We were in a dilemma when planning our animal safari / game drive experience at Kruger Park, South Africa. After researching the different options, we decided that booking a safari package was a good idea for our first visit to the Kruger National Park instead of doing a self-drive tour.
In this post, we share information from our experience which turned out to be so good that we never wanted to leave.
Safari Package and Cost – we booked with Africa Spears and it turned out to be an excellent choice. The package for 3 Days 2 Nights costed us US$ 1,000, which included pick-up and drop-off at the airport, accommodation inside the park, breakfasts and dinners (no lunch) and 2 full-day safaris. The service was good, the guide was well informed and everything went hassle free.
Airport Transfers – we landed in Johannesburg and from there Kruger Park is a good 400 km. As we needed to get to Kruger the same day, we were glad the safari package included airport pick-up.
On the way back, after exiting Kruger Park, we took a flight out to Cape Town from Nelspruit in place of Johannesburg. This saved us from an unnecessary long drive and a good few hours as Nelspruit airport is much closer to drive down to, from Kruger. Do note that there are no daily flights from here, so plan accordingly.
Accommodation and Food – our first stay was at the Skukuza rest camp and the second night was at Berg-en-Dal rest camp, inside the park. Both camps had nice restaurants which was quite a pleasant surprise. They also had everyday needs store and a quick service food counter selling small bites such as sandwiches and snacks. The cottages were basic but had everything you would need – a queen size bed, hot water, air conditioning and a kitchen with basic utensils in case you wanted to prepare your own meals. You could also barbeque as certain camps had bbq pits as well.
Breakfasts were pretty special at cafes inside the park where you could sip over coffee looking down across the river for example. If you are lucky, you could even spot animals as they come for a drink from the stream.
Safari Experience and Game Spotting – the whole experience was really awesome! We were in an open jeep at a slight elevation rather than inside a low closed vehicle. An open jeep felt far more adventurous to us, rather than a regular car. Our guide was very good in spotting animals otherwise easily missed by the untrained eye. He also shared information on animal behaviour, bird and plant species and other facts and trivia. Besides, he knew his way around in the jungle for things like where to stop for breakfast/lunch or a loo break.
We weren’t lucky enough to spot all the Big 5 but we did spot 4/5. We saw four male lions casually cross the road right in front of our vehicle, which was pretty special. Then a herd of elephants, a huge make tusker crossing the road, a group of wild buffaloes grazing away, several rhinos, plenty of giraffe, zebras, wildebeests, scores of impalas and even crocs and hippos.
Watch our safari vlog here and you might end up booking that ticket to Africa! Tell us what you you spot at 3:50 mins. If you enjoyed it, do hit subscribe on our YouTube channel.
Happy spotting the Big 5 folks! Waka Waka 🙂
