Kruger
National Park
The
Kruger National Park is one of
South Africa's largest tourist attractions.
It provides a wonderful combination of
scenic beauty, game, comfort and wildlife
atmosphere. It was the first national
park to be proclaimed in South Africa
and is probably the best known park in
the world. It is therefore very popular
among local and international visitors.
This unspoilt nature reserve covers an
area of 21 497 km² and provides sanctuary
to large numbers of game.
Kruger
National Park Safari Programmes
Luxury
Kruger South African Safaris
| (3
Days / 2 Nights) Greater Kruger Safari
|
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| (4
Days /3 Nights) Greater Kruger Safari
|
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| (7
Days / 6 Nights) Greater Kruger and
Zululand |
|
Standard
Kruger South African Safaris
| (3
Days / 2 Nights) Kruger National Park
Safari |
|
Full Details |
| (4
Days / 2 Nights) Kruger National Park
Safari |
|
Full Details |
| (5
Days / 2 Nights) Kruger National Park
Safari |
|
Full Details |
| (5
Days / 4 Nights) Kruger and Private
Game Lodge |
|
Full Details |
| (7
Day / 6 Nights) In-Depth Kruger National
Park |
|
Full Details |
| (7
Days / 6 Nights) Kruger and Victoria
Falls Safari |
|
Full Details |
| (9
Days / 8 Nights) Kruger and Zululand
Safari |
|
Full Details |
Kruger
National Park Information
History
The Kruger
Park was named after President Paul Kruger
who started the creation of wild life
sanctuaries in South Africa in the 1890's.
An area near the Pongolo River and an
area near the present-day Shingwedzi camp
were declared game reserves in 1889. In
1895 the Sabie Game Reserve was proclaimed.
It can be seen as the forerunner of the
Kruger National Park. Today the park is
much larger. It is approximately 100 km
wide and stretches over 380 km from the
Limpopo River in the north to the Crocodile
River in the south.
Eventually
the Kruger National Park will
be part of a peace park known as the Greater
Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) which
will cover an area of 100 000 km².
The GLTP will include Kruger as well as
Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park and
Mozambique's Limpopo National Park as
well as internationally renowned private
game reserves such as Timbavati, Sabie-Sand,
Manyeleti and Klaserie. The removal of
the fence on the western side of Kruger
Park in 1994 ensured a flow of game between
the park and the above mentioned adjoining
private game reserves. The removal of
the fence on the eastern side will again
allow game to follow the traditional migrating
routes.
Entry
Access
is gained through eight different gates:
Paul Kruger Gate, Mbabeni, Malelane Gate
and Crocodile Bridge are the gates in
the southern part of the park. Orpen Gate
and Phalaborwa serve the central part
of the park. The northern part of the
park can be reached via Punda Maria and
Pafuri.
Elevation
The altitude
varies from 260m to 839m above sea level;
the average height is 300m. The surface
is fairly flat with occasional hills and
lonely rocky outcrops. The Lebombo Mountains
lie in the east and large hills can be
found around Berg-en-Dal and Pretoriuskop
rest camps. Hills also occur in the region
of Olifants and Letaba rest camps while
rocky hills (tors) occur in the vicinity
of Punda Maria and Pafuri rest camps.
Rivers
Several
large rivers flow through the Kruger
National Park, namely the Limpopo,
Sand, Crocodile, Letaba, Olifants, Timbavati,
Sabie, Shingwedzi, Luvuvhu and the Mbyamiti
Rivers. Most of the rivers flow from west
to east, which indicate the general slope
of the area.
Weather
The climate
of the park is subtropical – winters
are mild and summer temperatures are often
higher than 40°C. December and January
are the warmest months, while the coldest
temperatures are recorded during June
and July. The average temperature of summer
days is about 30°C and the average
day temperature during winter is 18°C.
Winter days are normally clear and sunny.
Summer
rainfall occurs from September - the average
annual rainfall varies from 375 mm in
the north to 750 mm in the south. Sudden
rainstorms often occur in the afternoons
to relieve the suffocating daytime heat.
Warm and dry cycles, 8 to 12 years each,
have been recorded by meteorologists.
Most visitors undertake early morning
and late afternoon drives. Winter is the
best time for game-viewing because the
grass is short and does not obscure the
view, but the lush vegetation of summer
is also attractive to some. Many animals
lamb or calve during summer when nature
can provide for the young. Many migrating
birds can be seen in the Kruger National
Park during summer when food and water
are abundant.
Vegetation
More than
23 000 plant species have been recorded
within the Kruger Park. The vegetation
is mainly bushveld and varies from grassland
to bush. Predominant trees are acacias
(south of the Olifants River), marula
(in the dry northern region) lead wood
(in the Satara region), bush willow (in
the southwestern parts – around
Skukuza), mopane (around Punda Maria)
and baobab (in the Pafuri region). It
has been calculated that 191 300 kg of
grass is eaten daily by zebras and wildebeest
in the park! Different grass types include
Tamboekie grass (Hyperthelia dissolata),
Rooigras (Themeda triandra) and Buffelgras
(Panicum maximum).
Wildlife
Virtually
all southern African antelope roam the
Kruger National Park
and often fall prey to predators such
as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs
and hyenas. Black and white rhinos can
be found here as well as large numbers
of elephants, hippos and giraffes. Baboons
and monkeys and lots of other smaller
animals can often be seen. 493 bird species,
114 reptile species and 49 fresh water
fish species, 33 amphibian species and
227 species of butterfly have been recorded.
The abundance of wild life is obvious:
100 000 impalas, 30 000 zebras, 16 000
buffaloes, 13 000 blue wildebeest, 8 000
elephants, 5 000 giraffes, 2 000 white
rhinos, 2 000 lions, 1 000 leopards, 380
wild dogs, and 300 cheetahs have been
recorded.
Lions
are scattered through the Kruger , but
the highest concentration occurs in the
central region and around Lower-Sabie
and Crocodile Bridge rest camps. Leopards
are seldom seen because of their shyness
and habit to hunt at night. Cheetahs can
be found on the open plains and are more
often seen, because they are more active
during the day. Wild dogs are nomadic
and are abundant nowhere, but they prefer
the flat areas close to Malelane. The
howling sounds of jackals and hyena can
be heard at night at most of the rest
camps.
Birds
Ostriches,
Martial eagles, Saddle-billed storks,
Giant eagle-owls, and Koribustards are
known as the Big 5 Birds of Kruger. The
top 5 water birds are the African finfoot,
the African spoonbill, the Goliath heron,
the Open-billed stork and the Knob-billed
duck. The top 5 raptors of the Kruger
National Park comprises of the following:
the Bateleur and the Martial eagle, the
Tawny eagle, the African fish-eagle and
the African hawk-eagle.
Lodgings
There
are 2302 km of tarred and gravel roads
in the park that take visitors to waterholes,
picnic spots and viewing points. There
are 14 public rest camps complete with
shops and restaurants available for tourists.
Five small camps and five remote bushveld
camps provide private accommodation. Skukuza,
Pretoriuskop, Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge,
Jock-of-the Bushveld and Berg-en-Dal are
the largest camps in the southern part
of the Kruger National Park. In the central
part of the park the large camps are Satara,
Olifants, Nwanetsi, Orpen, Roodewal, Balule
and Letaba. Shingwedzi, Boulders and Punda
Maria provide accommodation in the northern
region. Private accommodation is also
available for those undergoing a conservation
course. Accommodation ranges from luxurious
to basic and even includes camping and
caravan facilities. The rondavels and
bungalows fit in with the wilderness and
contribute to the bushveld atmosphere.
Hoyo
Hoyo Tsonga Lodge
