| Page Views: 9,583 Last Visit to Kruger National Park: September, 2002 | Enjoy the sights and sounds of the wild by tompt - last update: Apr 29, 2006 |
The Krugerpark is one of our favorite gameparks. We have visited the Krugerpark in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002. We stayed in several camps, and they are all different. See the camps travellogue or accomodation tips for more info.
The Kruger park is huge, nearly 20,000 sq km (8000 sq miles).Take at least a week to see some different areas. The different eco-zones host different animal live. Some animals prefer the open grassy areas and some prefer the cover of the woods, or the rocky mountain area. The first thing you have to do when entering the park is buy a map. The offical park map is more than a paper with roads on it. It gives details about the different areas and what animals to search for in which area. This info can be found online at: ecoafrica. There is also a lot of info about the animals and there behaviour in this booklet. You can buy this park map (for 16 Rand in 2002) at the entrance gate when paying your entrance fee. The entrance fee in September 2002 was 30 Rand per person, and 24 Rand for your vehicle, no matter how long you stay!
Since june 2003 there is a new daily conservation fee. It is huge if you hold it against the prices we mentioned above, but that were absolutely bargains.. The new conservation fee is 120 Rand per day per person, and 60 Rand if you are a south african citizen. You can also buy a card which gives the right to enter for an entire year. See the sa parks website and look for the wild card .
There are eight gates to enter the Kruger park. From the south to the north : Crocodile Bridge, Malelane, Numbi, Paul Kruger, Orpen, Phalaborwa, Punda Maria and Pafuri. All gates open at dawn and close at sunset. The exact times are:
November,December,January,February: 05:30-18:30
March and October : 05:30-18:00
April, August and September : 06:00-18:00
May, June and July : 06:00-17:30
In the months November, December and January the campgates open at 04:30, this means when you stay in a camp in the park you have an extra hour of gameviewing.
When you arrive at a entrance gate you have to park your car and get into the office. Pay your entrance fee(and buy the map). You will recieve a 'traveldocument'. This document is very important. You will need it to get through the gate, at the reception of each camp in order to get accommodation, at the gate when you leave the park and whenever an offical asks for it. All the camps you stay in will attach a receipt to it. At the gate when you leave you have to present it again in the office and they will check if you stayed in camps and not in the bush.
More info:
http://www.sanparks.org/, the official south african parks website.
http://www.krugerpark.co.za, a private travelcompany which gives much info on the park. |
The Krugerpark hosts lots of elephants. Although there were over a thousand elephants relocated to other gameparks they are still seen all over the park.
We encountered large herds in every region we visited. In the south they were very friendly and didn't seem to mind us watching them. But in the north they were more fearfull. They seemed to see poachers in every tourist who came a little bit too close oin their eyes.
And when an elephant signals you to move, the signals are very obvious, you better move.....
These 6 ton giants will crush your car and you in an instance.
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Sometimes it is hard to find the animals. The best changes are at dawn and dusk, when the animals are most active.
But if you donīt see any animals the scenery is stunning too.
More pictures of the landscape in the krugerpark in our landscapes travelogue.
| | | A baoabab tree in the northern Krugerpark |
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| Pros: | "nature" | | Cons: | "tourists" | | In A Nutshell: | "The animals are making your trip" |
tompt's Kruger National Park Travel Tips
 tompt's Kruger National Park Travelogues | | | |
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 Comments for tompt about Kruger National Park | | | | |
canuck68 Tue Jul 31, 2007 23:36 UTC
You brought back many memories for me of Kruger. I was there in 2004 and loved it. That is quite a picture of the giraffes fighting. Thanks, Diane | TheWanderingCamel Mon May 22, 2006 11:49 UTC
Berg en dal to Punda Maria - you really have covered a lot of gtound in Kruger! Amazing leopard shots - lucky you! leyle | nichole_521 Sat May 14, 2005 02:57 UTC
We are planning a trip to KNP in August and your page has been so helpful. Thanks for the tips, information and pictures! | byasoni Tue Oct 14, 2003 19:10 UTC
Hi Tom, Thanks for the tips on Kruger Park. Kruger is our "to-do" list for the not too distant future. |
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