I was astounded by southern Kruger’s density of wildlife – the equal of which I’d not experienced beyond the Mara
Kruger National Park is frequently written-off by experienced safari buffs as a ‘tame wilderness’. It’s often surprising therefore to come across real connoisseurs who proclaim themselves to be lifelong fans of South Africa’s biggest and oldest park.
“My embryonic obsession for Kruger dates back to a first visit when my mother was still pregnant with me,” Fred Krantz smiled. “We went twice before I was one and visited on camping holidays every year after that. I still believe that Kruger National Park is quite simply the best park in the world.”
Krantz spends his working weeks guiding visitors through some of Africa’s most spectacularly exclusive safari real estate, at Greater Kruger’s andBeyond Ngala (an unfenced reserve on the park’s boundary). Both as a guide and as part of his nature conservation background, he’d been privileged to travel in many parts of southern Africa. Despite my doubts about what I’d heard described as a tame wilderness, Krantz’s undisguised affection was intriguing enough to inspire me to want to see what all the fuss was about.
I’d worked on safari stories all over the region but had tended to overlook Kruger. The park is
