The Kruger National Park, including the many private wildlife reserves that surround it, offers visitors a unique African experience. The fence between these game reserves has been torn down 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 of South Africa. This national park is almost 2 million hectares in size and when combined with the private reserves that surround it makes it the size of a small country. The park is a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies and has 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 the prehistoric occupation of man in this area. Bushman rock paintings and restored Iron Age villages add to the pleasure of visiting this area.
The Greater Kruger Park is home to a number of accommodation facilities with plenty to do and see, making this a very popular area. Private Game Reserves offer excellent lodging 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-driving routes, is very popular with travelers who like the freedom to set their own travel itineraries. The Park also contains a number of private concessions within its boundaries. These offer luxury accommodation and have their own safari guides who take 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 aerial safari”, where no time is wasted getting into the action.
More than a million visitors stay in this area each year in the different hostels and rest camps. Due to the popularity of the park, advance reservations are essential. Some of the camps in the Kruger National Park are booked up a year in advance during peak holiday periods.
The African bush is a place of contrasts. A place where exciting adventures are experienced along with a deep sense of peace, where the soul can recharge. I highly recommend a trip to the African bush if you’ve never been there. Sometimes it is difficult to describe a real encounter with wildlife in the bush: all the senses come alive.
This world-renowned Kruger Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks among the best in Africa.
Copyright © 2008 Mark Thomas