Royal Malewane at Thornybush
South AfricaKruger National Park
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Kruger National Park
Enquire NowAs the country’s first national park, the legendary Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa, is steeped in safari history. As the largest game reserve in the country, with the widest variety of African animals, the Kruger offers one of the best safari experiences on the continent and is particularly known for the Big Five.
Situated in the north of the country, Kruger National Park stretches 360 km along the borders of Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and is one of Africa’s largest conservation areas. Due to its size, the park has a variety of habitats that are home to more species of animal than any other park in Africa. So while on a game drive, visitors may not encounter herds in their millions as in East Africa, they are likely to see a great diversity of wildlife. The southern region is known for its mixed savannah plains and good predator sightings such as prides of lions. The northern sector is less visited by tourists and has much thicker vegetation, so home to more elephants and large herds of buffalo.
Perhaps most famous for the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino), named collectively as the animals that traditional hunters most feared and prized as trophies, the park also has one of the largest remaining populations of rhino in the world.
There is a network of tar and dirt roads throughout the park making it one of the most accessible reserves and an easy self-drive destination. However, to get the most out of a safari in Kruger National Park, it’s best to enjoy a game drive with an experienced local guide. No off-road game viewing is allowed within the Kruger. Accommodation is offered at several rest camps with chalets and camping facilities. There are only a couple of lodges within the park, with many options outside the park or in the Greater Kruger Private Reserves.
It take around 4 1/2 hours to reach the southern regions of Kruger and many clients choose to fly from Johannesburg to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. From here many lodges are within an hour’s drive. International flights connect to Victoria Falls and the East African hub of Nairobi.
Many visitors want to stay at lodges in iconic places such as the Sabi Sands, the Timbavati and Thornybush during their safari to South Africa. These are just some of the many private safari reserves which form the Greater Kruger National Park, a network of privately managed reserves that share unfenced borders with Kruger National Park, thereby allowing wildlife to move freely through the region.