ShowMe South Africa

The pros and cons of Kruger and trans border parks

Text: Sandra Hughes. Photography: Sandra and Gar Hughes. Article from the September 2012 issue of Leisure Wheels.

Gary and Sandra Hughes love to travel, usually to remote places. But when an opportunity came up to explore the photographic offerings of the Kruger National Park, they jumped at it.

After travelling more than 1000km through the park, they were able to weigh up the relative merits of local and trans-border bushveld experiences.

A herd of buffalo at Sunset Waterhole. Insert: This crocodile was not wanted when the buffaloes arrived. They chased him back into the water.

My husband and I are both ardent campers, and enjoy the serenity of camping in the African bush. We’ve travelled in Africa many times and delight in camping in the middle of nowhere, using our bucket shower and other bush camping amenities.

In June this year, we were scheduled to meet some friends near Sabi Sabi for two days. This was part of a field guide course we are completing. Neither of us had visited the Kruger National Park specifically for photography before, and had only done the Lebombo trail some years ago.

So we decided to take a whole week and experience the South African bush for a change.

We loaded up our Toyota Land Cruiser Trooper with all the camping equipment and headed off to Tonteldoos in Dullstroom, to meet our friends. Next morning our adventure began. Lazily, we left Tonteldoos at 08h00 and arrived at Sabi Sabi around 13h00. We took the scenic route, passing through Steelport, Pilgrim’s Rest, Graskop and Hazyview.

Crocodile Bridge Camp is clean and neat, but can be a bit crowded for those accustomed to a more secluded bushveld camping.

The practical field course exam lasted two days, after which we bade our friends farewell and travelled on to the Paul Kruger gate. On arrival we were greeted warmly, and after a five-minute check-in we headed off to the Crocodile Bridge Camp in the south of the park.

We were booked in for five nights, and with a speed limit of 50km/h, we were already taking it easy. It took us a leisurely three-and-a-half hours to travel the scenic 88km, and we saw some game along the way. We were already happy we’d come to explore the park properly.

When we got to the camp, however, our smiles began to fade. We have become accustomed to quiet, secluded camping spots, and here we were met by modern facilities and communal camping grounds.

This is not what we were used to. The site was rather full, mostly with camper vans and caravans, but we managed to find a space to pitch our tents – with an unobstructed view of nothing other than the ablution buildings.

Still, despite our regrets on this score, we enjoyed the next four days in the park. We certainly learned a lesson about researching facilities before making a booking, though!

We travelled mostly in the southern part of park, especially the Lower Sabie region where we were quite lucky in terms of game at a waterhole at sunset, and at the bridge crossing over the Sabie River.

An Egyptian goose shows a water monitor who's boss.A large herd of buffalo came down to the watering hole one day, which made for great panoramic shots in all the dust. The animals weren’t happy with the crocodiles that had been sunning themselves, and promptly herded the reptiles back into the water.

One day, we came across an Egyptian goose attacking a water monitor. It seemed that the monitor might have tried to steal some eggs from the goose, which chased the offender across the width of the river!

A snake sneaks up on a baboon by hiding in cracks in the mud. Another lucky and very interesting sighting was of an African python at the Oukraal waterhole. It was approaching a lone baboon by sliding through cracks in the dry mud. The baboon didn’t see it until the python was a metre away, and the look on his face when he eventually noticed the unwelcome visitor was priceless – let alone the noise that followed!

We visited numerous “dry” water holes as well, and picnic spots that were kept very clean and neat. Do keep a watchful eye out for Vervet monkeys, though, as these chaps are fast and absolutely fearless in their mission to relieve you of a morsel or two.

Our favourite route outside of the Lower Sabie side was the S25. This is a gravel road that is kept in great condition – as are the other roads – and the area has the feel of being out in the real bush. Vegetation is dense and beautiful, and the game viewing was good. Still, it was different to the kind of game viewing we are accustomed to in other African countries. If someone asked me what the difference is between the KNP and, say, the Masai Mara, my response would be: “You can see the Big Five at the KNP, but you can photograph the Big Five in the Mara.”

We experienced numerous Big Five sightings, but the area soon became crowded with up to 30 vehicles, most of which left their engines running, spoiling the quiet beauty of the bush.

A leopard sighting in the Lower Sabie region causes a traffic jam. This can be a bit bothersome, especially for the photographer trying to capture a wildlife shot without vehicles in the background!

It’s this crowded experience that hinders photographic opportunities.

In the end, we were happy with the facilities. SANPARKS keeps the camps beautifully clean, and ablutions and kitchen areas are always spotless.

I have to admit that it was nice to return to the clean campsite every day, being able to take a hot shower and have hot water for the dish washing.

Still, I did miss the tranquility of knowing there wasn’t a soul around, or perhaps having a bucket shower while watching an elephant moving through the bush.

From what we experienced, we would recommend Crocodile Bridge camp for communal camping with caravans – but note that this is not for you if you’re looking for a bush-experience akin to camping in the Kgalagadi.

That doesn’t mean we won’t return to the KNP – we enjoyed the park, and will stay in chalets if we visit again.

While we were there, we met a couple who had been in the park for an entire month, staying at various camp sites. They were happy with all of them, and reported encountering 83 different lions! The only complaint they had was that the husband was missing sport on TV!

If you don’t want to drive long distances and would like to avoid border crossings – and still see the Big Five – we’d recommend the Kruger National Park. Costs are reasonable, facilities are clean and most amenities are available at the bigger camps.

Leisure Wheels Safaris - a great way to offroad

More info on the area of Lowveld More info on the Mpumalanga area

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