Kruger National Park

Last July we went to Kruger National park in South Africa for a 2 week stay.  Check out the images

Kruger is a conundrum for the wildlife photographer. It gets a bad rep for the amount of tourists and bitumen roads but as we found a lot of this is undeserved.

Admittedly it’s not the Masai Mara or the remoteness of Zambia or the exclusivity of a private reserve but it does have something very cool.

The thrill of self discovery.

Until this point we have always been on "proper" safaris, your guide drive you about in your landrover looking for lovely wildlife to take photos of. The guide finds the animals and is in charge of safety. This is all great fun but there is something to be said for self drive. Even in Kruger with its bitumen roads and other tourists, you get a real sense of freedom driving yourself around.

The Pros:

• The exhilaration of making your own discoveries.


• If you want to spend 2 hrs watching a lion sleep you can!

Getting Kruger specfic:

• It’s easy to get around, no 4wd skills needed.


• Its well sign posted, you won't get lost.


• The animals are use to cars so they don't run a mile when they see you.


• The various forms of accommodation in the camps are cheap for what you get and there’s a range for every budget.


• You can do ranger led walks, and game drives from the camps.


• There are some very good hides scattered about the place.


• The park is huge, with plenty of different habitats and has plenty of animals.

The Cons:

• It can be very busy but in July we still managed to find out of the way roads and got sightings of cats to ourselves.


• Most cat sightings are a nightmare of vehicles. Just move on, if you are there long enough you are highly likely to get your own cat eventually.


• No open vehicles for the general public, this makes shooting a challenge at times (unless you are use to shooting from a car).


• They could do with more places where you can get out of your car, preferably with toilets. This would cut down the amount of toilet paper you find in the quieter spots!


• The bush can be rather dense in some areas making clear shots difficult.

I would not recommend Kruger as your first African safari, if you can afford the more upmarket options. If you are on a budget or it’s your first taste of self drive its excellent value and highly recommended. 

We will be going again, in a different time year to see the changes. You could almost say I am addicted!!