Selfdriving in Kruger National Park
Trip Report Kruger National Park, South Africa
DAY 1
After an 11-hour overnight flight, we landed in Johannesburg early on Saturday morning. After collecting our luggage, we hurried to Terminal B to catch our connecting flight to Nelspruit.
An important tip for future travelers! Always check the baggage terminal in Jo’burg, even if your luggage is supposedly transferred to the next flight. They had forgotten to transfer our luggage, and it was just circling on the conveyor belt. Thankfully, due to our previous experience last year (referring to our trip to Botswana), we double-checked. We departed for Nelspruit around 10:00 AM on a smaller aircraft and landed about an hour later.
After picking up our luggage and rental car, we set out around noon towards the Malelane gate to enter Kruger Park. Around 1:30 PM, we entered Kruger Park, with Skukuza Restcamp as our final destination.
On our way to the camp, including a planned stop at the Transport Dam, famous for the YouTube hit ‘Battle at Kruger,’ we were treated to some impressive sightings! We spotted several giraffes, a herd of elephants, zebras, a white rhinoceros (at the Renoster Koppies Dam), some dik-diks, a hyena, a yellow-billed hornbill, impalas, vervet monkeys, waterbucks, a kudu, hippos, and even an African fish eagle.
In the evening, we arrived at Skukuza Restcamp, tired but satisfied, where we enjoyed a delicious meal at the local restaurant. What a start to our safari trip!
DAY 2
To make sure we didn’t miss any action and knowing that the gate of the restcamp opens around 5:30 AM, we got up around 4:50 AM to prepare ourselves and enter the park as soon as possible for another exploration. Today, we intended to explore the Leopard’s Triangle (the connecting road between H1-2 and H11) and then, around noon, leave Kruger Park to head towards the Private Game Reserve Timbavati.
Within minutes, we stumbled upon a ‘mating’ ritual between two lions in a dried-up riverbed. Shortly after, we spotted a hyena lying on the road with her two pups. On the way, we also saw a woodland kingfisher twice and noticed a hooded vulture.
Around noon, we left the public section of Kruger Park through the Phabeni Gate to drive towards the Private Game Reserve Timbavati via Hoedspruit. Two hours later, we reached the Simbavati River Lodge. On the way to the lodge, we immediately experienced the abundant wildlife in the area. We saw some elephants and a few shy steenboks.
Upon arrival at the camp, we were warmly welcomed by some warthogs. During lunch, we met Jimmy, our guide for the next 24 hours. We had barely finished lunch when we were treated to a parade of a waterbuck herd in the dried-up riverbed of the Timbavati River. Some waterbucks displayed their fighting skills to establish dominance in the group right in front of us.
Around 4:00 PM, we set off with Jimmy for our first game drive in the Timbavati area. In the morning, Jimmy had spotted a young leopard that had killed an impala and got into a fierce fight with a hyena, which ultimately made off with the prey. Hoping to encounter either the leopard or the hyena again, we headed to the same spot.
However, neither the leopard nor the hyena made an appearance. But our disappointment was short-lived. Jimmy promptly led us to four white rhinos and then to two lions. On the way, we also saw a hippo in a waterhole with a very young hippo calf.
DAY 3
After a night of heavy rain and thunderstorms, we set off at dawn under a dark gray sky with the sound of thunder in the background on another game drive.
Within minutes, we came across a hyena, which we followed for a while. Later, our guide, Jimmy, directed us to a herd of elephants with some calves, where we spent some time until the heavens opened up, and we had to return to camp immediately. Soaking wet and somewhat disappointed, we got out of a partially flooded ‘open’ jeep. It was a bit of a letdown that they didn’t have jeeps with a roof.
We decided to have breakfast and left the camp around 9:00 AM. We drove through Hoedspruit to Phalaborwa. The journey itself was an adventure, as the roads were riddled with dangerous potholes, washed-out sections, road diversions due to sewage works, and more. In short, quite an experience!
Via the Phalaborwa Gate, we re-entered Kruger Park. We took the H-9 and headed towards Letaba, making stops at several loops along the way. At the Sable Dam, we spotted a fish eagle and some impalas and jacanas. Further down the road toward Letaba, we encountered a large herd of elephants with calves, spotted a brown snake eagle twice, and noticed buffaloes and a waterbuck in the riverbed.
From Letaba, we drove all the way down along the Letaba River, taking the S46 route. Along the way, we took the S93 and the S44 to Olifants Camp. This road provided us with some incredible sightings. We encountered a herd of elephants with calves, witnessed an African fish eagle devouring a fish right above our heads, saw three young lions relaxing near the road, and even observed two fighting elephants right in the middle of the road.
DAY 4
At around 05:30 AM, we departed from Olifants Camp under heavy rain, heading towards Satara. According to various guides about Kruger Park, the area around S100, S41, and H6, including Sweni Hide, is one of the most wildlife-rich regions in Kruger Park, with a high chance of encountering wild dogs, cheetahs, or lions. The journey to this region via the ‘old main road,’ S90, also offers a beautiful environment for wildlife spotting.
Shortly after leaving the camp, we encountered a large herd of elephants with many calves. It was a bit tense as they came quite close to our vehicle, but after enjoying the company of our Ivorian friends for a while, we continued toward Satara.
On the old main road, apart from a few zebras, wildebeests, and kudus, we didn’t see anything special. Surprisingly, the Bangu waterhole, which had been recommended in various guides and websites, no longer existed.
Around 09:15 AM, we arrived at the loop (S100-S41-H6), all set to explore. Right on the S100, we encountered a family of lions. Despite the terrible weather, our spirits were lifted! On the S41, we spotted some Bateleur eagles feasting on a carcass. However, the sightings began to decline after that. The Sweni Hide turned out to be disappointing, the Ratelpand Hide wasn’t much better, and for the rest of the trip, we had to content ourselves with a few ground hornbills and a saddle-billed stork.
Our plan was to have a quick lunch at Satara rest camp and then head back to Olifants Camp. On the way back, apart from a few baboons playing with their young, we didn’t see much. The only bright moment of the day came when we took a detour to the lookout point over the Olifants River. There, we managed to capture some beautiful photos of three klipspringers and watched several vultures soaring low in the sky.
DAY 5
Today, we left the camp at the same early hour, this time heading towards the Orpen gate to exit Kruger Park and make our way to the private game reserve, Sabi Sands. Along the way, we witnessed a hyena crossing the road with a giraffe leg in its mouth. A bit further, we saw some ground hornbills and observed many vultures flying low. Unfortunately, what we didn’t see were the cheetahs and leopards that were mentioned in nearly all the guides for the area we were passing through.
To save some time, we took a shortcut through a few small rural villages after leaving the Orpen Gate, aiming to reach our final destination, Cheetah Plains, more quickly. The journey itself was another adventure, with pothole-riddled roads, sections of road washed away, and detours due to ongoing drainage work. In short, it was quite an experience!
Around noon, we arrived at Cheetah Plains, a small, cozy camp with eight lodges and two game drive vehicles. After meeting our guide, Doctor, we embarked on our afternoon game drive at around 4 PM. It was the beginning of a fantastic experience. Within minutes of starting, Doctor led us to a sleeping lion. Later, we spotted three black-backed jackals, and even later, we were treated to the sight of a young leopard, which we followed for a while. Along the way, we also saw zebras, wildebeests, elephants, and wrapped up the day with the sighting of a chameleon spotted in the dark by our outstanding guide, who had already made a great impression on us. What a top-notch experience!
DAY 6
Once again, we rose early to start our morning game drive promptly. Doctor immediately guided us to a spot in the bush where we witnessed the awakening of a group of four rhinoceroses, including a rhino calf. It was a touching moment!
After about half an hour, Doctor received a radio message about a cheetah spotted nearby, and he drove us there at a rally-like pace to see the action. When we arrived, we just caught a glimpse of a cheetah darting into the bushes at full speed, followed by a clear cry (possibly from an impala). After a bit of searching, we quickly arrived at the spot where we saw the cheetah again, this time with an impala next to it. As we approached, we realized the impala was still alive, and we witnessed the cheetah, with us as witnesses, delivering the final bite to end the impala’s suffering. Unbelievable! We also learned that the cheetah was apparently right on the border with Annette Kamp’s territory, sparking a heated discussion among the other guides who had rushed to the scene about who could and couldn’t stay with the cheetah.
We left the cheetah, still panting from its efforts and without having eaten a bite, to continue our journey. We returned to the spot where we had seen the leopard yesterday and now encountered the mother of the leopard from the previous day. Once again, our jaws dropped in amazement. The mother had just killed a steenbok and laid it out for her young one to share. We decided to follow the mother when she went to fetch her cub, and we witnessed something truly spectacular. On her way to her cub, the mother encountered another leopard, leading to a fierce battle between the two. Leopards roaring and circling around our jeep – that’s definitely something special!
On our way back to the camp for brunch, we spotted a leopard quickly disappearing into the bushes just before our entrance. It was a morning where we broke our record for leopard sightings!
After enjoying a delicious brunch in the company of Nyala antelopes wandering through the camp, we set out again around 4 PM. Doctor immediately took us to a hyena den where there were supposed to be some hyena pups. The little pups occasionally peeked out from the dark hole of their den, but they didn’t seem very keen on playing outside. We left the hyenas to their own devices and revisited the leopard that had killed the steenbok this morning. Upon arrival, we found not only the mother but also her two sons. One of them was in the tree, eating the remains of the steenbok, while the other lay peacefully in the grass. Well, perhaps “peacefully” is putting it mildly. Our boys were actually quite aggressive and made it clear that they didn’t appreciate our company. The rustling of our beanbags irritated them to the point where they frequently bared their teeth, accompanied by growling sounds. Tired but satisfied, we returned to the camp, where we enjoyed a typical South African braai with Kudu sausage, chicken, and lamb.
DAY 7
Our final game drive began once again at dawn. As we left the camp, Doctor noticed tracks of buffaloes being pursued by lions. Excited by this discovery, we set out in search of the lions and buffaloes, hoping to witness a live kill. After a few minutes, we found two lionesses with a slaughtered buffalo calf in front of them. The lionesses, clearly tired from the hunt and their meal, barely reacted to our presence. So, we continued our search for the rest of the buffalo herd, which we encountered after a while. Our guide suggested we make a quick stop at the hyenas’ den, where this time we found not only the pups but also the mother and the carcass of an impala – according to our guide, the same impala that had been killed by the cheetah yesterday. What followed was a beautiful spectacle of playful hyena pups occasionally nibbling on the impala and each other, while Mama Hyena regularly put them in their place. The morning was once again a great success. On the way back to the camp, we passed by the two lionesses who had clearly devoured more of the buffalo calf and were not pleased with our visit. After about half an hour, we departed for our camp, and along the way, we even spotted a one-horned impala.
Once back at the camp, it was time to pack up and have brunch before we began our journey back to Nelspruit.”
Eric Lahey
Photos: Stijn Cavens
