Tips for Visiting the Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s star attractions. With hundreds of visitors each year, the park offers unparalleled game viewing. Here’s what every visitor needs to know when visiting Kruger.

What to Know Before You Go

It’s a sight that visitors from all over the world travel to see: the real Africa, up close and personal. The Kruger National Park offers tourists sights straight out of a National Geographic documentary: elephants ambling down beaten dirt paths, giraffes dipping their graceful necks for a drink at a waterhole, and herds of impala sprinting across the savannah. Located just 6 hours outside of Johannesburg, the vast reserve spans 218 miles in length, and is a mecca for game viewers.

One of Krugers enormous residents

The Holy Grail for anyone visiting Kruger, is to see the Big 5: lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, and elephant make up this coveted group. No animal, however, seems to elicit as much awe and excitement as the elephant. Once an endangered species in Kruger, the elephant population has bounced back and flourished, now numbering more than 14,000. In 2008, South Africa lifted a 13-year ban on killing elephants to keep numbers down, but this has not affected elephant sightings.

Despite the fact that they may seem slow and peaceful, elephant encounters in Kruger are no joke and visitors should exercise a good deal of caution around these animals, by keeping their distance. The park camps are filled with posters warning of the damage that an elephant can inflict on a car and its passengers.

Visiting the Kruger National Park in Winter

The best time to see elephants and other wildlife are the winter months (May – September). Sparse grass and bushes mean that animals are much easier to see without lush greenery to hide behind. Winter months are also drier in Kruger, forcing animals to come out of hiding and head to the waterholes to drink.

Malaria Risks

Winter months also pose the lowest risk for contracting malaria which can be a problem at Kruger. However, it’s mostly a danger during the rainy summer months (December – April) when mosquitoes are most active, so it is vital that visitors take anti-malarial prophylactics, at least several weeks in advance of a visit to the park. There are a variety of different kinds of anti-malarial drugs, with varying side effects, so it is best to consult a physician, before embarking on any course of medication.

Accommodation

Satara Camp rondavels

The park offers a variety of accommodation, just make sure to book ahead as space fills up fast. There are more than 35 lodges and rest camps to choose from, each with its own unique features and level of comfort.

Luxury lodges like the Imbali Safari Lodge give visitors a taste of Africa, without sacrificing comfort. And for those who would prefer to experience Africa at her most raw and natural, Balule Camp is rustic and electricity-free, suitable for only the most die-hard visitors. Each camp is enclosed by an electric fence, to keep out unwanted animals. Well, most of them. Monkeys come and go as they please, so keep food locked up when it’s not being used. Each camp has its own cooking, or “braai” (barbecue) area and many of the individual huts have their own braai. Most campsites also have a small shop where visitors can pick up the basics, but supplies are limited and selection can be sparse. Fortunately, many of the camps have their own restaurants.

Game Viewing

Dawn and dusk often prove to be the best time to spot game and tourists visiting the Kruger National Park often leave camp before the sun rises, to get a head start. Most camps offer early morning and evening game drives with professional (and armed) game rangers. Space is limited, so visitors must sign up the day before, to guarantee a spot. Nighttime game drives are often the best, as the park closes camp gates just before dark and visitors and their privately owned vehicles are required to return to camp before the evening curfew. The camp-sponsored drive is a great way to see many nocturnal animals, in particular the much sought-after, but elusive leopard.

For more information on the Kruger National Park, visit: www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/

Sources:

“Kruger – South Africa’s Crown Jewel”. AfricaPoint.com.  Retrieved from www.africapoint.com/newsletters/kruger.htm on August 25, 2010.

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Exploring The Mother City – A Visitor’s Guide to Cape Town

When it comes to keeping yourself amused, Cape Town is literally bursting at the seams with things to do. With the ocean on one side, looming mountains on the other and the bustling metropolis somewhere in the middle, there is a smorgasbord of attractions to keep visitors entertained. Everyone has their own favorites when visiting iKapa, and this is just a small selection of not-to-be-missed sights worth checking out when visiting The Mother City…

Climb Table Mountain

Table Mountain

For many visitors, climbing Table Mountain is the number one attraction in Cape Town. However, actually getting from the bottom of the enormous granite base to the windswept top is another matter!

There are several trails to choose from, each with varying degrees of difficulty, steepness and length. The trails are narrow, rocky staircases that have been built into the side of the mountain. Bring plenty of water for the climb, as well as a jacket, since the weather can change very quickly up the mountain and while it may be sunny at the bottom, mist and clouds often lurk higher up.

While the hike up is an experience in itself, the spectacular view from the top is an even greater reward. The city of Cape Town lies far below, nestled between the mountains and the glistening Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Town from above

After reaching the top, there is the inevitable dilemma of how to get back down. There are two options: flit down in the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway, or hike back down the way you just came up. While taking the cable car is an inviting prospect, try to summon up your remaining energy and climb back down, since the route in reverse provides a very different experience to climbing up (and you’re probably better placed to enjoy it!)

Boulders Beach

Residents of Boulders Beach

Boulders Beach is one of the few places in the world to see penguins in their natural habitat. The beach is home to a colony of African penguins that are given free run of the sand and surrounding vegetation. A wooden walkway down to the beach takes birdwatchers into the habitat of the penguins. Keep an eye out for stray penguins on the way out of Boulders, as they sometimes like to sit in the shade underneath cars!

Kirstenbosch Gardens

Beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens

Located just 8 miles from the Cape Town city bowl, the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are well worth a visit. The Gardens boast almost 90 acres of plant life native to South Africa and are awash with color.

Kirstenbosch is also home to a wide variety of animal and bird-life. Blue-headed Guinea Fowl and dazzling Sunbirds are common sights. Small antelope, foxes and the occasional porcupine roam the lawns at night and a host of frogs reside in the ponds and streams that run through the gardens.

Wine tasting in Stellenbosch

Stellenbosch wine farms are known to offer some of the best wines in the world and there are plenty of local wineries willing to showcase the fruits of their labor. With almost 200 wineries crammed into the small town, choices are plentiful and many visitors choose to make a day out of wine tasting.

Tastings range from R15 – R30 and many wineries offer picnic baskets to enjoy, along with a glass of red or white wine.

Cheetah Outreach Program at Spier Winery

Outreach Program cheetahs

Just 30 minutes outside Cape Town’s city center, Spier Wine Estate is one of the largest wineries in the Stellenbosch area. The wine tasting is excellent, but it’s Spier’s Cheetah Outreach Program that’s one of the biggest draw-cards for visitors.

A small entry fee allows visitors to walk past the cheetah enclosures and take photos of the spotted residents. For a more up-close experience, visitors have the option of paying for a supervised visit inside the enclosure where they can interact with the cheetahs, one- on-one.

The program focuses on preserving hand-raised cheetahs born in captivity. These animals are not able to be released into the wild and so rely on their caretakers to survive. All money from the program is donated to the Cheetah Conservation Fund.

Make sure you find some time for a meal at Moyo Restaurant, one of the eateries on the Spier Winery grounds. Moyo serves African cuisine with an upper class twist. The chain has several locations in South Africa, each with their own eclectic outdoor ambiance. The food at Moyo hails from all corners of the continent. North African couscous and curries are popular dishes, alongside local fresh fish from the Cape waters. Even South Africa’s favorite sausage, boerewors, makes an appearance on the menu.

Visit the Robben Island Museum

No visit to Cape Town is complete without a trip to the Robben Island Museum. What was once a prison that housed many political prisoners during the apartheid era, including former South African President Nelson Mandela, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Visitors to the island arrive by a ferry that departs daily from the Nelson Mandela Gateway at the V&A Waterfront. The ride to Robben Island takes 30 minutes each way and the tour itself lasts approximately 2.5 hours. Tour guides are often former political prisoners who willingly share their experiences on Robben Island. The tour includes a visit to the prison and a 45-minute narrated bus tour of Robben Island. One of the main attractions on the tour is the cell in which Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his life. The small, two-square-meter cell has remained largely unchanged since Mandela occupied it.

This piece was originally published on: MyCapetownInfo.com