Kruger is South Africa’s most iconic reserve. It’s a pristine wilderness that’s practically a country in itself. By Justin Fox.

Kruger National Park is simply enormous. It comprises nearly two million hectares of South African bush and is also part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park – a peace park that links it to reserves in Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Kruger is home to an unrivalled density of life forms: 336 tree species, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals.

Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the Lowveld, this national treasure is today a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques.

It’s a place you can lose yourself in, driving for days through an Eden-like wilderness. This is the realm of baobabs, fever trees, mopanes and leadwoods; a land patrolled by the Big Five, the Little Five (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion and rhino beetle) and the birding Big Six (ground hornbill, kori bustard, lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, Pel’s fishing owl and saddle-billed stork).

Kruger is primarily a self-drive and self-catering destination with good infrastructure that includes rest camps, picnic sites and hides. However, there are also tour operators and private concessions within the park.

Most visitors are accommodated in thatched rondavels (the best ones are on the camps’ perimeters or facing a river). However, nine of the camps also provide campsites and a few have furnished safari tents and huts. For a more rustic experience, book into one of the bushveld camps, which are much smaller and basic.

The southern part of Kruger has the greatest concentration of game and attracts the most visitors. The park’s headquarters are at Skukuza, which has an airport, car rental, shops and accommodation for more than 1000 people.

Central Kruger has good game viewing and hosts two of the most attractive large camps: Olifants and Letaba.

The northern section has fewer animals and visitors and more of a wilderness feeling. Although game watching in the mopane forests can be tough, the rugged landscape and birding rewards along the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers make up for it.

There are countless outdoor activities, ranging from mountain biking to bush braais and there’s even a golf course. The Lebombo Overland Eco-Trail is a five-day adventure which spans the length of Kruger. This 4×4 route is led by experienced professional guides and follows the eastern boundary of the park.

Kruger also offers two-day wilderness hikes, where guests traverse large areas on foot accompanied by an armed ranger. You spend three nights in one of the park’s seven wilderness camps. In addition, there’s the popular Olifants River Backpack Trail (a three-night, 42 to 50-kilometre, ‘no-trace camping’ hike).

Kruger has just introduced two new trails. Mphongolo Backpacking Trail offers rustic camping (bring everything you need), starts from Shingwedzi and lasts four days. Malopeni Eco-Trail is a guided one-night 4×4 adventure trail that follows management roads in the area northeast of Phalaborwa Gate to the Letaba River (only five vehicles, maximum four people a vehicle).

How to book

Contact central reservations on tel 012-428-9111, e-mail or website.

Text and Pictures by Justin Fox: This article was taken from the Getaway Special Edition, April 2010.