Why visit Kruger National Park?

For the Big Five, and for how easy it is to reach them. An hour's flight from Johannesburg puts you in country where lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo all live, and the small lodges on the private side let you follow them off the road, in an open vehicle, with a guide who works that land every day. It pairs easily with a few days in Cape Town.

Is a private reserve better than staying in Kruger itself?

For a first safari, yes. The fences between the park and the western reserves came down in the 1990s, so much of the game is the same, but private guides may leave the road to follow it and vehicles are fewer. The park's own camps cost far less and suit those happy to drive themselves.

Is there malaria in Kruger?

Yes, so take advice before you go. Mosquitoes that carry malaria live in the park, and the risk is highest in the wet months from about October to April. A travel clinic can advise on tablets, and long sleeves and repellent at dusk matter in any season. Lodges are used to the question.

How many days do you need in Kruger?

Three nights at the least, and four or five if you can spare them. Each day gives you two drives, and the animals keep no timetable, so a short stay leans on luck. With a week, two lodges in different reserves make a better trip than one long stay, since the country and the guiding both change.

Boutique Hotels in Kruger, South Africa

Where to stay in Kruger

Our lodges are all small and all on the private side, so choose by reserve. In the Sabi Sand, Chitwa Chitwa is the giraffe's lodge, six suites and a villa on one of the reserve's largest waters, still run by the Brinks and hung with Maria Brink's art. In Balule, Pondoro has eight rooms on the Olifants and a Jacuzzi on each deck, and Robbie, who trained as an accountant, takes guests out himself, with heated beanbags on the seats for the cold mornings.

Near Hoedspruit, Kapama Karula has 12 suites over the Klaserie River, on land that Johann Roode bought in 1986 to graze Bonsmara cattle, a plan that lasted about a year. An almost invisible electric fence means nobody needs an escort to dinner. Members book at rates we hold for the Club. For a family or a party of friends, Makanyi has seven bedrooms in one house in the Timbavati, the reserve where white lions were found in the 1970s.

How a stay works

Lodge days follow the animals: a drive at first light, a long breakfast, the heat of the day in the shade, and a second drive into the dark with a stop for a drink. Bring a layer for the morning, when it is colder in an open vehicle than anyone expects. A walk on foot, where a lodge runs one, is worth asking for, since the same bush looks larger from the ground.

When to go, and how to get there

May to September is dry, the bush is thin and the animals stay close to water, so the viewing is at its easiest. The rains run from about October to April, when the country turns green, the young are born and the birds arrive. Hoedspruit's airport is about an hour by air from Johannesburg and serves Balule, Timbavati and Kapama; Skukuza is the airport for the Sabi Sand. The drive from Johannesburg takes five or six hours.