Kruger National Park – Limpopo and Mpumalanga, South Africa.
Our first night at Kruger National Park almost didn’t happen.
Overnight accommodation at Kruger is provided through 13 rest camps, each with a distinct personality and price point. We had reservations with the Olifants Camp, which offered both an attractive rate and picturesque view overlooking a river of the same name.
We were running late after a leisurely drive through the Blyde River Canyon when we remembered that each camp has a nightly curfew at which point they literally close their gates to new arrivals. Given the late hour, we would certainly miss the Olifants curfew and were likely to miss the curfew of the camp nearest us, Orpen. In what appeared to be the middle of nowhere and with few options, we set a few country roads ablaze and made it inside the Orpen gates just minutes before they swung shut.
The rest of our short stay at Kruger–two days–was blissful and without panic. We drove around the park on our own spotting hyenas, giraffes, and zebra and took an early morning safari to search for elephants. We found them.
Kruger is much more than a two-day affair. Give yourself more time and get there early.
Check out some of the other stops along our road trip through South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe:
- Victoria Falls
- Cyrene Mission School Chapel
- Danamombe Ruins and Matobo Hills
- Great Zimbabwe
- Blyde River Canyon