A highly recommended "Must-do" safari option would be the Kruger and Sabi Sand Tented Safari within the Kruger National Park – a unique fully escorted camping safari which repeatedly receives rave reviews. But this is no ordinary camping trip – even though under canvas and on a remote private site within Kruger – for you will be superbly cared and catered for by the staff and chef on site, and will not have to participate in any camp duties. Daily morning and afternoon open safari vehicle game drives and a nightcap around the camp fire with the sounds of the wild pressing close, will provide memories of a lifetime.
The map indicates private reserves and National Parks throughout South Africa. From one province to the next, a safari experience will be entirely different. The southern Kruger National Park is a lush and green environment and home to the ‘Big Five’, whereas the St Lucia Wetlands (iSimangaliso Wetland Park), a World Heritage Site, showcases an estuarine and coastal environment of a totally different terrain. Here one can search for leatherback and loggerhead turtles on night beach forays as these amazing animals return each year to lay their eggs. Close to St Lucia lies the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park that also lays claim to the ‘Big Five’.
In the Eastern and Western Cape the environment changes to scrub grasslands and fynbos where one can view the ‘Big Seven’, whales and great white sharks literally viewed off shore or by unobtrusive boat excursions. The remote Northern Cape holds an allure all of its own. The desert wildlife safari is highly recommended not only for the unusual wildlife, but also for the utterly mesmerising desert landscape of red earth, incredible rock formations and wide open spaces –
a treat in itself.
Shuttle Service
Thompsons Touring & Safaris offers a daily shuttle service between Johannesburg and Hazyview. This is a cost effective option to transfer to the Kruger National Park. In KwaZulu-Natal a scheduled shuttle service runs between Durban and Hluhluwe, a cost effective way to get to the big game parks in northern
KwaZulu-Natal.
Hazyview Shuttle - departs daily
Departure times from Johannesburg:
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07h00 from Sandton Hotels
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08h00 from the Intercontinental Airport Sun at OR Tambo International Airport (Johannesburg)
Departure times from Hazyview:
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12h30 from Perry's Bridge Trading Post (Hazyview)
Hluhluwe Shuttle - departs on a Tue, Wed, Fri & Sun
Departure times from Durban:
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09h30 from Durban International Airport
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09h00 from Durban City Hotels
Departure times from Hluhluwe:
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13h00 from Protea Hotel Hluhluwe
As the shuttle only arrives back in Johannesburg / Durban at approximately 19h00 / 16h00 respectively, we recommend that clients do not book any connecting flight earlier than 21h00 in Johannesburg or 18h00 in Durban, on the same day.
All passengers are required to pay a Conservation Levy per person upon entering any National Park in South Africa. The levy is used by National Parks to maintain roads, paths, fences, bridges, camps, etc within the reserve and also to assist in conservation efforts undertaken by the National Parks of South Africa. Clients staying outside the National Park and entering the park in their own hired cars will be charged a daily Conservation Levy. One can access the park throughout the day on this ‘ticket’. Clients staying within the National Park will be required to pay this levy per night.
Kruger as in the case of all the National Parks in South Africa is a great 'do it yourself' wilderness experience. The roads are well maintained and the facilities within the Park are good. Designed so that visitors can discover the 'magic within', so to speak, entirely at your own pace, with map in hand, venturing forth in your own vehicle to experience this wild and beautiful wilderness sanctuary. One can comfortably self drive throughout the Kruger National Park, perhaps even staying at different rest camps the length of the Park, to experience the variety of flora, fauna and wildlife that Kruger has to offer.
The Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve The renowned Sabi Sand is one of the oldest and largest proclaimed private reserves in South Africa. Well-known for fantastic leopard sightings, this fact alone being testimony to the incredible wildlife experience that this healthy, game-rich area has to offer.
The Timbavati Game Reserve The vast terrain of the Timbavati enables the wide ranging and rare wild dog to thrive. Another rarity to the area was announced in the early 1970s, with the birth of majestic white lions. By 1992 the last white lion had disappeared, most likely killed by other lions. More recently however, in May 2006, an awesome sighting of a lioness with two white lion cubs has once again confirmed their presence in the area.
In both of these incredible game reserves, you will not only experience heart-racing encounters with Africa’s ‘Big Five’ – elephant, lion, rhino, buffalo and leopard – but a spectacular variety of other wildlife species... not to mention the astounding diversity of birdlife. These parks also share an unfenced border with the Kruger National Park and we refer to these reserves as being a part of the ‘Greater Kruger National Park’.
The Hluhluwe (Pronounced Shu-shluwi) / Imfolozi Park is located 2.5hours north of Durban, in the heart of Zululand. It is the oldest game reserve in Africa, and one of the largest in South Africa, having been established in 1895 to protect the White Rhino, which was on the brink of extinction.
The reserve is steeped in rich cultural & conservation history, with Zulu battles having been fought here, and the hilly bushveld of the Imfolozi section having once been the private hunting ground King Shaka, King of the Zulus, and is home to the "Big Five" as well as cheetah, wild dog, hyena and all other general game species.
The Northern region of the park is accessed through the Memorial Gate, and the visitor enters straight into big game territory. The park is hilly, and you can expect to see all manner of game on the hillsides. The well known Hilltop Camp is located in this part of the park, and offers glorious views of the park.
The Southern Region of the park is the Imfolozi region. The Black and the White Imfolozi rivers run through this area of the park. This area is less busy, and the river beds provide for wonderful gameviewing, as well as being the area in which the wilderness section is located. The central camp in this part of the park is Mpila Camp, offering good quality self catering accommodation.
Within the Southern (Imfolozi) section of the park is the wilderness area. This covers 30 000 hectares and cannot be accessed by road. As a nature experience, there can be no comparison to taking one of the wilderness trails !
The Madikwe Game Reserve, just north of the Pilanesberg National Park and right up against the border of Botswana, is the fourth largest reserve in South Africa. Bordered in the south by the Dwarsberg Moun-tains, the reserve comprises 60 000 hectares of mostly bushveld, dotted with rocky hills. Madikwe conserves all the main African game species and has the second largest elephant concentration in South Africa, after the Kruger National Park. Madikwe is well-known for the nearly extinct African wild dog.
The Eastern Cape boasts a wealth of flora and fauna, with a wonderful range of animal species including the ‘Big Five’ (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo). The Addo Elephant National Park was proclaimed in 1931, to save the last of the Cape elephant from extinction, and is now the most concentrated elephant reserve in Africa. However the boundaries of this originally small park are growing and many exclusive private game reserves now form part of the Greater Addo Elephant National Park.
Please Note: All tours and packages are based on a minimum of two passengers
travelling together, unless otherwise stated. Single rates apply to
singles travelling with other passengers.
All rates are subject to change at any time without notice.
