Covering an area of over 7,500 square miles, Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa and is a South African National Park.
It spreads across both the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces in northeastern South Africa, extending 220 miles from north to south and 40 miles east to west. To the north lies Zimbabwe and to the east is Mozambique.
It became South Africa’s first national park in 1926, having first had areas protected by the government in 1898.
Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 147 mammals, 507 birds, 114 reptiles, 49 fish and 34 amphibians, according to the South African National Parks website.
Man’s interaction with the lowveld environment over many centuries – from bushman rock paintings to incredible archaeological sites like Masorini and Thulamela – is very evident in Kruger, which represent the cultures, persons and events that played a role in park’s history.
Few visitors leave South Africa without visiting the park or one of the private reserves along its borders, but it is also frequented by locals in their own vehicles, as you can drive yourself around and stay overnight in one of the many public rest camps. This includes 12 main rest camps, 2 bush lodges and 4 satellite camps.
To the north and south of the park are two rivers – the Limpopo River and the Crocodile respectively – which act as natural boundaries. The Lebombo Mountains lie to the east, separating it from Mozambique.
The park varies in altitude between 200 metres in the east and 840 metres in the south-west near Berg-en-Dal.
The closest cities to Kruger National Park in South Africa are Mbombela (formerly known as Nelspruit), which is a common gateway to the park located in the Mpumalanga province and Phalaborwa, located in the central part of the park.
Kruger’s climate is classed as a hot semi-arid climate, with hot and humid summers and temperatures of around 30C. The rainy season lasts from September until May.
All the big five game animals – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant and African buffalo – are found at Kruger, which has more species of large mammals than any other African game reserve. There are webcams set up to observe the wildlife.
It supports packs of endangered African wild dog, of which there are thought to be only about 400 in the whole of South Africa.
Kruger is home to several vulture species, including the White-backed, Lappet-faced and Hooded vulture, many of which are classified as Critically Endangered as a result of human actions including poisoning, loss of habitat and electrocution.
However, the Lappet-faced vulture is facing a new threat – not from humans, but from the local elephant population.
Elephants have now taken to pushing over the trees used for nesting by Lappets, but experts have been left baffled as to why this is happening.
Several Kruger safari tours are on offer, which range from exclusive private safaris to affordable group ventures.
