Kruger Safari & Victoria falls

We are going to SA in October. I have done extensive research on the subject and would be glad to share what I've learned so far, and how we plan to proceed.

1. We are renting a car and driving from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park. From all accounts, it should take about 5 hours to get there.

2. We are doing a self-drive though the park rather than booking a safari. I've read that you can see just as much that way as through a pre-booked safari. We are also booking accommodations for several rest camps through the SANParks website. They have all of the information that you need to plan your safari, inlcuding gate times and availibility at each of the camps.

I haven't planned the Victoria Falls part of the trip yet, but I am thinking of flying there rather than drive. I hear it is difficult to do so.

Travelmaven is doing it the right way. Hire a car in Johannesburg, drive to the Kruger Park - it is about 4 1/2 hours to the nearest (south-western) entrance gates and about 7 hours to Orpen and Phalaborwa gates. Book in advance if you have not already done so, or at least have a look at the Sanparks web-site [www.sanparks.org.parks/kruger] and check the accommodation availability for the period that you plan to be there. If it looks as though it is getting full (you will be here during the school holidays and at the height of the Christmas / New year season) book if you still can.
My suggestion would be that you enter at Phalaborwa entrance gate, spend a night at Leataba, 2 nights at Satara, and 1 night at Lower Sabie. Then exit through Crocodile Bridge gate next to the Mozambican border or drive to Skukuza or Pretoriuskop for a 5th night and exit at Phabeni gate near Pretoriuskop. Of course, the reverse itinerary would bring you out at Phalaborwa, which would be further north and hence closer to Zimbabwe than Crocodile Bridge or the other southern entrances.
I would also suggest that you book a sunset drive (as opposed to a night drive) and an early morning guided bush walk from a camp where you are spending two nights (i.e. during the one full day on which you will not be driving to the next camp).
It is easy enough to drive to Vic Falls, but it will take two or three days to get there from the Kruger Park. The Beit Bridge border crossing is not always the most pleasant and you might consider going around through Botswana instead of driving through Zimbabwe.

Hello everybody!
I plan to do pretty much the same. Arriving at Cape Town on november 24th and leaving from Johannesburg november the 30th (we would like to go from one city to the other by land, what would you recommend? bus? train?) All I want to do is seeing animals. I plan to go to Kruger as well. Do I really need to rent a car from Johannesburg or: are there any buses running? What about moving inside the Park without a car? Is it feasible? Is it cheaper? Or could end up being more expensive? We are two people on a really tight budget.
Thanks so much in advance!
Buen viaje y buona follia!

Inés

Rudik - Thanks so much for your feedback. I have another question. How long would it take for us to drive the Panorama route from Johannesburg, enter the Pheloborwa gate and drive to Olifants rest camp? Can that be done in one day, or is it advisable to go to one of the southern camps first. i.e., Prektoriuskop, and then make our way up to Olifants?

The link that I used for SANPark was copied and pasted right from their website.

Last year a couple of friends and I drove up to Kruger, then back to Jo'burg where we had tickets with South African Airways to Livingstone. It was quick and easy!

Now I don't understand. I wrote a lomgish reply and posted it last night, but this morning it has disappeared. I will try again.

Inés:
You have very little time and you will not see many animals on your way from Cape Town to Johannesburg unless you stop at game farms or game reserves along the way. Along the direct route it is 1400 km by road between those two cities and it will take you a good 13hours or more to get to Johannesburg. With your limited time I suggest you fly. Try Mango, Kulula or 1time - those are the no-frills air-lines in South AFrica.
There is no public transport inside the Kruger Park. The parks board do have game drives from the various camps - morning, sunset and night drives are available, but they come at a price and they will not take you from one camp to another. You can hire a car in Johannesburg, Nelspruit or even in Skukuza and then self-drive in the park. The only other option is to join a safari for a few days - try Livingtone Trails, or Nelspruit backpackers,

Travelmaven:
From Johannesburg to Phalaborwa gate is a good 7 hour drive. From that entrance gate to Olifants is another +/- 90 km. The speed limit inside the park is 50kph on tar roads and you can reckon on an average speed of 1/2 of that unless you plan not to stop to look at the animals. (I cannot believe that you will simply drive past a pride of lions and pretend they did not exist, or try to insist that a herd of buffalo or a family of elephants get out of your way as you are in a hurry). So allow another 3 hours inside the park to get to Olifants (that camp is particularly awkward to use for your first night in the park). Besides that you would want to spend a few hours checking out the sights of the Mpumalanga Panorama route - otherwise there would be no point in going there. I would recommend that you spend a night at either SAbie or at Graskop, or at the Blyde River canyon and give yourself time to stop and smell the roses.
I would also NOT recommend driving all the way from Pretoriuskop to Olifants in one day - I prefer to try to keep the distances between successive camps in Kruger down to 100 km or less. I do not always succeed, though, but Pretoriusjop to Olifants is simply a long hot day's drive without having time to enjoy watching the animals. And driving through the heat of mid-day is in Kruger is extremely trying.
I had not checked the link you used when I posted the full address. You are, of course, quite right. That does lead one to a page on the Parks Board web-site.
From your question, you do not seem to have reservations in Kruger yet. I have a feeling that you are in Johannesburg at present and if that is so, I suggest you either phone or go to Reservations House in Blackheath to make your bookings. They do only Parks Board bookings.

Thanks so much for your information. This helps me to further refine my plans. I am not in Johannesburg yet. I don't get there until early next month. However, I plan on making reservations via the SANPark website before I arrive in Johannesburg. Judging from the availability on the site, there is not much left, so I should act fast. I now have a clearer picture of the direction that I should take.

Why don't you fly out from Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (Nelspruit) MQP to Livingstone (Victoria Falls) direct with SA Airlink saves you time by not driving back to JNB or all the way to Zimbabwe/Zambia. You can fly from there back to JNB and onwards to Cape Town.
So suggest you hire a car in JNB do a self drive safari through Kruger then fly up to LVI, taxis are plentiful and cheap, and then fly via JNB to CPT. Flying saves you a bit of time, since roads outside SA are not the best.

Hi to one and all,
Thanks to one and all, for all the sound advice. I think we'll do the self drive with hired car from JNB. then fly to Livingstone( Vic Falls) and back to JNB. So now the Question is Where to enter and exit to fly from Kruger. Where to stay in JNB. on return journey & what interresting things to do in JNB upon our return before flying to Cape Town. ( we have from 26th Nov. to 8th Dec. including the Kruger and Falls, in the area)