“Stop!” A traveller shouts from the back of the truck. “Over there, just above the bush on the left!”, the Nomad adventure truck comes to a halt and we all get up and move across to the side of the truck where he is frantically pointing. Right next to the road, a large gray ear flaps lazily in the afternoon heat. As we wait and watch, a large elephant wraps it’s trunk around a branch and pulls it gently down to it’s mouth. We notice then that there is more movement in the bushes just behind it and a small herd of elephants move into view of the twelve pairs of eager eyes staring down from the truck window. The herd is slowly congregating and preparing to cross the road just in front of us and had we not been in the elevated truck with 12 guests all looking out in different directions, we would have driven straight past this amazing spectacle.

Kruger National Park, one of South Africa’s most popular holiday destinations, offers some of the most exciting big five game viewing opportunities in Africa. This is a strong statement given that there are other extremely popular safari destinations such as the Serengeti and the Masai Mara in East Africa, however, there are a lot of reasons why you should take the time to visit all three of these spectacular national parks.

Kruger Park’s diversity and abundance of bird and animal life will ensure that you keep your eyes glued to the bush as you travel along the sealed roads and dirt tracks of the reserve. Kruger is also home to many endangered hunters such as the cheetah and the wild dog, and thanks to the excellent conservation endeavours of the National Park, these animals have the opportunity to roam freely and hunt at their leisure.

On Nomad’s Kruger adventure tour, we spend two full days on safari in the Southern regions of Kruger. The Southern region is where the Sabi River flows through the park, providing nourishment for the majority of 147 species of mammals and 507 species of birds, as well as numerous reptiles, fish and trees. It is the most popular section of the park as this is where most of the animal kingdom action takes place and where the big five can be spotted in quite a short amount of time.

When Nomad goes into Kruger National Park, we spend one day doing game drives in the Nomad overland truck. This allows for an elevation of approximately 4.5 meters above the ground which means that you have incredible views across the bush! We spend the majority of our time on sealed roads looking at animals that other people in their cars just can’t see, due to them being too low to the ground. On the second day in Kruger, if you have purchased the optional Activity Package, you get picked up early in the morning for a full day of game viewing in a small open top safari vehicle. You will join a network of dirt roads that ensure you get to witness Kruger’s wild animals “up close and personal”.

Before going into Kruger National Park, we also spend an evening at a private game reserve that borders Kruger. We spend the evening at KwaMadwala so that you can do a night game drive, experience local, cultural dancing and in the morning, head off on a nature walk to get closer to the smaller plants and animals that you may miss out on when you’re in the main park looking out for the big five.

On the last day of our Kruger overland tour, we travel back to Johannesburg along the spectacular Panorama Route. On this route you will marvel at the largest forested and green canyon in the world, the Blyde River Canyon. Best experienced in the dry winter months, the views stretch out across the escarpment and there are a number of points that we stop at to give you the best opportunity to photograph and to understand the massive grandeur of the canyon. With names like “Gods Window”, you can understand why these viewing points are so popular! We also visit the strangely eroded rock crevasses of “Bourke’s Luck Potholes” and the “Three Rondavels” which look like three little Zulu huts sitting atop the canyon.

The Kruger Experience is offered in both a camping and an accommodated option, and we stay in the heart of the Kruger Park itself. Kruger can also be experienced as part of a longer tour, for instance, on a South African Explorer Tour or a Discover Mozambique tour.

The variety of experiences that are offered on this tour, the exceptionally good value, and the ease of access from Johannesburg, mean that this tour is an absolute “must do” on everyone’s itinerary! Kruger is calling you, it’s time to get into the bush, put the work aside and get back to nature. Breathe in the smells, listen to the sounds, toast a marshmallow, tell a fireside story, watch a hunt, spot an endangered animal and meet some new friends with Nomad.

Two Nomad staff members, Miriam and Anna, travelled to Kruger National Park to celebrate their New Years holiday, read their blog about “again-tilopes”, very friendly elephants and a leopard kill!

If you would like to book a seat on this tour, please contact us on websales@nomadtours.co.za or call us on +27 (21) 426 5445

Camping:

The Kruger Big 5 Safari (The ultimate Kruger adventure tour!)
South African Explorer (you can do this tour in a North or South direction and you can choose to do sections of the tour too!)
Discover Mozambique (Included in this tour is Swaziland, Kruger and the Mozambique coast)
Delta, Chobe and Kruger (There can be no better combination! Okavango Delta, Chobe River, Victoria Falls and Kruger National Park – all in one tour!)
Cape to Kruger

Accommodated:

Classic Kruger Adventure Tour (The accommodated version of the ultimate Kruger Park adventure tour!)
South African Explorer (you can do this tour in a North or South direction and you can choose to do sections of the tour too!)
Mozambique in Comfort (Included in this tour is Swaziland, Kruger and the Mozambique coast)
Delta, Chobe and Kruger (There can be no better combination! Okavango Delta, Chobe River, Victoria Falls and Kruger National Park – all in one tour!)
Cape to Kruger