Greater Kruger National Park

South Africa’s world-famous Kruger National Park is one of the best places to view the Big 5 – lion, leopard, Cape buffalo, elephant and rhino. Affectionately known as the ‘People’s Park’, it offers everything from budget-friendly accommodation to 5-star luxury in one of world’s warmest, most welcoming safari destinations.

Located in South Africa’s northeast, Kruger is the largest game reserve in the country (about the same size as Israel) and supports a high density of wild animals. Nearly 2 million hectares of land – stretching for 352 kilometres along the Mozambique border – is given over to an almost indescribable wilderness experience.

Kruger now forms part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park – a 35 000km2 ‘peace park’ that links Kruger with game parks in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Fences are already coming down to allow game to freely roam historic migratory routes in much the same way it would have done in time gone by.

This is the land of baobabs, fever trees, knob thorns, marula and mopane trees underneath which lurk the Big Five, the Little Five (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tortoise, ant lion and rhino beetle), the birding Big Six (ground hornbill, kori bustard, lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, Pel’s fishing owl and saddle-bill stork) and 147 species of mammals, from giraffes to hyena and kudu to hippopotamus.

Highlights In Greater Kruger National Park

  • Enjoy early morning, late afternoon and even night-time game drives in open safari vehicles
  • Visit Hoedspruit’s Endangered Species Centre, one of South Africa’s leading private research and breeding facilities for endangered species, especially cheetah and African wild dog
  • Take a day trip to the spectacular Blyde River Canyon, the third-largest canyon on earth
  • Explore the intricacies of the African wilderness on bush walks, safely led by an armed game ranger and tracker