CLASSIC ROAD TRIP KRUGER
HIGHLIGHTS
NKUMBE VIEWPOINT SABIE LOW-WATER BRIDGE TIMBAVATI ROAD (H7 AND S39) S100 LION-VIEWING ROAD N'WANETSI PICNIC SITE S90 DIRT ROAD BALULE LOW-WATER BRIDGE N'WAMANZI VIEWPOINT GUIDED RIVER OUTING (LOOK FOR PEL'S FISHING-OWLS!) TSENDZE LOW-WATER BRIDGE POOR MAN'S SERENGETI (S50) TSHANGA VIEWPOINT CROOK'S CORNER VIEWPOINT PAFURI PICNIC SITE LUVUVHU BRIDGE
WHERE DO I STAY?
We've only listed the camping options. Almost all the rest camps offer other accommodation like safari tents, rondavels and self-catering cottages. Rates range from R540 per night for two people to R3 000 per night for four.
Our travel plan is just a guideline. Adjust it to suit your needs. The park is popular during school holidays and you should book at least a year in advance. The accommodation rates exclude the daily conservation fee of R115 per adult and R57 per child. The conservation fee is waived if you have a Wild card. It makes sense to get one if you'll be in the park for more than four days, or if you often visit other national parks and reserves.
Contact 012 428 9111 sanparks.org
DAY 1-2
You only have one goal today: Get to Crocodile Bridge. It's about a five-hour drive if you live in Gauteng and 10 hours if you live in Durban. Capetonians… Well, you should have left already.
Get your permit at the office at the Crocodile Bridge gate and breathe in that heavenly thatched-roof smell. Claim a stand next to the fence, light a fire and wait for the first nightjar to call. Welcome to the Kruger National Park, one of the best places on earth!
The last thing you need to do before your head hits the pillow is to set your alarm. You want to be the first vehicle at the gate, which opens at 5.30am in summer and 6am in winter.
Brrring, brrring! It's still dark outside, but welcome to your new routine. A Kruger holiday is not for sleeping in, although there are lots of opportunities for afternoon naps. You'll be up early every day because that's the best time to see animals and birds.
Take the H4-2 tar road and turn left to the Gezantfombi Dam on the Vurhami River. Pour your coffee and listen to the hippos nurking in the dam.
Return to the H4-2 and turn right onto the S28 dirt road. You'll enter open grassland with the Lebombo Mountains on your right. Nervous plains game like zebra, warthog, impala, blue wildebeest and giraffe are guaranteed sightings along this route, which means you might also see predators…
Stretch your legs at the Ntandanyathi hide further north. According to the guides at Crocodile Bridge, Ntandanyathi means “where the buffalo like to roam” in isiZulu. A big herd of buffalo – up to 150 animals – roams south of this hide next to the S28.
Go back towards the S137 turn-off and head to Duke waterhole. Cheetahs are often seen in this area.
After 8km you'll reach
