Kruger National Park, here we come

The Kruger National Park (KNP) is one of the premier game reserves in the world. Located in the "lowveld" savannah in the far northeast of South Africa, it receives little attention from the outside world compared to the well advertised and popular safari destinations of East Africa - Serengeti, great migration, etc.  For some of us, that's a good thing.

From it's southernmost gate at Crocodile Bridge, to Pafuri Gate in the north, you have to drive over 400km (240 miles). It is greater in size than Wakes or Israel and is almost the size of Massachusetts.  The park straddles the Tropic of Capricorn and so it is truly in the tropics. It's wide variety of savannah habitats, geography and climatic areas gives it an abundance and variety of wildlife unequaled anywhere.

According to the Prime Origins Guide to the Kruger National Park by Brett Hilton-Barber and Professor Lee R. Berger, 21 of Africa's 72 antelope species are found in the park, from the tiny suni to the great and majestic eland. Predators abound. Lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dogs, hyena and many smaller predators such as jackal, caracal, civet and genet. Great numbers of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus and rhino, both black and white, graze and browse in this environment. 

KNP is "one of the great birding spots in South Africa." Because the park straddles the Tropic of Capricorn, it lies in the southernmost range of many tropical bird species and the northernmost extent of many southern species.  Many of Kruger's birds are migrants from Eurasia and other parts of Africa to the north that fly here to spend summer in the south. There are about 380 species that are resident here year-round. KNP is the best place to view the great birds of prey, with 17 eagles and almost 80 others raptors living here.

The rivers of Kruger are home to several thousand crocodiles. 54 Species of snake are found within the park, though it is rare to see these.

The network of roads and "camps" within KNP have been developed and modernized since it opened to tourists in 1927. The area was first proclaimed as a wildlife preserve in 1898 by the Transvaal Boer Republic, Paul Kruger. This was known as the Sabi Game Reserve. Later he proclaimed  a large area to the north, the Shingwedzi Reserve. These were combined after acquisition of 70 privately owned farms between them in 1926, and the park was officially re-named The Kruger National Park. In 1927 three cars visited the park, and today more than a million visitors come to Kruger each year. This is a popular destination for most South Africans, much as the National Parks in the U.S., such as Yosemite, Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park are favorite vacation spots for Americans.

My first visit to Kruger was as a schoolboy in 1959. I went back again as a first-year university student in 1962. No doubt, these visits sparked my lifelong interest in wildlife and a desire to pursue biology studies. The next trip was in 2001 when Jan and I took friends to the area. The park had expanded and modernised its facilities but still retained the  wonderful qualities and characteristics that had so impressed me forty years earlier! Today, many of the main camps have souvenir shops and mini-supermarkets where campers and travelers can re-provision, and of course, petrol (gas) can be purchased in most camps as well.

An especially memorable visit was in 2006 when we re-visited several of the camps that I had stayed in in 1962, especially Punda Maria in the north. Outwardly the thatch-roofed "rondavels" or cabins looked much the same, but inside, the conveniences had been updated, with air conditioning a notable improvement. Since then we have been back twice, visiting with some of our family and our 11 year-old granddaughter in 2012. Is it apparent that this place holds a very special place in my heart?

Now we are going back again and we will spend time in the southern area, based at the biggest (HQ) camp at Skukuza. Some of the mountains here rise up to 2,500 ft and the most annual rain falls here. The big cats are often seen here and the bird life and vegetation is different from the grassland and savannah further north.

80% of the rainfall falls between October and March (summer), so visitors in June can expect to see mostly warm, dry days and cool winter nights. Each day in KNP offers new experiences and surprises. We hope to write about some of these as we travel, so stay tuned.