Complete Travel Kruger National Park – a guide to explore the famous park in South Africa

Complete Travel Kruger National Park – a guide to explore the famous park in South Africa

You always wanted to do a safari? You dream of this “out of Africa feeling”? You want to   see african wildlife? The Kruger National Park is probably one of the easiest and most accessible   safari parks in the world that can make all your safari dreams come true. Holamundo! Holamundo! Welcome to our  

Complete travel guide of Kruger National Park. First we will give you some helpful information for your preparation. Then we guide you through your time in the park itself and in the end – and that’s   very important so stay till the end – we give you 3 route options depending on the length of  

Your stay. I would say: let’s start! number one: timing. Timing is very important in the Kruger National Park. Always check when you plan when the South African school holidays are.    During school holidays all of South Africa is on the move and a  lot of people tend to come to Kruger National Park.  

You will be up for long waiting hours at the gate, you will have traffic jam at the sightings   and sometimes the park will even be closed for day visitors because they have a limited number   of people they let in the park per day. So if you cannot avoid the school holidays of South Africa  

Book well in advance your accommodation and I’m talking of a minimum of 6 months and yeah just be   prepared that you will not be alone in the park. Number two: consider the season you   are in. In summer, that is the months of november to february, march, it is summer in South Africa and  

This means it is rainy season. So the Kruger will look really lush and green, there will be leaves   on the bushes and trees. This will make the safari really difficult because the animals are hidden   in the bushes and sometimes they’re just a meter away from your car but you will not be able to see them. 

And also it will be really hot and humid. Simply consider this when you plan. On the other   hand birding at this time of the year is amazing! Kruger has 517 species of birds and they are all   active in rainy season. As a birder you will be really satisfied! In winter however which is  

The months of june, july, august, temperatures will be quite chilly. They go down to 9° at night but   the Kruger is very dry. There are no leaves on the bushes and the trees and as it’s cool, the animals  

Are much more active. They roam around and you will have a lot of possibilities to find them.   It’s up to you. You have to decide what is important for you and select the season. Maybe the shoulder  

Season, spring or autumn, is the right one for you. Number three: do not underestimate the size of the   Kruger National Park. It’s huge! It’s about 360 km long and at the widest point it’s 65 km wide.  

If you think you have three to four days and you can cover the whole park: that’s not a good idea because   you are there to look for the animals, to look for birds, to enjoy nature! The maximum speed limit  

On tarred roads is 50 km per hour, on gravel roads it’s only 40. So you’re supposed to be pretty slow.   But I mean that’s the point about it. If you only have limited time don’t try to cover the   whole park. Take a small portion and watch till the end because we have some road suggestions.  

Number four: before you plan your Kruger trip decide what  you want to experience   and see. You want to see as many predators or Big 5 as possible? Stay in the very south.   You want to see savanah, many lions and kitchy african sunset? Make your trip around Orpen, Satara and  

Tshokwane. You want a real wild “Out of Africa feeling”, you want to escape the crowds and you want to see   many birds? Base yourself around Pafuri and Punda Maria. You want a bit of everything without the   crowds? Come to the region in between Olifants and Mopani. Number five: plan with which vehicle you  

Visit the park. Basically Kruger is best visited with your own car. Doing a self-drive safari is so   much fun and so rewarding. You can drive in Kruger with just a normal basic car but anyway we   suggest you use a high clearance car or a 4×4 car depending what kind of budget you have.  

Being a bit higher than in the normal standard car gives you the possibility to spot animals   a bit easier and it’s a bit more comfortable to drive around. When you are an abroad visitors we   highly suggest you to rent the car beforehand. Just google it to find the cheapest options and take this  

One. It is perfectly fine. You should consider a full coverage of your insurance because little stones are flying around, an elephant might be a bit too close to your car…. so having a full   insurance gives you peace of mind. Number six: your accommodation. Well, you have all choices when  

You go to Kruger. You can either stay in campsites in the park, you can stay at official SANpark restcamps   or in smaller SANpark bushveld camps or you can opt to stay in one of the super fancy,   super nice, super comfortable and super expensive lodges. All depends on your budget. This is when  

You stay in the park! There are also options to stay outside the park and visit the park   as a day visitor. But we really suggest at least for some nights to stay in the park because it’s  

A special experience! If you want to do this be aware that you need the proof or the booking of   your accommodation at the gate. They will only give you a multiple day entry ticket when you   have this accommodation booked beforehand. I will put the link down in the description for the

SANpark restcamps and bushveld camps. You can book  them on their website. For the private lodges you   have to find the lodge you want by yourself. Just google it and you find lots of lodges in the park.  

And also for the campsite, they can be booked on this SANpark website. In case you have a change   of plans and you want to stay a bit longer in one accommodation in the park before you move to the  

Next restcamp, you may ask at the specific camp if they can change the bookings. Sometimes they   are able to do that if accommodation is free. And we have also experienced when it was very   low season that you may book your accommodation of your restcamp directly at the gate. But this very  

Much depends what kind of person is working at the gate. Some are very friendly and super helpful,   basically most of them, but sometimes you will just not luck out. If you want to be safe, better book   beforehand. Especially in the south there are quite some options to sleep outside the park.

This can be an option because sleeping inside the park is pretty pricey for what you get. And   when you have an accommodation outside the park, it  has a much better value, it’s much more comfortable   and bit cheaper. But, well the restcamps in the park are comfortable, it’s it’s just not luxury….

If you stay in a luxury lodge, you pay about 400 to 600 dollar (per night) so you can expect it to be   very comfortable. But if you are on a low budget or a medium  budget, you can consider taking an accommodation  

In Hazyview which is in close driving distance to the Kruger Gate and to the Numbi Gate. You can also   stay outside of Orpen Gate which has also many possibilities. And, what we did, we stayed outside   in Marloth Park which is a 20 minutes drive to Crocodile Bridge. It has amazing accommodations  

And even some wildlife roaming around in the area which comes up close to your accommodation and   that’s a pretty cool experience! We had some zebras visiting us 6:00 a.m. in the morning.   It was pretty amazing! A lot of people tend to stay near Palaborwa Gate. We also did this but we don’t  

Recommend it. Why? Accommodation there is very nice, it’s a great supermarket right at the gate where   you can stock up. But it’s a long drive to Letaba. It’s a 1hour drive to Letaba Restcamp and in this  

Area, during this 1 hour, animal sightings are very scarce. We only found a few elephants and the rest   was just driving through bushland. If you do this every morning, it’s a bit annoying. You can   do this once when you enter but not like every morning coming and going from the park – I would  

Not recommend this. Number seven: your health. If you come to Kruger National Park you must be aware that   the Kruger National Park is a malari risk area. There are cases of malaria every year.   t’s a low to medium risk. Low risk is in winter in dry season and also in the shoulder season  

When it’s not raining so much. When it’s raining, it’s a medium risk. In the beginning we took the   antimalaria tablets like you get them in Europe and we suffered from really severe side effects. I   mean we had diarrhea, we had really stomach cramps, we had hallucinations at night, we slept very badly…..  

So we stopped taking them basically because we had the feeling they will kill us earlier than malaria will. When we now go to the park, we take a lot of precautions. We wear always long sleeves   at night, we sleep under the mosquito net, we use bug spray. The local bug spray in South Africa  

Is cheap and super effective. It’s called peaceful sleep. Really a great one. It’s better than a lot   of antibug sprays in Europe. It doesn’t stink, it’s not oily, it’s really great. You can also put it on your   clothes. And you wear light colored clothes! That’s the way we go. There are also these mosquito  

Coils you can burn so you have a lot of options to prepare. And we don’t take any medication. We use   some natural chinin which we take. Some drops every day to make our liver strong. But we don’t  

Take any chemical stuff anymore because this  was just not good for us. But we are no doctors!   It’s only our experience we share! We know that most of the South Africans do it the same  

Way like we do. It’s up to you to decide. If you are not sure listen to your doctor or to   your inner feelings and go with it. Number eight: think about the length of your stay. I’m touching  

This topic because of the Wildcard. The Wildcard is an annual card which you can buy at the SANpark   website and it gives you free access to all South African National Parks. And we calculated   it and we realized when you stay seven days in Kruger National Park all longer, the Wildcard is the way  

To go because it’s much cheaper than buying each day a single entry. If you consider staying 7   to 10 or more days in the national park or for example if you are in Kruger for six days and  

You plan to also go to an other national park consider buying this Wildcard. The link is down   in the description. That was the preparation we suggest you to do. Now the day has come you  

Are at the gate and the first thing you have to do: buy this booklet! This booklet is amazing! It has   all necessary phone numbers of the rest camps, of doctors, of whatever you can imagine, phone numbers   are in there, all the roads like tarred roads, gravel roads, 4×4 roads, all the lookout points, all  

The picnic spots – everything is in this booklet! All the animals and a lot of the birds are in there!   This is really amazing. It’s not expensive! I think it’s a about $5. Buy this booklet. It will make  

Your trip more memorable and it will make your  trip much more easy. The roads: there are tarred roads, gravel roads and a few 4×4 roads. Speed limit is 50 on tarred roads and 40 km per hours on gravel  

Roads. In the main rest camps you will find shops to  stock up with food, restaurants, gas stations, toilets   and also sighting boards. Remember in Kruger: you are not allowed to leave the car or lean out of  

The car. Only at restcamps, at hides or picnic spots you can leave your car. And at some bridges like   the Olifants Bridge. On the big bridges in Kruger like the one crossing over thebig rivers, you can  

Get out of your car, walk around. Just on the bridge in designated areas. That’s amazing because you   can see just down there what is happening in the river. Please always respect the animals. You are   in their territory. So be quiet in the car, don’t make any noise or play music, give them always  

Way, don’t come too close to them especially with elephants which might attack your car and always   remember: some of them might really kill you! You are only allowed to drive around the park   during day times. Always check with your camp or at the gate the timetable. If you don’t respect the  

Driving hours the fines are quite high. So better stick to them. One thing you shouldn’t forget: bring   your binoculars because animals can be far away. And a very important point: take your time! Don’t   rush! Sometimes you spot a lion far in the distance and on the other side of the road you see some  

Impalas and you will just want to take your time, to observe if these lions might chase the impalas.  And this can take half an hour or an hour and you will just sit there and wait. Plan in this time  

Because this is so precious! Do not only look for predators. Of course, it’s always amazing to see a   leopard, a lion or hyenas or wild dogs. It’s amazing and we are looking for that also! We do this but in  

Between it might be frustrating when you just drive around and you’re just looking for them.  Open your eyes, go to the hides, look at all the birds, look at the many, many reptiles.    This will make your trip so much more memorable. For us, self drive safaris are the way to go. We  

Really enjoy being in the car, looking out of the window having the windows open, smelling the   bush, listening to the sounds. It’s amazing because sometimes you are just alone in the   bush! That’s priceless. But from time to time, we enjoy really taking a sunset tour on a safari vehicle on  

A guided tour. That’s really nice. What we really suggest, what we love to do is walking   safaris. Early in the morning, take a guide and make a walk through the bush. You will learn so much   about bush life. It’s amazing! And it’s also a great feeling to be out there walking where the  

Lions are, the leopards are, the cheetah are. Really – book your walking safari. You can book it at any   camp in the Kruger National Park. Just the evening before, go to the reception and ask for these   walking tours. Let’s come to some of our favorite spots which we recommend you visit in the  

Park. First: the picnic spots and lookout points. And sorry if I have to look down but names are   a bit challenging for me. What we really suggest you visit as a picnic spot or lookout point is: Nkhulu, Nkumbe, N’wanetsi, Mooiplaas, Bobbejaankrans

And in the far north Crook’s Corner. Coming to our favorite roads and they are our favorite   roads because we spotted a lot of animals there. That’s the S25 in the very south, the S14 and S110 both in the South, all the roads around Satara. Especially  

For sunset or right after the gates open you will find a lot of lions there. The H1-4 around the area   of Mooiplaas and Tsendze and the S60 in the far north. Coming to the last point in the park: our favorite restcamps.  

You can decide if you want to stay there or just pop in to have coffee but these were our   favorite camps: Punda Maria restcamp, Shingwedzi restcamp, Tsendze (but this is only for camping), Letaba for   having an amazing coffee on this terrace and Olifants, Tamboti Tented Camp (you will have the  

Honey badgers there at night), Lower Sabie for this amazing  terrace that cannot be beaten by anything and the   Malelane Satellite Camp, a very small and tiny Camp. These were some of our tips and recommendations   when you visit Kruger National Park and now let’s come to some road suggestions.  

As the drive from Johannesburg takes you about 4 to 5 hours depending where you go, the closest gate is   Numbi Gate or also Malelane Gate. It’s a long drive, so we recommend you stay at least  

2 nights in the Kruger. If you only stay for a short period of time like 3 to 4 days stay here   in the very south. We suggest you enter through Malelane Gate where you can also base yourself in   this tranquil camp. And from here you can drive our favorite S25 to Crocodile Bridge, you can  

Drive this area to Lower Sabie, you can go to Skukuza and explore especially this road down   to Malelane. If you have 4 to 8 days, start in Johannesburg, drive up to the Palaborwa Gate,   enter there and base yourself in the Olifant Camp or in the Balule Satellite Camp. You can explore this  

Area around Letabe, Olifants and then you can come down to  Satara. You can stay at the amazing Tamboti Camp and   continue to Lower Sabie, to Crocodile Bridge and exit the park after this nice road at Malelane. When  

You have 10 days or more: lucky you! Because you can explore the whole park. From Johannesburg you   can drive up to Punda Maria restcamp. You can base yourself there, explore the very north with Crook’s Corner and the Pafuri area and then come down after a  couple of nights to Shingwedzi. Base yourself in Shingwedzi

Or Bateleur Camp. They are both amazing camps. Come down to the Mopani area where you cannot   miss Mooiplaas picnic site. You may sleep at Tzendze if you’re camping. You continue to Letaba, Olifants   or Balule camp. You then go to the Tamboti Camp around Orpen. You go down to Lower Sabie,  

To Crocodile Bridge and then do this loop. Base yourself in Malelane Satellite Camp, explore   all the area in the south here which is amazing. And we suggest the final days you spend here in   this white corner in Marloth Park to relax in a nice and affordable lodge to let everything sink. I hope  

You have enjoyed our travel guide to the Kruger National Park and you are inspired to travel   there! We promise, it’s amazing! You will not regret it! We really love this place on earth. We could   spend months there. If you enjoyed this travel guide, if it’s useful for you, please subscribe  

To our channel for free. This helps us a lot to produce more content like this. Give us a like and   if you want to support us, feel free to do this on patreon or via paypal. Links are down in the  

Description. Thanks a lot! Enjoy your visit to the Kruger and see you in the next one! Holamundo

After spending many, many days in the whole Kruger National Park, checking out all the camps, many picnic spots and viewpoints, we now put all the info together in this complete travel guide. Hopefully this will help you to make your trip to the park a memorable one. Cheers!

Support us on Patreon and get more behind the scenes info: https://patreon.com/HolamundoCH

SAN Parks website: https://www.sanparks.org/
Book your accomodation here: https://www.sanparks.org/reservations/accommodation/filters
Get your Wildcard here: https://www.sanparks.org/wild-card/overview

#krugerpark #africanwildlife #safari

00:50 – things to plan before you go
00:54 – 1. do not go during ZA school holidays
01:53 – 2. consider the seasons
03:35 – 3. Kruger is big
04:33 – 4. What do you want to experience
05:22 – 5. best car
06:36 – 6. book accomodation in advance
11:18 – 7. what about malaria
13:39 – 8. the wildcard
14:39 – things to consider in the park
14:50 – 1. by the Kruger booklet
15:39 – 2. the roads
15:55 – 3. the restcamps
16:09 – 4. do not leave the car
16:43 – 5. respect the animals
17:12 – 6. respect the opening hours of the park
17:31 – 7. bring binoculars
17:37 – 8. do not rush through the park
18:10 – 9. open your eyes also for little things
18:44 – 10. self drive vs guided tours
19:54 – 11. best places to visit in the park
22:18 – route suggestions 3-4 days
23:16 – route suggestions 4-8 days
23:58 – route suggestions 10+ days
25:20 – Enjoy YOUR time in Kruger

➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

Never miss one of our videos. SUBSCRIBE NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@HolamundoCH

Holamundo! We are Nina and Markus, a swiss couple exploring the world. In our youtube channel, we want to share with you everything you might want to know about #Switzerland: places to visit, off the beaten path destinations, experiences with people, organisational topics (i.e. like how to get a swiss passport, how to buy a house etc.). We will share our love for nature and outdoor adventures, give you insights into our #spiritual life and treat you with some amazing #vegan cooking ideas. And from time to time we leave our beautiful country and #travel the #world.

We publish a vlog every week and hope to create and inspire a community of like minded individuals with loads of positive energy and love. Ready for the ride? Then click the subscribe button :-)…..

We have documented our round the world trip in 2008/2009 followed by 3 months in South East Asia in our blog. So check out our website.

💚 THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT
regularly on Patreon: https://patreon.com/HolamundoCH
one time on Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/HOLAMUNDOcoffee

🏡 STAY IN CASA HOLAMUNDO
Stay in our typical swiss stonehouse from the 1900. An amazing experience in the midth of wild forest, mountains and lakes: https://www.holamundo.ch/casaholamundo

💻 OUR WEBSITE
https://www.holamundo.ch

👥 OUR SOCIALS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holamundo.ch/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aroundourwonderfulplanet/

🎧 MUSIC
You enjoyed the music in this video? Get it copyright free here: https://share.epidemicsound.com/v5nz96

👑 PRECIOUS METALS
You want to invest into precious metals like gold and silver. We can recommend Goldavenue, a reliable swiss based company. Check out the link here: https://www.goldavenue.com/de/r/8a60d5f5ac

💰 SAVE MONEY
You want to save money? Then look a tour cashback solution. You can, i.e. save cashback by booking you accomodation online on booking.com. It is very easy, free of charge and with this link you even get a starter bonus: https://de.igraal.com/einladung?werber=AG_620388379df87

“The path is made by walking.”

#travels #travel #traveling #travelsouthafrica #southafrica #africa #bushlovers #krugerpark #travelvlog #travelcouple #vloggers #vlogging #holamundo #birding #birders #giraffe #bigcats #safari #hippo #inthebush #africanwildlife #crocodilebridge #crocodilebridgerestcamp #malelanegate #krugerrestcamp #malelane #lowersabie #krugertravelguide #pundamaria #big5