Table of contents for 2021 in go!

1 Sandveld. This sandy soil, known for its floral diversity and dramatic sandstone ridges, is found only in the north of the park. 2 Woodland savannah on shale. Bushwillow woodland with thorn thickets. Look for Sharpe’s grysbok, nyala and leopard. 3 Bush savannah. Depending on the soil type, mopane trees occur in both stunted and tree form. Elephant and buffalo are common. 4 Open shrub savannah. Mopane-dominated landscape with shrub-sized trees. Game is generally scarce but congregates at water. 5 Mopane woodland on granite. This area has low game density because of the unpalatable sourveld grass. 6 Woodland mixed with sweet grazing. These pockets of knobthorn and marula woodland attract a variety of grazers. 7 Lebombo Mountains. Diverse habitat including hills, woodlands and pockets of riverine vegetation. 8 Olifants rugged…

1 Pafuri The Pafuri area in the north of the park is one of the best birding spots in Africa. It’s at the southernmost border of the Afrotropical birding zone: Birds such as grey-headed parrot, black-throated wattle-eye and tropical boubou – all common in countries further north like Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana – can be seen at Pafuri. At the same time, Pafuri is also the northernmost border for many southern African birds. For example, you can see southern boubou and tropical boubou in the same place. The two birds look similar, but they each occupy a different niche habitat. Put simply, there are birds you can see at Pafuri that you won’t see anywhere else in South Africa. The Pafuri picnic site on the banks of the Luvuvhu…

LIGHT. Beautiful light is the determining factor in taking a good wildlife photo. Soft, morning light is the best. A photo taken during the first hour after sunrise will be better than any other photo taken in the middle of the day, even if it’s a kill. KNOW ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR. Take lions for example: There’s no point hanging around a pride of lions at midday. They will sleep the whole time. They move around after sunset. But if you hear of a lion sighting early in the morning, go have a look because they will be active. When you see a leopard or a wild dog, pull over and wait. Sooner or later, they will move or start to hunt. If a leopard crosses the road and disappears into the…

1 Drive along two rivers to the Afsaal picnic site 75 km; 2½ hours Follow the S110 and H3 tar roads to the S114. This dirt road runs along the Crocodile River – resident lions sometimes patrol the area. Try not to look to your right for the first part of the S114 – you can see civilisation across the river outside the Kruger. But as soon as you turn left onto the S119, you head into mixed woodland and thorn thickets, and the scenery improves when you reach the Mlambane River, where trees tower over the riverine vegetation. Pop into the Gardenia bird hide and look for orange-breasted bush-shrike and comb duck. The Lukimbi lion pride moves between the park and the private Lukimbi concession on the other side…

FAITH MKONYENI, duty manager Pretoriuskop, 12 years in KNP About Pretoriuskop: “Pretoriuskop is close to the park boundary. You can stay here on your first or last night in the park. It’s only 400 km from Johannesburg. One of my favourite sightings in this area was wild dogs near the Afsaal picnic site. Lions were trying to attack the wild dogs – I never realised that wild dogs could be that aggressive!” PAT MBASO, head guide Pretoriuskop, 16 years in KNP On baboons: “The baboon is my favourite animal. When you see them you shouldn’t be in a rush – park your car and switch off the engine. They are very entertaining, from the young ones to the old. The big male sits and scans the troop’s surroundings, while the…

MICHELLE MAKOFANE, senior guide Lower Sabie, 7 years in KNP About working in the Kruger: “This is heaven on earth for me. I can’t see myself anywhere else. I know the Joburg life and I used to not know how to have fun without loud music. Coming to the Kruger changed my life for the better. I now have peace of mind and time for introspection. When you get here you learn how nature works and you think: What the heck are people doing? We are destroying the earth!” On Lower Sabie: “Lower Sabie is more open and there is more grassland. It’s easy for people to see animals. The H4-1 between Lower Sabie and Skukuza runs along the river – visitors drive that road to see the Big Five.…

In the 1880s, gold was discovered in the Leydsdorp area of present-day Mpumalanga, but there wasn’t much and it would soon run out… Yet some people, including a member of the Volksraad and a French baron, saw an opportunity to make money and convinced Paul Kruger, then president of the Transvaal, to build a railway line to the gold field from Komatipoort, which was on the trade route between the Witwatersrand and Lourenço Marques (now Maputo). But the construction of the railway line was stopped in 1894 due to corruption. It was already about 120 km long at that point and ended near Skukuza – then in the middle of nowhere since the Kruger had not yet been established. The line was only completed about 20 years later, extending to…

1 Drive the Timbavati Route 100 km; 6 hours The H7 is one of those five-star Kruger roads. It’s tarred and runs past sweet grazing and big trees along the Timbavati River. You’ll barely be through the Orpen gate and you’ll see wildebeest, zebra, impala and even rhino on a good day. A male leopard is often seen between the rest camp and the turn-off to the N’wamatsatsa waterhole, and there’s a hyena den about 7 km from Orpen. Wild dogs are also sometimes seen in the area. The Bobbejaankrans viewpoint is about halfway between Orpen and Satara. It has a view of ancient trees on the riverbank, and plains that stretch to the horizon. You’ll find yourself humming “The circle of life” from The Lion King… Back on the…

Bateleur is a small bushveld camp with only seven units – the other bushveld camps have 15 units. You’ll feel like you own your own game farm! During the low season, on certain days, the only other person you’ll see will be camp manager Lolly Nyundu. Even when it’s at full capacity, there will only be 34 guests in camp. “This is where you come to get away from everything,” says Lolly. “Your cellphone loses signal as soon as you drive through the gate. We live in a busy world and we’re always in a hurry to get somewhere. Bateleur is nice and quiet. And the birdlife is excellent.” Indeed, you’ll see hornbills, black-headed orioles and grey-headed bush-shrikes, among plenty of others. The units are spread out along a dry…

1 Drive the H1-6 to Middelvlei ±60 km; 4 hours This route is popular with the park guides. On warm winter afternoons, animals gather around the Malopenyana and Middelvlei waterholes north of the rest camp, because there aren’t many other permanent water sources in the area. In summer, these waterholes are also surrounded by good grazing. The route initially follows the course of the Letaba River – leopards like to hang out here. In fact, most of the leopard sightings in the area (especially of Letaba’s resident one-eyed leopard) occur on the 6 km stretch between the four-way stop outside camp, and the bridge. In the drier months, leopards like to rest in the culvert about 2 km from the four-way stop. Turn around at the Middelvlei waterhole, head back…

1 Cross the Tropic of Capricorn (S143) 56 km; 2 hours 40 minutes Be alert as soon as you drive out of the gate. According to senior field guide Patrick Mugwedi, the resident cheetahs of the Mopani area often surprise guests at the T-junction with the H1-6, right outside camp. Drive south on this tar road and turn off on all the loops to the banks of the Tsendze River. Have coffee at the Mooiplaas picnic site – turn right when you enter the picnic site to get to the boma next to the Tsendze River. The roof of the boma needs some work, but the view of the river is great. Continue south along the H1-6, then turn left onto the S50 and head north – this road follows…

SHARON NTLHAMU, duty manager Shingwedzi, 15 years in KNP About Shingwedzi: “We have a leopard that is always spotted close to the rest camp, sometimes just before the T-junction about 2 km from the gate. You can even hear lions roar at night. When you stay at Shingwedzi, you don’t have to drive far to see the Big Five.” About the park: “I always wanted to work in a national park and here I am! I feel safe in the park, but I’m really scared of the elephants. Once, I was driving to Mopani when a herd of elephants approached on the road. I tried to reverse, but there were elephants behind me as well. Luckily they were just crossing the road and I could continue on.” BISHOP SHILOWA, head…

MANDLA SAYS Mandla Ngomane took over as caretaker of the Pafuri picnic site after the previous caretaker and bird expert Frank Mabasa passed away suddenly in 2017. Mandla stood in for Frank for many years. “When I started working here, I was only interested in animals, but Frank told me that people will want to know more about the birds,” he says. “One morning, Frank left to buy bread and I was alone at the picnic site when a visitor came to ask a question about a bird. I said Frank would be right back, and the man replied that he wasn’t looking for Frank; he was looking for this bird! That’s when I realised I would have to learn…” These days, Mandla calls the avian visitors to the picnic…

How well do you know the park? I grew up in Mbombela (Nelspruit) and our family often visited over weekends. My parents were teachers. We’d pack on Thursday night and tow the caravan to school on Friday morning. After school, we’d drive straight to Bergen-Dal. On Monday morning, I’d put on my school uniform and we’d leave the park as soon as the gates opened. Being dropped off at school with the caravan still hitched to the car is one of my favourite memories. Any challenges during your recent visit? Our Toyota Condor Camper broke down on the H1-1 tar road near Shitlhave Dam. (Oh, sh*t! – Ed.) A ranger helped us tow the vehicle to Skukuza, where it was loaded onto a trailer and taken to the Phabeni gate.…

ENTRANCE FEES. Day visitors and overnight visitors have to pay a daily conservation fee: R105 per adult; R52 per child under 12; free with a Wild card. A Wild card for a family of four costs R1 450 and gives you access to all national parks in South Africa for a year. If you’re going to spend more than four days in the Kruger, it’s worth buying one – they are available at all the reception offices in the park. DAY VISITORS. Only a limited number of day visitors are allowed into the park per day. You can book your day visitor pass in advance to avoid disappointment – this service costs an extra R48 per adult and R24 per child, over and above the normal entrance fee. BOOKINGS. The…

The adventure begins at Punda Maria rest camp in the Kruger Park and ends at the Giriyondo border post, just north of Letaba. In between, we’ll travel east out of the park, across the Limpopo River and through savannah and woodland to the subtropical coastline at Inhassoro, a small fishing village opposite the northern tip of the Bazaruto Archipelago. There, we’ll laze on the beach, snorkel in the clear, warm water and do a day trip to the islands. Bazaruto is indeed spectacular, boasting various endemic butterflies, as well as samango monkeys and suni antelope. The protected reefs are also home to dolphins, endangered dugong, game fish, sea turtles and the largest fish in the world, the whale shark. Birdlife includes Madagascar squacco heron, narina trogon, Nyasa seedcracker, green coucal…

CHOOSE THE RIGHT LOCATION. Pick a spot close to a river, dam or roosting place. See if you can position yourself at eye-level with the birds and with your back to the sun – places like the Biyamiti weir, Lake Panic and Sunset Dam in the morning. Low-water bridges are also prime bird photography spots – you can get close to the waterbirds in your vehicle. Give yourself enough time to wait around at a hide or waterhole. Don’t just scan the area and drive off – there might be a young green-backed heron hidden in the tall grass. GET THE RIGHT GEAR. When it comes to bird photography, gear matters. A pro-level camera will be able to shoot lots of frames per second, bettering your chances of capturing a…

1 Routes in the rest camps You can walk around the rest camps and look for birds, monitor lizards, bushbuck, warthogs and vervet monkeys; some camps even have short hiking trails. In Mopani, for example, you can head out from the restaurant and walk down the side of Pioneer Dam to the swimming pool. At Punda Maria, the Flycatcher Trail takes you from the reception office to the filling station. On our maps, in-camp trails are marked with this icon: 2 Morning walks On a guided morning walk, a game-viewing vehicle drops you off in the veld and you go exploring with an armed ranger. It’s more of an outing than a conventional “hike”, designed for guests to learn about the bush and the animals. After an hour or two,…

1 Drive the Grasslands Route (S28) ±50 km; 3 hours Plains game like zebra, warthog, impala, wildebeest and giraffe are a given on this route, and you have a good chance of seeing predators. Turn right onto the S28 from the H4-2 tar road. Near this turn-off there is a culvert where spotted hyenas make their dens. A little further along, the road splits – the S28 goes left and the Shishangeni road goes right, following the course of the river. A pride of lions can often be seen near the Shishangeni turn-off. Keep left and you’ll leave the river and enter the open grasslands, with the Lebombo Mountains on your right. Stretch your legs at the Ntandanyathi hide further north. (The hide was closed for renovations in December, so…

PETER ZITHA, head guide Berg-en-Dal, 15 years in KNP About Berg-en-Dal: “People visit Bergen-Dal for its unique geology – it’s mountainous. The vegetation is quite dense and has predominantly red bushwillow, russet bushwillow, silver cluster leaf and marula trees. In a granite area, it’s easy for the trees to germinate but the grass that grows here is sourgrass, which isn’t palatable. You aren’t going to find open areas, and as a result you aren’t going to get animals in big groups. “I initially wanted to work in the north of the Kruger, but I love this camp. Berg-en-Dal is one camp where you’re almost guaranteed a rhino sighting – the rhino is my favourite animal.” About the “Little Serengeti”: “The guides call the open area around the Afsaal picnic site…

Biyamiti is like that guy in high school who was good at everything: rugby, cricket, athletics, chess – and he sold the most raffle tickets. There are so many things counting in this camp’s favour, it’s no wonder it’s fully booked for most of the year. Why is it so popular? Biyamiti is the only bushveld camp with access to 18 km of private road (S139), where there’s a chance of seeing every member of the Big Five. There’s even a viewpoint (pictured below) where you’re allowed to get out of your vehicle. You’re close to the Crocodile Bridge and Malelane gates – and the N4. You can look for birds at the Biyamiti weir in the morning and still be on time to catch your flight from OR Tambo…

1 Drive the quiet(er) Tshokwane route 100 km; 5½ hours Start on the H1-2 along the course of the Sand River. Slow down at the two low-water bridges and look for hamerkop or pied kingfisher hunting for fish. Take the Marula Loop – a leopard lives in the area and a pride of lions roams between the main road and this dirt road. Leave the tar behind at the S36 turn-off – you’ll soon go past the Mantimahle and Jones dams. The gravel S36 doesn’t get much animal or human traffic but it’s scenic, and a good alternative to the busy H1-2 to the Tshokwane picnic site. The Tshokwane picnic site is like a farm stall in the bush, with couches on the stoep, old advertisement signs as decor and…

1 Drive the S100 and the H6 64 km; 5 hours The S100 is the road in the Kruger best known for lion sightings. The lions in the area – the Shibotwana or S100 pride – are seen about five times a week, according to the visitors book. Satara head guide Paul Mgiba confirms: “Lions are guaranteed on the S100.” (We had barely exited the gate of Satara when the pride sauntered over the road! – Ed.) Keep an eye out for hyenas on the H1-4 before you turn onto the S100: There’s a den after about 1,5km. To the right of the S100, the N’wanetsi River meanders through the landscape, and to the left is open grassland where plains game graze. Stop for breakfast at the N’wanetsi picnic site.…

OCTAVIA MAKHUBELE, field guide Orpen, 5 years in KNP About lions: “We have our own pride, as well as two prides from the concession areas outside the park. Our own pride is skittish and we’re lucky if we see them during guided walks. But sometimes they do come and sleep along the H7. The Ngala and Manyeleti prides often move along the H7 or the Rabelais Road (S106).” About Tamboti Tented Camp: “There’s a lot of action in the Timbavati River – sometimes you see a kill in the riverbed! It’s usually lions, but there’s also a leopard staying that side. Guests hear lots of night sounds because the tents are so close to the river: hyenas calling, lions roaring, leopards marking their territory…” About dents in the game-viewing vehicle:…

1 Drive to Letaba for the day 73 km; 5 hours Make sure your camera batteries are fully charged because they’ll be working overtime. About 7 km from Olifants along the S44, you’ll cross a drift with a large pool to your left. Spend a little time here. The local terrapins are very curious and will get out of the water to inspect your vehicle. A few kilometres down the road, there’s another viewpoint overlooking the Olifants River. Continue along the S44, the S93 and the S46 for dramatic landscapes you don’t often see in the park: high red cliffs towering over the Olifants and Letaba rivers. The last stretch of the S46 runs along the Engelhard Dam in the Letaba River and there are several turn-offs that take you…

JOHN ADAMSON, head guide Letaba, 17 years in KNP About working in the Kruger: “I can remember the moment I told my parents that I wanted to be a ranger in the Kruger Park. I was 10 years old. I grew up in Joburg and we visited the Kruger at least twice a year. It’s a completely different lifestyle – almost like its own republic.” On birdlife: “I’ve seen several birds in the rest camp that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the region, like African goshawk, black-throated wattle-eye and narina trogon. Letaba stands out from the surrounding area because it’s a forest – it has more tree and plant species, which tends to give it a high bird diversity. The juvenile goshawks hunt bats in the rest camp during…

PHUMZILE MASHEBANA, reception supervisor, 7 years in KNP On living in the park: “We save money on groceries and clothes – I wear a uniform all day and only go out once or twice a month. We work in such a beautiful, peaceful environment – it’s one of the prime tourist destinations in the country.” PATRICK MUGWEDI, senior field guide, 11 years in KNP About Mopani: “We have many animals that you don’t find elsewhere in the park, like eland, tsessebe and roan antelope. In fact, I saw my first tsessebe and roan here. If you go out on your own or on a game drive, you won’t come back without seeing a buffalo or an elephant. The logo for Mopani should have been a buffalo instead of a mopane…

Most bushveld camps employ about 15 people. If you spend a few days in one of these camps, you’ll start to recognise the staff. Many have worked in the Kruger for years and have wonderful stories to tell. Armando Baloi, who does maintenance work in Sirheni, for example, has worked in the park for 49 years! At dusk, he makes his rounds to tell guests where the action is. He knows the birdlife well and will show you the tree where the African scops-owl is sitting, calling as night falls. Join Armando on a walk along the fence next to the Mphongolo River to the upper hide, and ask him to point out where hooded vultures and Verreaux’s eagle-owls nest in the trees on the opposite bank. There’s another hide…

At Pafuri Border Camp, about 70 km from Punda Maria, you can stay in the Kruger’s wildest corner in one of three luxury self-catering houses: Mockford Cottage, Mockford House and Doctor’s House. The houses have screen doors, cement floors and green stoeps, spacious rooms and wooden furniture. Mockford House even has a Jewel coal stove – it feels like you’re staying in a museum. The camp was originally a recruitment station for the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA) – the name was later changed to TEBA (The Employment Bureau of Africa Ltd.). TEBA was established to regulate the movement of labourers from Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique) and Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to work on the mines of the Witwatersrand. Harold Mockford started working at Pafuri in 1938 as a recruitment agent…

1898 Paul Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic, proclaims the Sabie Game Reserve in the area between the Crocodile and Sabie rivers. 1902 Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton is appointed as the first warden of the reserve. 1903 The British government proclaims the reserve again, this time including the Shingwedzi Game Reserve between the Letaba and Limpopo rivers. 1905 In his annual report, Stevenson-Hamilton notes that a small herd of about 10 elephants was spotted in the forests on the eastern park border with what was then Portuguese East Africa (Mozambique), at the confluence of the Letaba and Olifants rivers. 1926 The National Parks Act is promulgated and the Kruger is declared a national park. 1927 The park opens to the public. 1928 Pretoriuskop rest camp gets overnight facilities – three pole-and-clay…

Fuel Shop Mini FNB ATM (Only Skukuza has a proper ATM) Laundry Restaurant & takeaways Swimming pool Game drives Birding drives MTB rides Guided hikes Bush braai Activities for kids Open-air films Car wash Post office Hiking trail in camp Muslim prayer facility STAY HERE REST CAMPS The camps in the park are great. They’re filled with trees, birds, squirrels, vervet monkeys and the occasional monitor lizard. The bigger camps have a restaurant, a day visitors’ area, a laundry (bring R2 coins), a filling station and a swimming pool (except Crocodile Bridge). The campsites in the rest camps have electricity, communal ablution facilities with showers and baths, and communal kitchens with two-plate stoves, sinks, urns and sometimes a microwave. Except for the campsites at Lower Sabie, Shingwedzi and Crocodile Bridge,…

How does it work? Limpopo National Park shares a border with the Kruger. Together with Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, these three parks form the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. The Giriyondo and Pafuri border posts between the park and Mozambique are currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, but this won’t always be the case. You have to spend at least one night in the Kruger to use these border posts. What can you see in the park? Limpopo National Park stretches over 10 000 km² from the Limpopo River in the north to the Olifants River in the south. It’s a vast wilderness area almost half the size of the Kruger. The scenery is exceptional, with fever tree (pictured above) and mopane forests and ancient baobabs in the north, the…

How did you end up writing bird books? I met Lou Arthur from Hazyview about 40 years ago, when I was in my 20s. He’s a mechanic by trade and never formally studied birds, but he has an intrinsic knowledge of the bush. He can identify a particular species of woodpecker by the sound of it tapping on bark. We’ve written two birding books together. Why birding? The more you practise birding, the more interesting it becomes. You don’t hit a limit like you do with game viewing. Once you’ve seen the Big Five or a kill, it’s hard to take that experience further, whereas once you’ve mastered basic birding you start looking for the small brown jobbies, or you plan a visit to a particular area to see a…

ANNEMARIE DU PLESSIS @annemarie_du_plessis Canon EOS 1Dx Mark II • Canon EF 500 mm lens ANNEMARIE WRITES: I took this photo in August 2020 next to the S147 north of Satara. I spent 10 hours with these leopards. I encountered the male first, in a tree eating an impala. There were two females nearby – a leopard known as Moya, and her grown cub Ameera. According to other guests, the male had not previously been seen in the area. Once he’d eaten his fill, he mated with the older female behind some bushes. Then all three reappeared in a clearing. The younger female rubbed up against him repeatedly, but he wasn’t interested. They growled and fought and eventually ended up mating. When the older female approached again, they mated a…

1 Mopane Colophospermum mopane Where would I typically see them? From Olifants rest camp northwards, everywhere, and over vast expanses. In the Kruger, you’ll find mopane on the so-called “granites”in the west (the rolling hills) and in the east, on the flat clays, often on alluvial, poorly drained or alkaline soils. Distinctive characteristics? Recognised immediately by the vast expanse of quite short mopane trees growing close together, as far as the eye can see. CLOSE UP Leaves: The distinctive two-leaflet compound is shaped like butterfly wings. They turn gold and russet in autumn. Flowers: The unusual, star- to poppy-like flowers are small and inconspicuous, greentinged, pale, creamy yellow or almost white. Fruit: A kidney-shaped or almost semi-circular, flattened and feathery pod. DID YOU KNOW? • The leaves smell of turpentine…

RODNEY THEMBA, head guide Crocodile Bridge, 17 years in KNP On aardvarks: “I started out as a field ranger and a guide on the wilderness hiking trails. Even though I spent most of my time in the bush, I only ever saw one aardvark and one pangolin in the wild – the latter was on the Bushmans Wilderness Trail.” On life in the park: “One morning, I was driving on the H2-2 from Pretoriuskop to Afsaal when I saw a vehicle pulled over to look at something in the veld. Must be a bird, I thought. When I’m alone in the vehicle, I only stop for leopards! “Later, I met the occupants of the vehicle on a wilderness hike. Turns out they’d been looking at an aardvark basking in the…

1 Learn more about history ±98 km; 5 hours History buffs will love Pretoriuskop. In the 1800s, several trade routes between the Transvaal and Delagoa Bay (now Maputo Bay) ran through the area. Transport riders would overnight here. Pretoriuskop was also the first camp opened to visitors in 1927. In 1947, King George VI and his family stayed here when the royals toured South Africa. Start your morning in the rest camp and visit the original Wolhuter Hut (named after legendary Kruger ranger, Harry Wolhuter) and the houses (numbers 109 and 110) where the royal family and their bodyguards stayed. Then jump into the car and head for the gravel H2-2. This road has two historical connections, with the Voortrekkers and probably the most famous dog in South Africa.“The stories…

1 Drive the Golden Triangle 27 km; 7 hours This route between Lower Sabie, the Tshokwane picnic site and Skukuza is very popular, especially among day visitors. You have a good chance of seeing everything from secretarybirds to rhinos and leopards. (Well, we did at least!) Get an early start on the H10 and head north towards Tshokwane. The first stop is the bridge over the Sabie River where hippos bob in the water and green-backed herons, yellow-billed storks and little egrets wade in the shallows. There’s a hyena den about 6 km further north along the H10, and grazers enjoy the open plains and sweetveld of the area. You can see zebra, giraffe, wildebeest, elephant and rhino in the short grass. Tshokwane is ideally situated for brunch, but the…

EDWARD NDLOVU, head guide Skukuza, 15 years in KNP About Skukuza: “Guests can access lots of historical information in the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial Library, like the story of ranger Harry Wolhuter who survived a lion attack. You can see the actual knife in the museum that he used to kill the lion.” (The library and museum were closed during our visit due to Covid-19 regulations, but both are definitely worth your time if they’re open. – Ed.) On hyena tenacity: “Once I was driving on the S114 near the Stevenson-Hamilton Memorial when I heard wild dogs calling. They had killed an impala, but there were two hyenas at the kill. The wild dogs were biting the hyenas. The hyenas were badly injured but they kept eating.” The other Battle at Kruger:…

PAUL MGIBA, head guide Satara, 18 years in KNP About the lions: “There are nine lion prides within a 25 km radius of Satara. Competition is high. The S100 and Sweni prides are considered to be Satara’s resident prides. There are also prides at Nsemani Dam, Mavumbye, Gudzani, Timbavati and Kumani. “And lately, the Matikithi pride… Everyone wants to know what happened to Casper the white lion. Casper and three males formed a coalition and can mostly be seen in the area around the Matikithi wilderness camp. We believe they have killed two of the dominant males in the S100 pride. They will probably rule over the whole area soon. We don’t often see them. Your best chance is on the Matikithi wilderness hike. If there aren’t any hikers, we…

Talamati is in a great game-viewing area. The surrounding woodlands have sweet grazing, which attracts animals. The popular Sweni Road (S126) and the S100 are right around the corner and both are known for big cat sightings. There’s a pathway along the camp fence and two hides overlooking open grassland south of the camp – the one closest to the reception office even has a spotlight for night viewing. From this hide, walk around the back of the reception office for a view of a clearing in the dry bed of the Nwaswitsontso River. Late in the afternoon, a troop of baboons usually hangs out here. You’ll keep returning for another walk along the fence because there’s always something to see: grazing wildebeest, a jackal drinking, waterbuck on the riverbank……

NOMONDE KGABAGE, duty manager Olifants, 15 years in KNP About the H9: “I like the H9 tar road between Letaba and Phalaborwa – it’s where I saw rhinos for the first time. And every time I pass there, I see wild dogs.” About Olifants: “Olifants offers more activities than other camps, like river walks and MTB outings. I’ve done the MTB outing – it was challenging, but I enjoyed it. It follows a particular route, but it’s up to guests to decide how far they want to go.” On life in the park: “You get to see a lot of animals and you connect with nature. You have peace of mind – we are far from the world’s problems. It’s quiet here. When I’m outside the park I get so…

All the bushveld camps in the Kruger are next to riverbeds, but only the Letaba River – which runs past Shimuwini – has water year-round. Shimuwini is also the only bushveld camp with a swimming pool (pictured below), which is essential if you visit the Kruger in summer. The camp has 15 units on a big green lawn on the riverbank, and there are benches under jackal-berry, apple-leaf, mahogany and mopane trees. Guests have access to a 15 km section of private road (S141) with several turn-offs to the river, as well as to a big baobab. Facilities? Cottages (each sleeps four) and guest cottages (each sleeps five or six). Our unit needed a little TLC – some of the doors were creaky and the stoep cushions were worn out.…

1 Go see the Red Rocks 65 km; about 3 hours The Red Rocks Loop (S52) winds along both banks of the Shingwedzi River and there are two viewpoints where you can get out of your vehicle to take in some of the finest scenery in the Kruger. The best view is from the Red Rocks viewpoint when the rising sun is behind you. Get up early and go straight to the viewpoint. Take the H1-6 tar road, then turn off onto the S52 gravel road. The Red Rocks Loop is the first turn-off to the right, and it will take you to the viewpoint. “Guests often see wild dogs at Red Rocks,”says Bishop Shilowa, head guide at Shingwedzi. “I think they might be denning close by because you sometimes…

NIGHTJAR FOR A NIGHTCAP? Pennant-winged nightjars, a migratory species, can be seen at Punda Maria between October and December. Book a sunset drive and tell the guide that you’d like to see the nightjars – they will take you to their breeding site near the Mahonie Loop. The nightjars usually come out after the gates have closed. 1 Enjoy the Pafuri birder’s paradise! 50 km; 6½ hours Today you’ll see one of the most scenic parts of the Kruger. Turn left onto the S60 outside the rest camp, then left again onto the S61 and make your way to the Klopperfontein waterhole and dam. The landscape is more open around the two water bodies than the mopane veld you just travelled through. Eland are often spotted here and the grass…

“I was transferred to Punda Maria in 1967. Back then the park was only open for six months of the year, from Easter weekend to October. Malaria was a great challenge and the windows of the huts didn’t have screens. There were also no tar roads and most of the dirt roads didn’t have gravel – they were just graded dirt and you can imagine what happened in the rainy season… During the other six months of the year, the four rangers, the staff and I had about 4 000 km² in the north of the park to ourselves. The Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA), the agency that recruited people in Mozambique to work in the mines, still travelled through the park. A woman from Soekmekaar sent us a bag…