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Michaël VB
BE
Visited:
January 2019
Reviewed: Feb 14, 2019
Email Michaël VB | 35-50 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Amazing experience, endless vistas, the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, large viewings of so many different species of animals in different environments, amazing!
Nuria Lagunas
IE
Visited:
February 2018
Reviewed: Apr 3, 2018
Email Nuria Lagunas | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
We personally liked sabi sands more. It feels wilder and less crowded with people. No concrete roads and nobody else driving around, only authorized safari drivers
Gary Stephenson
Professional wildlife safari with a good dose of adventure
This error made little difference to our activities for the day. We were met at Skakusa by our pre-booked driver who alerted us to the apparent error but decided that he'd turn the situation to our advantage and take us for a drive through the southern end of Kruger National Park.
We quickly encountered elephant, giraffe, impala and zebra.
Our departure from the park was through Paul Kruger Gate where we were met by a small band of vervet monkeys who kept an eye on what we were doing but perhaps looking for an opportunity for a 'grab and run' easy feed, not that we were eating anything at the time.
Leaving Paul Kruger Gate, we crossed the fast flowing Sabi River
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observing a couple of jousting hippopotamus then stumbling upon a cunning 2.5 metre Nile crocodile waiting patiently below the bridge for unwitting (or perhaps already drowned) prey to be swept past.We traveled west to Hazyview in Mpumalanga province then turned north towards Acornhoek where along the way we saw the impressive rise of the Drakensberg Range. We took in the sights of busy townships and even busier local markets. Leaving Acornhoek, we traveled east along a sealed road that we thought was in worse condition than some of the dirt roads we'd be travelling and then south to Gowrie Gate and onto Arathusa Safari Lodge.
We'd just made lunch and there was a commotion on the other side of the waterhole ... a pack of a dozen or so African wild dogs had pulled down an impala so it was quickly into the 4WDs armed with cameras to witness this hectic episode. The wild dogs didn't waste any time and ripped the impala apart within minutes. It all came and went very quickly with our guides telling us that hunts of this size happen a couple of times a day as there is simply not enough in an impala to sustain a pack of this size.
And so started 3 days of evening and morning safaris. We were allocated the same driver and spotter for our time at Arathusa so it was possible to build a rapport with these guys and have a bit of fun along the way. Be warned, the early morning starts and evening safaris are quite cold this time of year so take plenty of warm clothing. The 4WDs also have woollen blankets available.
This was our first trip to South Africa and it became clear early on that certain wildlife was easier to find than others. Considerable effort was put into locating leopards and after talking with other guests and continuing our travels through Botswana and Zimbabwe, our total of 5 at Arathusa was special. Even better, two of these allowed us to get some very special pictures early one morning - a female and her well-advanced cub. Our driver was also acutely aware of where to stop the vehicle so as to get the best possible photographs.
The accommodation, food and beverages were first class and the staff were polite and made our stay very comfortable. We wanted for nothing other than perhaps better light for taking photos.
On to Hoedspruit (not Skakusa) Airport to continue our journey.
Really amazing experience
This has been my 2nd safari experience. Everything went in a woderfull way. We (couple) organized all by ourselves, booking via the official website of the park. We spent three whole days driving our car in the southern part of the Kruger. We had the chance to see a lot of animals (4 out of the 5 big, we missed the lion). We spent our nights in the camps (Lower Sabie and Skukuza): both are really nice, well organized and clean, even if we preferred the LS. We had two organized safari, one in the afternoon/night (good experience) and one by walk early in the morning (not really a interesting experience). We also had dinner into the camps (good). We were in South Africa two weeks before Christmas so we didn't find a lot of tourist and we had the opportunity to maximize our Kruger's experience.
Super safari experience
Moving around in the habitat of all these wild animals - and for the most part they do not object - was a privilege. You feel as though you are in another world and this was my best holiday ever. I came home so relaxed
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- was it something to do with being so close to animals who are truely living at one with nature.Thank you to everybody in South Africa who is responsible for maintaining and protecting this part of our world.
scarlettvixxen007
AU
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Nov 19, 2017
Email scarlettvixxen007 | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: over 5 safaris
Beat the crowds and go in winter or early spring and layer, layer, layer!
Having said that, I was actually volunteering at The Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, which is in the general vicinity of Kruger National Park. We were given an opportunity to visit Kruger on a day trip. Seeing that I was so close, I decided to see it for myself.
We left before sunrise in an open safari vehicle. The sides were up so the breeze was quite chilly. Our driver stopped so we could get pictures of the beautiful sunrise. Entering at Orpen Gate, we stopped for breakfast. Shortly after we found a leopard at the side of
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the road, relaxing. Eventually he got up and left. Two rhinos were spotted in the distance but we couldn't see them well without binoculars. A leopard tortoise also reposed in the middle of the road. He was a big specimen!Elephants, lions and lionesses, zebras, kudu, wildebeests, impalas, nyala, waterbuck, giraffes, the usual parade were on view. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a lioness walking near to the road (our guide had missed her). We were the only vehicle around so had a good chance to follow and observe her without other cars. The best sighting was a group of spotted dogs, reclining in the shade. At the most there were 6-7 vehicles at a sighting at any one time.
Lunch at Satara Camp and time for souvenir shopping before the afternoon drive. By this time it was quite warm. Our group enjoyed the day and were happy to sit and watch the animals, rather than race around to see how many we could find. The safari guide was very compliant with our requests. Another stop at the Orpen Gate souvenir shop for anything we missed and a 'comfort stop' before heading back home.
If you want to see Kruger I'd recommend going in a low season to avoid crowds (unless that's your "thing"). More space for all to see and breathe!
Food for your Soul
October in the Kruger is a magical time as many of the antelope are foaling, so there is lots of new life abounding. The first of the seasonal rains have fallen so the park is turning green but the bush is not too dense yet, so making game viewing still easy. ( the thicker the bush the more difficult it is to spot the game.
The magic of Kruger is the natural beauty, there small dirt tracks that take you into the quieter areas, where you can just switch off your vehicle and sit and listen to the sounds of silence. Animals roam freely so you may encounter any species at any time. Early mornings and later afternoons are the best times to get out there to see the animals. So make sure you are up at the crack of dawn and out till last light. Relax in the Chalet during the heat of the day. Sanparks provides comfortable accommodation without damaging the feel and look of nature. The most important thing is to slow down and move with the beat of the bush.
Tony
GB
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Nov 11, 2017
Email Tony | 65+ years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
Wildlife galore
The standard chalet that we had was simple, but clean and had everything we needed. The fridge, kettle, toaster and microwave enabled us to have a good breakfast before driving out on safari each day.
We took a packed lunch with us each day, because the long drives meant that it was too far to return to Satara in the middle of the day. In the evening we ate in the restaurant which had good, filling food at a reasonable price.
The weather started quite cool and I began to wonder if it had been a mistake not to bring a coat, but luckily it warmed up as the days passed. There was one cloudy day, the rest were sunny with some lovely sunrises and sunsets.
On the way in we drove on the H7 to Satara and on the way out we took the Rabelais loop back to Orpen.
On
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our three full days, we drove the s100 - s41 - h6 loop twice and the s40 - s60 - s39 - s36 - s126 - h1-3 route once.Driving ourselves meant that we could spend as long as we wanted when we saw something interesting and we stopped frequently. We didn't feel that the park was too crowded, even though Satara is quite a big camp. At most animal sightings there were only 1 or 2 other vehicles present, while at bird sightings we were normally the only vehicle present.
We enjoyed the Sweni bird hide because there was always something happening. We spent a couple of hours there, on each of our s100 days, watching the crocodiles, hippos and all the bird life.
At the Sweni waterhole on the s126 we saw large numbers of elephants (100+) coming to drink in the evening.
One evening we joined a guided tour run from Satara. It turned into a long drive along the S100 to a reported leopard sighting, but was worth it as we had superb views of a leopard resting in a tree as the sun went down.
We saw all the animals that we hoped to see, plus lots more, with the exception of rhinoceros. The commonest sightings were impala, elephant, giraffe, zebra, kudu and wildebeest, plus lots of birds.
The highlights were the leopard sighting mentioned previously, the elephant and giraffe that walked right past us while we were sat in our car having lunch, the kingfisher slapping a fish on a branch to kill it, the lilac breasted rollers, the martial eagle and many others.
We thoroughly enjoyed our four days self driving in the Kruger, but it was a pleasant change to be driven on guided safaris for the remaining 6 days of our trip in the Sabie Sands and Klasserie reserves.
Luca Cambriglia
IT
Visited:
September 2017
Reviewed: Oct 17, 2017
Email Luca Cambriglia | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Days out of the world
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at Oliphant and Satara). I did gamedrives on both the sites, honestly I enjoyed more the ones at Satara, but in general the whole experience of Satara is more pleasant, mostly due to the people working in it: kindest and funniest persons ever. At Satara I've met what probably is the best spotter in the world: he spotted a chameleon, a spider and a tiny owl on trees in the sunset light while he was driving. Astonishing. We were really lucky with the weather. not a single day of rain, but a bit of fresh wind to cool down under the african sun. I'm trying to delete the memories of the food in those two camps: both restaurants were really bad, at Satara there is a pizza seller which is a bit better, but my advice is to try find something to eat in the stores. By the way all food it's not the most important part of a trip like this. The most important part are the animals and trust me when I say that i think Kruger park is the best for that, plenty of them and probably due to the high number of tourist they aren't scared by humans and seem to enjoy photos. You can check some images of my trip at this link https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucam96/
Philip
GB
Visited:
October 2016
Reviewed: Aug 9, 2017
Email Philip | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Excellent Trip
The Bridge at the Malanane entrance is a great place to spot birds and crocodiles and we spent quite a long time there.
I liked the way that you can drive yourself around and you are pretty much guaranteed to see wildlife. You probably may see a bit more if you go with a guide but there is so much to see that it is not essential to be guided around especially if you like your independence
The birdlife was pretty interesting with lots of species that you will never have seen before if you are a European.
The camp at lower sabe is a really nice place to stop for lunch as the open air restaurant looks out over the river and we saw hippo and giraffes while we ate our lunch.
We had brilliant stay at Pretorioskop
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in really smart bungalow accommodation. Not all the accommodation here is the same we were lucky to be in a really smart place that exceeded our expectations but there is accommodation of varying standards so if you want something smart it is best to check carefully what you will get for your money.I got some pretty good photographs and only had my 125mm lens with me. I really regretted not having my telephoto with me but was pretty pleased with quite a few of the photos I took
Overall a good couple of days
