The Kruger National Park, including the many private wildlife reserves around it, offers the visitor a unique African experience. Fencing has been taken down between these game reserves to form a huge area where animals are free to roam and migrate. This large area is often referred to as the “greater Kruger Park area”
The Kruger National Park was established in 1889 to protect the wildlife found in the Lowveld area in South Africa. This national park is nearly 2 million hectares in size and when combined with the private reserves around it, makes it the size of a small country. The park is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies and boasts a remarkable number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals.
There are also a number of archaeological sites worth visiting in the Kruger Park, highlighting man’s prehistoric occupation in this area. Bushman rock painting and restored iron-age villages add to the pleasure of visiting this area.
The Greater Kruger Park hosts a number of accommodation facilities with many things to do and see, making this a very popular area. The private game reserves offer excellent accommodation and game viewing, where you are most likely to see the big 5. The Kruger National Park, with its affordable self-catering accommodation and self-drive routes, is very popular amongst travellers who like the freedom to set their own travel itineraries. The Park also contains a number of private concessions within its borders. These offer luxury accommodation and have there own safari guides taking visitors on game drives and bush walks.
Visitors to South Africa, who have a few days to go on safari, might be interested in a “Kruger Park fly-in safari,” where no time is wasted getting into the action.
Over one million visitors stay in this area every year at the various lodges and rest camps. Due to the popularity of the park, advance bookings are essential. Some of the camps in the Kruger National Park are booked up a year in advance over peak holiday periods.
The African bush is a place of contrasts. A place where exciting adventures are experienced alongside a deep sense of peace, where the soul can recharge. I would very much recommend a trip to the African bush if you have never been there. It is sometimes difficult to describe a real wildlife encounter in the bush – all one’s senses come alive.
This world-renowned Kruger Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa.
Copyright © 2008 Mark Thomas