The Kruger National Park will leave you with memories that will last a lifetime.  This huge game reserve provides some of the most spectacular game viewing, and opportunities for visitors to get up close with Africa's awesome wildlife.

Your best opportunity to view wildlife is during the early mornings and late afternoons, when the game are at their most active - particularly the cats as the cooler hours of morning and afternoon (and into the night) are when the predators are 'on the hunt'.  During the midday heat, most of the wildlife tends to snooze and head for the shade.

Kruger is characterized by combinations of savannah, thornveld and woodland habitats.  The size of the Kruger Park is so vast (20 000 square kilometers!) that dependant upon where you are, your game experience will vary.  In a day's game drive a visitor can pass through three or four different eco-systems!

The far North of the park is remote and renowned for birding, plant life and large herds of elephant and buffalo, and here it is more difficult to find the big cats. With only one rest camp, Punda Maria, the remoteness of the north brings other rewards - notably less people!  The area is rich in archaeological remains, with examples such as the Thulamela Ruins at which mysterious golden artifacts have been found.

Slightly further south is Shingwedzi camp and here once again, elephant and buffalo abound, and cat viewing is good. The vegetation here is mopane shrubveld, stunted mopane trees and mopane bushveld.

The central areas of Kruger include the rest camps of Letaba and Oliphants, where visitors will enjoy great buffalo and giraffe sightings. The bushveld is punctuated by the Oliphants and Letaba rivers, and the vegetation is mopane bushveld and small kopjes (Granite outcrops). Riverine bush along the rivers attract hippos and crocodiles and the occasional black rhino. This area is also famous for its leopard sightings.

Around Satara is arguably the best game viewing, and this is particularly so for first time visitors to South Africa with limited time and the desire to see 'as much as possible', as Satara is surrounded by vast open savanna grasslands, and layers of marula and acacia trees, which attracts browsing and grazing animals, and the largest numbers of wildebeest and zebras occur.  This is some of the best lion country, and is also noted for excellent cheetah sightings.  The illusive black rhino also frequent this area, although they are still hard to find!

*** Thompsons Africa's private concession from which we run our Wolhuter Tented Safari, is just south of this camp (9km south).  Our camp is fabulously positioned to take in all the action!  With dynamic night activity and regular sightings of hyena, lion and cheetah.  Our tented safari receives rave reviews time and again for excellent game viewing and a 'real' bush experience.

The southern third of the park is the most accessible, and therefore is also very popular with tourists for the same reasons as described above - game viewing is very good, with regular sightings of the entire big five (elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion) due to the diverse bush, and abundance of waterholes and rivers.

A popular tourist route is referred to as the "Golden Triangle" between Skukuza main camp, Tshokwane and Lower Sabi, including the Sabi River, famous for herds of animals in winter, and cats all year round.

The impressive number of species conserved within the Kruger National Park will amaze you:
336 trees; 147 mammals; 507 birds; 49 fish; 34 amphibians; 114 reptiles. 

Thompsons Africa have offices based in Hazyview and in Malalane, with our own fleet of open vehicles we conduct daily game activities into Kruger.  We also offer a host of day activities around the fringes of the Kruger National Park, which will add spice to your itinerary - from cultural entertainment, to the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Eden, or perhaps you might even enjoy a day trip to Maputo in Mozambique.
Hazyview Day Tours, Safaris & Adventure Tours: closest Kruger Gate - Phabeni & Paul Kruger
Malalane Day Tours & Adventure Tours: closest Kruger Gate - Malalane

Thompsons Africa offer morning, afternoon and full day open safari vehicle game drives into the Kruger National Park.  A game drive with a professional ranger will bring you close to Africa's wildlife, as our rangers 'read' the signs of the bush,and they have a wealth of knowledge and experience that will keep you enthralled.  A good ranger will bring the 'bush to life'.
  
"I have not encountered a game ranger yet that is not absolutely passionate about the bush and about wildlife.  Every ranger I have met is in the job because of his love of wildlife! It is such an amazing experience learning about the nuances of the wild world from rangers who just love what they do!"  Fiona Gordon, Thompsons Media Inbound Division.

Your game drive is conducted in specially adapted vehicles, so that you are seated in an elevated position to appreciate good views of the bush and wildlife.  The vehicles are open so that you can be as close to the natural bush as possible.  Professional game rangers are always in radio contact with each other and will report good sightings to each other, therefore your chances of viewing wildlife are greatly improved.