The 16 Photos that Prove Kruger National Park is Heaven on Earth

If you know me, then you'll know I've been very lucky to have seen a fair portion of this globe. And, you'll be able to take the following sentence more seriously - there is nowhere on earth like Kruger National Park.

I'm not kidding when I say that visiting Kruger is a life-changing experience. Many with whom I spoke to and asked for advice before departure would actually argue that it's even a lifestyle. The people who truly know what magic this place holds, worship it with an almost religious exuberance, and it's entirely warranted.

I really want to share with you all some of the photos we were able to snap, which do a good job illustrating our experiences. It's indeed difficult to capture with words all that we saw and experienced.

I decided that I would go with 16 photos since 16 is my lucky number. I know we felt nothing but lucky in terms of our time spent in Kruger. The photos are a combination of the camerawork of both Bri and myself, as often one of us would pull over our big Toyota Fortuner while the other manned (or womanned?) the camera.

As always, I hope you'll appreciate the experience we had through these photos, and that I help you plan your own trip to Kruger National Park.

About Kruger National Park

Areas of Kruger National Park have been protected since the late 19th century, but it was in 1926 that Kruger received the distinction of South Africa's first national park.

Situated in northeastern South Africa, it encompasses an area of nearly 20,000 square kilometers, which makes it one of the largest national parks in the world. As part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, Kruger is linked to Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique. Additionally, it’s part of the UNESCO designated Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, which is an International Man and Biosphere Reserve.

Basically, it’s one of the best places in the world for wildlife-watching.

Animals of Kruger National Park

Speaking of wildlife, all of the iconic African animals (and landscapes for that matter) that you could hope to see are in Kruger National Park.

See the Big 5 - lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, and elephants - roaming about their natural habitat. Plus, zebra, cheetah, giraffe, hippo, wildebeest, impala, crocodiles, and hundreds of other animal species share the park.

During the day, you drive around the park with your eyes wide open searching for animals in your periphery. That's really the main goal for the day, along with cooking and the like, but it provides an inordinately fulfilling venture. That's certainly the case for a Canadian like myself, who was known to swoon over a loon or two in my childhood, but the closest I ever came to a lion was with the help of Disney and the Toronto Zoo.

We quickly learned not to rush to see a ton of animals. Staying put to observe animals in their natural habitat could be considerably more rewarding than snapping photos and speeding off.

Plan Your Trip to Kruger National Park

The pre-departure and planning process was overwhelming in the sense that there's "so much to see.”

I will say that the official website for Kruger was helpful in planning our trip, but about a thousand times more helpful was the Facebook group, Camps and Roads of Kruger Park. The advice we got there was invaluable.

Plus, the selflessness of the people in the group, as well as their sheer devotion to the continued prosperity and preservation of the park gave us a good indication of the community that existed in Kruger among those who visit (at least those who visit with the right intentions).

Vital Information

When to visit: There are advantages to visiting at different times of the year. For instance, in the winter (June-September) the park is at its driest, so animals tend to gather more frequently at the water holes. Accommodations will be easy to find and affordable in the summer (January-March) because of the heat and the South African school schedule.

Book in advance: Reserve your accommodation and most activities in advance, especially if you plan to visit during peak season (October-January). This is such a popular destination, that some people reserve their spots up to a year in advance.

Entrance Fees: Foreign visitors must pay a Daily Conservation Fee of R372 (about $35) per adult + per day. For extended stays, consider purchasing a Wild Card from South African National Parks to save money on this daily fee.

Vaccinations: Kruger National Park is in a malaria prone area and visitors are at highest risk during peak tourist season. It is advised that you speak to your doctor about taking malaria prophylactics to reduce the risk of contracting the disease during your visit.

How to Get There

There are nine different entrance gates to KNP in South Africa and they all close between 5:30 and 6:30 pm (depending on the time of year). Individual camp gates also close around the same time (an issue fines for late arrivals), so plan your travels accordingly.

You can get to these gates in a number of ways:

By Air: Skukuza Airport, located inside Kruger, welcomes one daily flight from Johannesburg and Capetown. Flights to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), located just outside the park, are more frequent from Johannesburg, Capetown, and other major South African cities. These two airports are suited for entrance to the southern region of the park.

If you plan to visit the central or northern regions, you can fly into Eastgate Airport in Hoedspruit or Kruger Park Gateway Airport in Phalaborwa.

By Car: Hire a car in any major town across South Africa or at any of the airports mentioned above. Driving in Kruger National Park is easy and one of the most popular ways to explore the park.

Other Options: Transport companies, travel agents, or tour operators can help you plan a group tour or find a travel package to suit your travel style.

Accommodations in Kruger National Park

Self catering accommodations in Kruger National Park, like rest camps, bushveld camps, and satellite camps, offer a rustic and affordable safari experience. For a more luxurious experience, there are several five-star private safari lodges.

Campsites in Kruger National Park offer a range of facilities and amenities, and are located in all regions of the park. They range from basic safari tents and huts with access to communal bathrooms and basic kitchen facilities to bungalows and cottages that offer a little more comfort with air conditioning, en suite bathrooms, and a private kitchen. Expect to see onsite gas stations, shops, laundry facilities, and restaurants at most rest camps.

Bushveld camps and satellite camps are recommended for a more primitive camping experience. Many do not have electricity, but do have communal kitchens and bathrooms, firewood and ice.

Personally, we chose to stay in the south eastern region of the park, which tends to be pretty consistent as far as game sightings are concerned. For the first two nights, we stayed at Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp, and then for the following two nights we stayed at Lower Sabie Rest Camp.

Both were lovely in their own right. Croc Bridge offered a barebones experience, but Lower Sabie was nothing but pleasant. Neither rest camp offered a level of luxury that interfered with how "authentic" I felt the experience was, if that makes any sense.

In Conclusion

You will realize quickly that Kruger National Park isn't the type of place that you go to for a few days and rush around to see a few lions, and then promptly leave. At least not if you're doing it right. Bri and I were lucky to spend four nights in the park, but, if I had it my way, I'd spend four months there every year. Exaggeration aside, I can say with certainty we'll do everything we can to make sure we step foot back in the park sooner rather than later.

I can't overstate this - put visiting Kruger up there with the great sights of the world, you won't regret it. Just remember to be respectful when you get there, because there's a lot at stake as far needing to preserve a place like this. A place like no other.