Advise needed for Kruger visit

[ActionBob]

Hey fellows;
My wife and I plan to take 3 days to tour Kruger before our hunt in early November. We fly into Polokwane and will drive over the next morning to enter through Phalaborwa. So we have that day and need a place to stay that night, then a full day and another night in or near Kruger and head back to Polokwane on the 3rd day to spend the night there and be picked up by our PH the following morning.

So a couple questions;
After entering the Phalaborwa gate, should we head to the North or towards the South?

How far is reasonable to get for the first night and where do you recommend we stay?

What should we plan for that full day and then where should we stay that night realizing we need to be back in Polokwane the third night.

Anything else I am forgetting?

Thanks all!
Bob

 

[watman]

I can't give you directions but we stayed in Kruger and you have to be in the camp by a certain time... for us I wanted to say it was 6PM after that they lock the gate. I was also surprised at how little KM we covered as we constantly wanted to stop and watch an animal or take a side road.

 

[bluey]

cant tell you where to go ,bob
but if you kids have your firearms with you while staying in the park ,its best you let them know before you enter the park .

 

[spekieries]

Bob

Driving North from Phalaborwa gate you will drive into Mopane Bushveld. During November I would imagine the Mopane's would have leave coverage especially after the rains has fallen. In the Pretoria area at the time of writing it is still very dry. Mopane veld is renowned for elephant and browsers like kudus. However if the mopanes have leaves it is often like driving down a tunnel whereby your vision is obscured by the foliage.

I would visit Letaba rest camp. The big tusk museum is worth a visit. There after I would turn my cars nose South and drive in the direction of Olifants Rest Camp. Great view from the camp over the Olifants River. A sleep over in a bungalow in Olifants would be nice.

Then Drive to Satara rest camp. My favorite, not because of its beauty but for the mere reason that this the area with the bigest variety of game due to the variety of veld. Grasslands and bushveld inter mingle and this is the area where you will find the most big cats. After I have done some game viewing and sleep over in the area the following day I will turn my cars nose South again.

My last sleep over will be Berg and Dal rest camp. A bit close to civilization with views of adjacent farms. In the rest camp you will not see the farming areas. This area is dotted with granite koppies ( small mountains). This is Rhino and leopard area.

Tip: In the rest camps there is an information center where people indicates sightings with colored pins representing different species of game seen. Visit these places to see which roads where the most productive. I enjoy leaving the rest camp when the gate opens in the morning. Often you are in luck to see the last movement of nocturnal animals back to den sites or burrows.

This is what I will do. Enjoy Kruger I always do. However I am a camper making my camp right against the fence. Take a good torch and take a walk to the fence perimeter at night after supper. Usually you will meet the resident Hyena patrolling the fence for scraps. Often while camping animals like Genet's and Civets are encountered at night next to the fences.

 

[ActionBob]

Wow thanks for the info! Very helpful.

 

[James.Grage]

Bob, you will need to have your lodging reservations made in advance.

What was Recommended to me was that you drive to your lodging and check in and then go out scouting for game.

Also, meal planning.. you will need to have lunched packed or see if the lodging will make you a pack lunch to take with you when you check out.

Firearms, you will need to let them know you have rifles and ammo when traveling in the park. Make sure you have your SA520 with your rifle.

As mentioned, their is a curfew for lodging location in the park, have a phone that works and a contact number in case you have issues making the curfew. This was usually well be for sundown.

Good maps are difficult to come by, however maybe someone on here could guide you in the right direction. I went to Barns & Noble and looked at what they had. Also there is a map store on line that has some good maps of Africa. Seattle had a great map store and maps from around the world and knew where to get the best maps.

Valuables, make sure you have them secured, and out of sight. There have been mugging of vacationers who tend to look like they have items of wealth with them.

 

[ActionBob]

James;
Thanks for all the pointers. We do tend to look like a couple of bums when we are traveling. Do you think it is any worse in Kruger than in the EC or Cape Town?

 

[slad68]

http://www.krugerpark.com/maps/?gclid=CPSx8L-YpcECFaYIwwodSG4A-g

 

[jeffpg]

I was taken on a one day tour by Koos Moulder of Spear Safaris just this past Monday, and really can't help you as much as the guys have already here and will surely continue to, but I had a great time there and hope you do as well!

 

[Wheels]

Bob

Driving North from Phalaborwa gate you will drive into Mopane Bushveld. During November I would imagine the Mopane's would have leave coverage especially after the rains has fallen. In the Pretoria area at the time of writing it is still very dry. Mopane veld is renowned for elephant and browsers like kudus. However if the mopanes have leaves it is often like driving down a tunnel whereby your vision is obscured by the foliage.

I would visit Letaba rest camp. The big tusk museum is worth a visit. There after I would turn my cars nose South and drive in the direction of Olifants Rest Camp. Great view from the camp over the Olifants River. A sleep over in a bungalow in Olifants would be nice.

Then Drive to Satara rest camp. My favorite, not because of its beauty but for the mere reason that this the area with the bigest variety of game due to the variety of veld. Grasslands and bushveld inter mingle and this is the area where you will find the most big cats. After I have done some game viewing and sleep over in the area the following day I will turn my cars nose South again.

My last sleep over will be Berg and Dal rest camp. A bit close to civilization with views of adjacent farms. In the rest camp you will not see the farming areas. This area is dotted with granite koppies ( small mountains). This is Rhino and leopard area.

Tip: In the rest camps there is an information center where people indicates sightings with colored pins representing different species of game seen. Visit these places to see which roads where the most productive. I enjoy leaving the rest camp when the gate opens in the morning. Often you are in luck to see the last movement of nocturnal animals back to den sites or burrows.

This is what I will do. Enjoy Kruger I always do. However I am a camper making my camp right against the fence. Take a good torch and take a walk to the fence perimeter at night after supper. Usually you will meet the resident Hyena patrolling the fence for scraps. Often while camping animals like Genet's and Civets are encountered at night next to the fences.

Don't ya just love AH.

Ask a question and get a detailed answer from a person half way around the world with knowledge of the subject!

All the best.

 

[AZDAVE]

Bob after our safari on the eastern cape we did a 4 day photo safari in Kruger, we stayed at http://www.jocksafarilodge.com/propertydefault.asp?MicroSiteID=5
Can highly reccommend them. We set our stay up through Gracy Travel as part of our whole trip.

 

[James.Grage]

Hey fellows;
My wife and I plan to take 3 days to tour Kruger before our hunt in early November. We fly into Polokwane and will drive over the next morning to enter through Phalaborwa. So we have that day and need a place to stay that night, then a full day and another night in or near Kruger and head back to Polokwane on the 3rd day to spend the night there and be picked up by our PH the following morning.

So a couple questions;
After entering the Phalaborwa gate, should we head to the North or towards the South?

How far is reasonable to get for the first night and where do you recommend we stay?

What should we plan for that full day and then where should we stay that night realizing we need to be back in Polokwane the third night.

Anything else I am forgetting?

Thanks all!
Bob

Action Bob

Drive down to Barnes and Nobel and purchase the latest edition of "Travel Africa" it has a segment on Kruger Park.
Where to stay, where to stop and and what to do. Or do it on line if you do not have one close by.