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We spent a week in and around Kruger National Park. We managed to have fabulous sightings of the Big 5: Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Buffalo as well as numerous other birds and mammals. We stayed in camps within Kruger, in small, self-contained huts known as Rondavels. The food we ate during our stay was hearty and delicious, perfect for a long day in the bush looking for wildlife. One of the highlights, besides the beautifully rugged landscape, was waking up to an early morning coffee at 5am before going out as dawn was breaking over the park to see what we could find. Simply wonderful! Naturetrek provide a a first-class experience. Nothing is too much trouble and their service is all geared up to give the traveller the best possible experience. We have been on trips with them to Ecuador, Poland and now South Africa and there will definitely be more trips with Naturetrek to come.
J.M. Hampshire, Oct 23
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South Africa - Kruger (Mammals)
Tour Code: ZAF04A 10-day mammal-watching tour to eastern South Africa, including six nights in the world famous Kruger National Park.
£3,395 (Inc flights)
£2,695
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
This action-packed mammal-watching safari focuses on the abundant wildlife within Kruger National Park, South Africa’s premier wildlife reserve. We break the journey to Kruger with a night in Dullstroom and the chance to look for Blesbok and Grey Rhebok on the surrounding montane grasslands. Crossing the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains we enter the world famous Kruger National Park where we split our 6-night stay between 3 different camps. Past tours have enjoyed sightings of over 40 species of mammal, including Lion, Leopard, African Wild Dog, White Rhinoceros, Nyala, Elephant and Southern Giraffe. Birdlife is also colourful and abundant and Kruger night drives open another world of nocturnal wildlife possibilities.
- Six nights in the world famous Kruger National Park
- Explore the upland grasslands of Dullstroom
- Up to 40 species of mammal typically recorded
- White Rhinoceros, Lion and African Wild Dog all possible
- Abundant and colourful birdlife
- Night drives in Kruger National Park
- Expertly guided by local South African naturalists
Grading
This is a traditional game viewing tour with no strenuous walking involved.About the region
Dullstroom, a small town three hours north-east of Johnannesburg, is our first stop on this tour. The habitat here is mainly montane grassland interspersed with rocky ridges and marshes (vleis).
The world famous Kruger National Park extends across almost 2 million hectares, and is roughly the size of Wales. Kruger holds a wonderful diversity of animal life. There’s a wide variety of habitats within Kruger including grassland and thornveld.
The tour ‘in a nutshell’
A 10-day tour to eastern South Africa, including six nights in the world famous Kruger National Park.
What mammals might I see?
Around Dullstroom we’ll look for Blesbok, Grey Rhebok and Mountain Reedbuck.
As we heard towards Satara, in the central region of Kruger National Park, we’ll look for Giraffe, Tsessebe, Waterbuck and White Rhino. Satara holds the highest density of Lions in the park due to the high numbers of Blue Wildebeest and Burchell's Zebra attracted by the lush grazing and open country. Leopards also occur in the area, as do Cheetah, Spotted Hyena and African Wild Dog. Other species we’ll hope to encounter include Elephant, Cape Buffalo and Greater Kudu. Optional night drives provide our best chance of finding African Wild Cat, Caracal and Serval, as well as Black-backed Jackal and Honey Badger.
Next we will stay at campsites on the Sabie River and among the mammals we’ll hope to find here are Sable Antelope, the tiny Steenbok and Common Duiker, as well as Vervet Monkeys. Genets are often encountered at night, Thick-tailed Bushbaby is common and can be located by its raucous call at night, while Peter’s Epauletted Fruit Bats roost in colonies in trees in the camp and are very vocal at night!
Anything else?
The beautiful Grey Crowned Crane and Blue Crane around Dullstroom.
In Kruger we may see breeding Lesser Masked Weavers, as well as Kori Bustard, African Spoonbill, African Green Pigeon and a variety of vulture species.
We’ll hope to see Cape Clawless Otters along the Sabie River.
Outline Itinerary
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation: Simple, comfortable tourist chalets and furnished en-suite tented accommodation
- Food:
Lunches and dinners are not included, and will be taken at the varied restaurants, shops and bars of Dullstroom and the Kruger rest camps. You are likely to spend £150-£200 on the tour on these meals, depending on your appetite! Breakfast is included.
Reviews
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We were picked up from the airport by our two guides JP LeRoux and Gavin Sims - both were informative and friendly. We drove to Dullestroom and had an excellent afternoon observing birds and mammals. We then went to Kruger for 6 nights - our guides pointed out a wide range of mammals, birds and plant species, showing excellent knowledge and observational skills. The camps were all excellent and contained a wide range of birds. The food in the camps was high quality and very reasonable in cost. My wife and I found both guides attentive, respectful and friendly throughout with a high degree of knowledge of both the animals and the best tracks to see them. Our highlights were seeing a pack of Wild Dogs, Leopards and a Serval. This was our first safari and we found it to be extremely exciting. We hope to be able to enjoy more wildlife holidays in the future. Naturetrek provided us with detailed information of the requirements we would need for our holiday. This included details of all of the equipment we would need, insurance necessary and even checklists of possible mammals and birds. They were extremely responsive to all of my questions.
A.B. Monmouthshire, Oct 23 -
There were six participants and a guide on our six night safari to the Kruger park. We stayed in three different camps getting a flavour of the various habitats through the south of the park. We had two safaris per day, the length of time determined by the sightings and destinations. Our guide was excellent and our tally for mammals sighted was34. Although billed as a mammal safari birds were not ignored and our bird tally was one hundred and seventy five. Highlights were seeing a pack of wild dogs; a leopard walking out in front of our vehicle and staying around us for nearly ten minutes, scent marking the roadside bushes, and rolling in the grass. A pride of lion causing quite a roadblock, but everything was viewed with a sense of wonder and plenty of time to soak up the bush atmosphere. A night drive taken with the park rangers (optional extra) gave us a view of the Milky Way whilst sitting and listening to the hippos and frogs at the water hole. Naturetrek is a tour operator specializing in providing experiences of nature around the world. The pre departure information was very comprehensive, and any questions either by email or phone were dealt with promptly.
R.H. Hampshire, Feb 23 -
Leon was absolutely excellent. His knowledge of wildlife was very good and his observation skills brilliant. Enjoyed the most - seeing a pride of lions 16 strong.
D.C. West Midlands, Mar 20 -
A family holiday based on our love of natural history and the great outdoors. A resounding successful safari to Africa with lots of family focused time together enjoying new experiences.
J.E. Alabama, Oct 19 -
All animal sightings were excellent, with so many highlights such as lions chasing a giraffe, lots of leopard sightings and elephants pushing down a tree and jostling with each other. I also learnt a lot of new information from the guides. Both guides were very knowledgeable, professional and fun to be with, making the whole week extremely enjoyable. I could not have wished for better. Everybody in the group was friendly and got on well with each other, I really could not have asked for a better group to share my holiday with. The guides were fantastic, even managing to find me a dung beetle! Africa never disappoints with regards to sightings, and overall this was the best trip I have had. I have never been so sad to come back home! The part that really made this holiday was the people I was with, including the guides. The animal sightings are always excellent on safari, but if you are with people who don't get on, it can ruin it. This group and the guides were the best company I have had on any trip, with everybody getting on. I really did not want it to end!
A.C. Cheshire, Oct 19 -
Warren and Richard were absolutely outstanding leaders. They were extremely knowledgeable and worked tirelessly to make our trip the best it could possibly be. They made the holiday a superb experience. All in all it was excellent value for money!
H.M. Norfolk -
The whole experience was better than anticipated - due in no small measure to the professionalism, dedication, knowledge and experience of our guides. The mammals, the scenery and countryside, particularly the riverside growth and the koppies were all that I wanted from South Africa. I shall go again!
E.S. Swansea -
We had our ten year old son with us and Warren and Martin were both fantastic at providing answers to his animal questions. It was great for him to have people who could give clear answers and follow up with other interesting facts - their passion for their subject was infectious and for the first time in my life I began to understand why my husband enjoys birding!
J.O. Gloucestershire -
Our guides Warren and Martin were extremely knowledgeable, informative, helpful and friendly. They both helped ensure our trip was well organised and thoroughly enjoyed!
E.R. Cardiff -
Both leaders were excellent ‘spotters’ of wildlife and Dave Steyn was particularly popular with his story telling of life in Africa with our grandchildren. Alan organised our comings and goings with great care. We also liked his sensitivity to the environment. We would be very happy to travel with either of them again and recommend them for a family group.
F.T. Hampshire -
Both tour leaders were incredibly knowledgeable and patient. No question was too basic for them. They made the trip highly enjoyable and informative, and also ensured that everything ran smoothly. I would recommend Naturetrek to everyone.
R.D. Cardiff -
Warren and Martin made South Africa come alive for us... The knowledge and skill that they both exhibited was amazing, their efforts to provide the maximum opportunity to see everything possible at the time were unceasing and totally successful.
R. & S.B. Birmingham -
The tour guides were fantastic, knowledgeable and deeply committed to African wildlife. I found it a good balance of mammals and the fabulous bird life abundant in the area.
M.G. Staffordshire -
We really appreciated our guide’s ability and willingness to pass on information about all the bird calls throughout the trip. He also shared with us lots of information on the history and culture of the areas we visited, clearly having much experience and knowledge of Kruger.
P.C. & P.C. Oxfordshire -
I took my 2 grandsons aged 13 and 7 years. Both enjoyed themselves tremendously. Our guides were excellent. John our guide had endless patience with both boys.
C.C. Hampshire -
Excellent leaders, well-filled itinerary, lots to see. As camp to camp was game driving all the way, very little time was ‘wasted’ getting from place to place.
E.L. Ayrshire
Dates & Prices
2024
2025
Why Naturetrek?
At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:
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