Guided Kruger Park Safari

Monday 18th – Saturday 23rd
MAY 2026

Monday 18th : Johannesburg to Orpen Rest Camp
Tuesday 19th : Orpen Rest Camp to Satara Rest Camp
Wednesday 20th : Satara Rest Camp
Thursday 21st : Satara Rest Camp to Skukuza Rest Camp
Friday 22nd : Skukuza Rest Camp
Saturday 23rd : Skukuza Rest Camp to Johannesburg

We Leave Johannesburg early, and head east on the N12 and N4 highways.

We bypass Witbank (eMalahleni since 2006, meaning ‘place of coal’) and Middelburg, with our first planned stop at Alzu Petroport – a highway service station with toilets and shops, and where you’ll get your first sight of Africa’s wildlife, a little later.
Alzu is a family run agricultural group that is involved in every step of the supply chain, and they’ve built this service station on one of their game breeding farms.

Shortly after, we turn off the N4 at Belfast (renamed eMakhazeni – ‘the cold place’), and head north on the R540.

Dullstroom (Dullstroom-Emnothweni – ‘place of prosperity’) is the first town we pass through. Famous for its trout fishing, this is a very popular weekend getaway from Johannesburg.

After Dullstroom, we pass through Lydenburg ‘Town of Suffering’ (now Mashishing – ‘long green grass’) and then follow the R36 to the small farming village of Ohrigstad,

Shortly after Ohrigstad, we leave the R36, and turn onto the R532 which follows the very scenic ‘Panorama Route’,

We’ll stop and visit the Three Rondavels viewpoint and Bourke’s Luck Potholes, before backtracking to the R36.

Back on the R36, we climb the Abel Erasmus Pass, pass through the JG Strijdom Tunnel, and drop into the ‘Lowveld’ – often referred to as the ‘Bushveld’.

For a short while we’ll follow the Olifants River – which we crossed earlier.
Our next town is Hoedspruit.

Hoedspruit’s popularity and economy are built on its close proximity to the Kruger National Park.
From here it should be south on the R40 and east on the R531 to Orpen Gate, but due to a washaway on the Orpen Road shortly after leaving the R40, we have an interesting, six additional km. detour through Acornhoek!

Once back on the R531, Orpen Gate and the Reception is a short 31 kms away through big game country.

The entrance gate and the reception are just a stone’s throw from our chalet for the night.

Orpen Rest Camp has a shop, and a swimming pool, but the camp itself is small and quiet.
The bungalows are spacious and comfortable, and most overlook an illuminated waterhole close to the fence.

Today we travel from Orpen Rest Camp to Satara Rest Camp.

The drive passes through broken thornveld and rocky outcrops, with the open water of Nsemani Pan close to Satara.

Check in at Satara by 4.00pm.
Sunset Drive booked for 4.30pm

Game viewing is in the H1.

Satara, one of Kruger’s old, original camps, is big and is busy – but it is in a very good game viewing area.
The bulk of the accommodation is set out the way camps were designed in the early days – a series of large circles all facing one another!
It has a very good shop and restaurant, deli, laundromat and a swimming pool.
The camp’s accommodation is in the process of being renovated, but it’s possible we will be in one of the older rondavels

Game viewing in the H1.
It’s your holiday – you decide what times you’d like to be on the road.

Can I suggest we have lunch at the N’wanetsi Picnic Site and visit the Sweni Hide

We leave Satara in a south-westerly direction for Skukuza – the largest camp in the Park.

We’ll be driving through ‘Big Cat’ country for most of the way.
We’ll visit the lookout at Orpen Dam and stop at Tshokwane picnic site.

The area around Skukuza is characterised by a flat, open terrain with dense thorny thickets and ‘sweet’ grasses, which attract large numbers of browsers and grazers.

Skukuza is Kruger’s biggest and busiest camp – but never feels that way.
It has a very good shop, a number of restaurants, ATM, bank, post office and medical doctor.
It features three swimming pools, a library/museum, spa and a 9-hole golf course.

Again, we’ll probably be in one of the old rondavels, despite major renovations going on around us!

Today I’ll be driving/guiding from our own Open Safari Vehicle

I’m keen to drive the H4-1 (Lower Sabie Road), which follows the Sabie River and passes Nkuhlu picnic site and then Lower Sabie Rest Camp.
We can start when it suits us, and should return the vehicle by about 4.00pm.
This gives us a full day to explore, at our own pace, from an open vehicle.

We’ll have a braai for supper.

All good things come to an end, and this is our last morning in Kruger!
We say goodbye to Skukuza – but have a final stop at Afsaal Picnic Site before leaving through Malelane Gate.

Rhinos were all over the park, until the scourge of poaching, drastically reduced their numbers.
I’d like to drive a few roads in the south in  the hope of finding them.

Once out of the Park, we follow the N4 Highway basically all the way home.
We’ll have stops on the way – with planned stops at Joubert en Seuns and Milly’s.

Joubert & Seuns (Joubert and Sons) is a family business started in 1966.
The original farming was maize, but is today a major exporter of Macadamia nuts and citrus.
Their fresh orange juice is world famous!

Millys is a family run business that was founded in 1974, with a roadside stall selling trout.
Today it’s a major landmark known for its equally world famous premium smoked trout and farm-style food.

We pass the Berg-en-Dal Monument, and shortly after that we retrace our earlier route, home.

From here it’s roughly a 3 hour drive back to Johannesburg.

Weather

The whole of Kruger is in a summer rainfall area, and rain usually falls in short, sharp, heavy downpours.

The eastern side of Kruger is only 200m (650 ft) above sea level despite it being more than 100 kms. or so (60 mi) from the Indian Ocean coast.

The resultant summer months (October to April) are wet and hot, and often humid.

Winters on the other hand are dry, warm and mild.

Malaria

Kruger National Park and the surrounding private game reserves are all in a malaria risk area
Mosquitos are more prevalent in the hot, wet summer months – October to April

Consult your GP or travel doctor for advice.

Certain anti-malarials drugs (such as Doxycycline and Atovaquone-proguanil) can be bought over the counter at pharmacies, without a doctor’s prescription, in South Africa.

Use mosquito repellent, wear long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, and socks during dawn and dusk.
I use Tabard Lotion (which I prefer) and Tabard Aerosol (very convenient) which contain DEET and can last up to 8 hours.

Most accommodation in Kruger is fitted with bug screens or air-conditioners, which help reduce risk.

South African Malaria Advice
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases : https://www.nicd.ac.za/malaria
24-hour malaria hotline : +27 (0)82 234-1800
SANParks malaria information : +27 (0)13 735-5638

UK Malaria Advice
NHS UK : https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/malaria/

USA Malaria Advice
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/hcp/clinical-guidance/general-treatment.html

CDC Malaria Hotline : +1 770-488-7788

Office : +27 (0)11 788-6066
Mobile : +27 (0)83 399-6778
WhatsApp : +27 (0)83 399-6778
E-mail : wiggie@whyjoburg.co.za