Summer 2020-2021

Kruger Magazine

A celebration of Africa’s GREATER KRUGER!

Kruger Magazine2 min read
SETTING the SCENE
Summer in the South African bush is a season of abundance. Summer is baby boom season for many antelope species – newborn baby impalas are everywhere! Migratory birds arrive… the woodland kingfisher’s call has become a prize in family participation a
Kruger Magazine1 min readArchitecture
Kruger National Park
Is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of nearly two million hectares (20 000km²) in the province of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the north-east of South Africa. It extends 360km from north to south and 65km from east to west.
Kruger Magazine1 min readComputers
From The Publisher’s Pen
For those in the wildlife conservation and eco-tourism industries, if ever there was a time to generate new ideas, launch collaborative partnerships and find different ways of operating, it was in 2020. Our publishing team also faced enormous COVID-1
Kruger Magazine1 min read
Kruger Magazine
Publisher: Pat Botha Editor: Quintus Strauss Erika Alberts Meldt van der Spuy Tanya Lacey Aletta Pretorius-Thiart Ronelle Oosthuizen Martin Botha Carmen le Roux Pat Botha Quintus Strauss Beth van Eeden Dr Ian Whyte Ralf Kalwa Nick Zambatis Anja Stol
Kruger Magazine4 min read
My First Visit To Kruger Greater
I am told that my first visit to the Kruger National Park was in September 1959 at the age of 14 months to visit my father’s family who worked in the Park for 23 years. It was the start of a life-long passion for the bush. And what a privilege it s
Kruger Magazine2 min read
BALULE Basic But More
If you prefer camping because you want to experience nature firsthand, your choice should fall on the Balule Satellite Camp – one of the preferred camps in the Kruger National Park. Set in the heart of the Park, Balule – named after the XiTsonga word
Kruger Magazine1 min read
Game Drives
There are many options when planning a game drive around the Balule Satellite Camp area with the Olifants River flowing right past the camp. There is always an abundance of plains game coming down to drink and graze at the river. Water birds can be
Kruger Magazine5 min read
BLACK-BACKED JACKALS Super survivors
Black-backed jackals (BBJs) are one of many species that are classified under the genus ‘Canis’ including the wolves, coyotes and dogs. It is scientifically referred to as Canis mesomelas, the latter word derived from the ancient Greek mésos (‘middle
Kruger Magazine1 min read
Bbj Numbers
In spite of the fact that BBJs and their habitats are protected in the Park, a decline in their numbers almost certainly took place from the mid-1970s onwards. At that time, we were engaged in a census of the lion population of the area between the S
Kruger Magazine6 min readNature
GUINEAFOWLS Star-spangled Feathered Icons
Helmeted guineafowls (Numida meleagris) need little introduction due to their abundance and widespread distribution. They have been domesticated since the time of the Romans and have over time been introduced almost worldwide. In Africa indigenous fo
Kruger Magazine1 min read
Calls
Both species are rather noisy, making harsh but characteristic guttural sounds. The alarm call of the helmeteds is a harsh kek-kek-kek-churrrrrrr, and the crested’s is a staccato chuck-chuck-chuck-chuck-chuckaduck-chuckaduck, with some syllables slig
Kruger Magazine5 min readCrime & Violence
Mahlometela
If you ask young boys and girls what they want to become one day, the list inevitably often includes a dream to work with animals and become a game ranger. The romantic image of raising an orphaned antelope baby or walking and living amongst iconic g
Kruger Magazine3 min readBotany
The Nyala Tree
Another one of the ‘Big Seven’ trees of the Kruger National Park (KNP), the nyala tree (Xanthocercis zambesiaca) or nhlarhu in XiTsonga, mutshato in Tshivenda and njalaboom in Afrikaans, is an exceptionally large tree (up to 30m tall), with an enormo
Kruger Magazine2 min readScience & Mathematics
TOP 11 AMATEUR photographs SUMMER 2020
For the last Amateur Photo Competition of 2020, we had more entries that usual – and spectacular ones too! Our Facebook group’s active membership total has now surpassed the 55 000 mark and is growing every day. As always, it was a mammoth task for t
Kruger Magazine1 min read
A Great Moment To Witness…
It was during an afternoon drive that we encountered a troop of vervet monkeys in the road (H4-1). The young ones were playing together, chasing each other. Nearby was a herd of impalas grazing. I stopped the car as I didn’t want to disturb the monke
Kruger Magazine5 min read
The Stories Behind Some Of My SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHS
We all have photographs that, while they may not be the ultimate in photographic art, are memorable and have a special place in our heart. Here is a look at some of mine – photographs I have shot over the years that have a special meaning to me and t
Kruger Magazine8 min read
KNP HISTORY: History Of Camps
» Pretoriuskop (-25.169299, 31.268669) – The first rest camp and gateway to the Kruger National Park « Joep Stevens is a keen historian who was introduced to the Kruger National Park by his parents in 1966. This ignited his interest in and passion f
Kruger Magazine1 min read
Pretoriuskop And Fire
Over the years, Pretoriuskop has had its fair share of fires. On 14 November 1989, the old shop with its typical T-shape building burnt down, apparently due to an electric fault. In 1998, during a heavy thunderstorm late one night, lightning struck t
Kruger Magazine3 min read
In The Shade At N DZUTI
The word nDzuti means ‘shadow’ or ‘shade’ in the local Shangaan language, and aptly so, as the camp is situated in the shadow on the slope of a marvellous boulder koppie – landmarks indigenous to the area and used as look-out points all over Maseke.
Kruger Magazine3 min read
Sharpe’s Grysbok
« Salomon Joubert (Dr SCJ Joubert) started his conservation career in 1964 as a postgraduate student in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin and was appointed to the Kruger National Park as Junior Ranger at the end of 1964, stationed at the remote Klipkoppies Sect
Kruger Magazine5 min read
GIANT Lizards
« Donald Strydom, former owner of the world renowned Kinyonga Reptile Centre, has recently relocated to KwaZulu-Natal. Here he started a new worthy venture called Green Lizard Reptile Research and Rescue, a company that continues Donald’s legacy. G
Kruger Magazine5 min read
Favourite Spots
All KRUGER MAGAZINE Facebook members are invited to share their favourite spots with the community. The TOP 3 winning entries are chosen by the KRUGER MAGAZINE executive team and will be announced on the KRUGER MAGAZINE Facebook group. Popular vote

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