen everywhere.

You have been warned!

On one of our night drives, several of our fellow passengers were with a Canadian tour group. Their tour operator charged them $400 Canadian per person for the night drive! The tour only costs R100 per person, or $20 Canadian ($15 USD)! Needless to say, the Canadians were very upset when they found out how much the tour really costs! So if you book ahead with a tour operator, make sure you know how much things really cost.

Fill up with petrol before you leave your campsite!

There are petrol stations situated at various campsites throughout the park. It is easy to loose track of how many hours you spend driving around the park each day and I will never forget as a child, being in the park when we ran out of petrol on one trip! Fortunately there was a very helpful game ranger just behind us who was able to help out, but don't get caught! Fill up before you leave the campsite if you are running low.

When you check in, ask where the petrol stations are located in the park...

This is South Africa’s premier park and is now getting a lot more press and attention. It is very popular during school holidays so book ahead during January and February and during the three week holiday in July.

It may be a good idea to make reservations way in advance if you definately know the dates you wish to visit the park.