Trip to South Africa: Kruger Park – Useful Information and Tips | Elephants, zebras, monkeys, impalas, giraffes, lions, leopards, buffaloes, condors, ravens, baboons, rhinos, hippos, warthogs and hyenas are some of the animals that you are going to see while traveling to South Africa. You will only need a day in Kruger Park in order to spot individuals of all these species. The only thing that you will need is a keen eye and a little luck, apart from that you need to buy your tickets to South Africa plus a domestic travel insurance because you never know what will happen there.
During the Southern Africa winter, our summer, the park is dry, arid and at different points they light up small fires. The daytime temperature peaks touches almost an unbearable heat, the temperature at night becomes the protagonist.
We chose to go with a private car (rented from Avis Nelspruit) from Numbi Gate. Inside the Kruger cars traveling on smooth paved roads, the speed of the wind was a maximum of thirty miles an hour. This is the recommended speed (there are also controls resulting in fines in case of infringement) to see the animals, or to avoid unfortunate incidents when an elephant chooses to cross the road. And this happens quite often.
After, we decided to take the path to the Skukuza Rest Camp, the base camp of the park. Please note that: all fields close to 18 gates, whoever is there can no longer enter or exit. They are all managed by the SANParks: to book a chalet or a tent you must contact them via mail. Do not rely on the availability of seats on the site: you write and you will see a place for you will always be there (unless you’re talking about the Christmas holidays).
An activity that is strongly recommended is the Sunset Drive (thirty dollars for two people): it is an output of three hours with a van and a ranger, which starts at 16.30 to close at 19.30. Since the 18’s pitch black you can enjoy the sunset in the park and you can wander around for over an hour in the dark, when some animals are out of the closet.
Our second night was in Malelane Rest Camp: there are five chalets and a dozen meters for tents and campers. It’s all there: the night is pitch, but the starry sky and the silence fill the mind. According to a travel blog in order to access the park you must pay a daily charge of 25 dollars per person (if you choose to stop several days or even visit another park, then ask for the Wild Card).