Kruger National Park

With nearly 2 million hectares of unrivalled diversity of fauna and flora, the world-renowned Kruger National Park is one of the oldest and largest game reserves in Africa. Located in the north east of the country, bordering Mozambique to the east and Zimbabwe & Botswana to the north, the Kruger has some of the best Big 5 game viewing in Africa…  Follow the prides of lion as they hunt their prey, marvel at the stealthy elephant roaming through the bushveld and spot leopards lounging in the branches above.

Founded by the president, Paul Kruger, after whom the park is named, it was only opened to the public in 1926. The reserve was first established in 1898  as a means of protecting animals from the popular big game hunting. Since then, Kruger has become a beacon of wildlife conservation, gradually expanding, until it now covers an area the size of Wales. The park contains six different eco-systems from open plains to lush forest. This ecological diversity gives rise to a great number of different habitats, meaning the bird and wildlife is abundant, with almost 150 different mammal species and over 500 species of bird recorded.

Owing to the relatively sparse vegetation and numerous waterholes, the game viewing in the Kruger is some of the most rewarding in Africa. You can expect to see plenty of herbivores, including herds of elephant, and buffalo, giraffe, Burchell’s zebra, wildebeest, hippo, and numerous antelope species, along with both black and white rhino. The Kruger is home to the world’s largest rhino population, containing around 8-9,000 rhino, around half of South Africa’s total population. The large number of plains animals attract all of the big predators, so look out for lion, leopard, cheetah, spotted hyena and jackal. If you are really lucky you might even get to see the critically endangered African wild dog.

The park is also home to a huge variety of birds, some of which are migratory, others full time residents. The park has introduced the ‘Big 6’ list of birds to look out for, these are the six largest and most eye-catching birds found in the area. These are the Ground hornbill, Saddle-billed stork, Martial eagle, Kori bustard, Lappet-faced vulture and Pel’s fishing owl.

The Kruger National Park is a fabulous place to visit, either staying in one of the lodges or rest camps inside the park or it can be visited with organised and self drive forays into the park during daylight hours. There are lots of hotels and B&B accommodation outside of the park gates in the surrounding towns which offer a cost effective way to spend time in the area.