Kruger Safari & Victoria falls

Hi Eeryone,
Need help.... Booked to arrive in Jo-burg Nov.26th ,& depart for Cape Town Dec.8th 2010.Would like to do a Safari in Kruger followed by trip to Victoria falls. What would you suggest, want to keep first day free, then how do we get to Kruger? hire car and drive there? who and how do I book a 5/6 day safari Thru? self drive? Has been suggested to me to stay at 2 or 3 different lodges. Which gate to enter/exit? drive to Falls? or fly there from Kruger, from Where? Travelling with 2 other adults.
Suggestions greatly appreciated

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)

What to see and do - Johannesburg/Pretoria and surrounds

The following list contains some of the places to visit in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. You can do some googling to read up on each and decide which you would like to visit.

PILANESBERG ( 2 hours drive from Johannesburg)
Pilanesberg National Park
Sun City

NORTHERN TSHWANE
Tswaing Meteorite Crater

PRETORIA CITY
Voortrekker Monument and Fort Schanskop
Union Buildings
Kruger House Museum
Melrose House
Church Square and Kruger Statue
State Theatre
Pretoria City Hall
Transvaal Natural History Museum
Smuts House
Sammy Marks House

HARTBEESPOORT
Bill Harrop's "Original" Balloon Safaris
Van Gaalens Cheese Factory
Welwitschia Country Market and Chameleon Village
Cableway (Check whether the cableway is operating.)
De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre
Lesedi Cultural Village
Elephant Sanctuary

MIDRAND
S A Mint - Coin World
African Reptiles and Venom
Lipizzaners

CRADLE OF HUMANKIND
The Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve and the Wonder Cave
Sterkfontein Caves and the Maropeng Interpretation Centre
Old Kromdraai Gold Mine
Heia Safari Ranch (Tribal Dancing)
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens (scroll down the page)
Krugersdorp Game Reserve

JOHANNESBURG (NORTH)
Lion Park
Ngwenya Glass Village
Sandton City
Montecasino

JOHANNESBURG CITY
Constitution Hill (including Johannesburg Fort)
Top of Africa
Museum Africa
Diagonal Street and the Muti Shop
Oriental Plaza
Mai Mai Market
Santarama Miniland
SAB World of Beer
Planetarium
War Museum
Johannesburg Zoo

JOHANNESBURG (SOUTH-WEST)
Apartheid Museum
Gold Reef City

SOWETO
Regina Mundi Church
Hector Peterson Memorial
Mandela House Museum
Wandi’s Tavern
Freedom Square
Credo Mutwa Village and the Oppenheimer Tower

EASTERN GAUTENG
Premier Diamond Mine (Cullinan)
Nan-Hua Buddhist Temple (Bronkhostspruit)
Kghodwana Ndebele Village
Loopspruit Wine Cellars
Site of Battle of Bronkhorstspruit

SOUTHERN GAUTENG
Rondebult Bird Sanctuary
Marievale Bird Sanctuary
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve
Heidelberg Motor Museum

As for Kruger - read my response #2 above.

Travelmaven:
Sounds like you have your act to-gether! Enjoy your trip.

Rudik:

You have such a wealth of knowledge! thanks for all your good tips and advice, at the risk of soun ding clueless ( which I admit) if we follow the self drive route you suggested and exit @ Phabeni Gate, where and how far is the Mpumalanga Int. Airport from there? & Can our car be left there ?
For our flight to Livinstone.( Vic Falls).

YoungWorldtraveler: Thanks for tip to fly to Vic Falls

I would have to guesstimate the time from Phabeni to the Mpumalanga airport at Nelspruit, but I would think and hour to an hour-and-a-half should be ample. If you were to fly from Nelspruit to Vic Falls, you could hand back your car in Nelspruit and instead of returning to Nelspruit fly from Vic Falls back to Johannesburg. It might be easier to drive from Kruger back to Johannesburg and do a simple return flight from here, or even take up one of the many packages to Vic Falls which include accommodation there for two or three nights. (For example - and I must emphasise that this is not a plug or a recommendation as I have not used this company - see this page and scroll down to the Vic Falls offer: http://www.getawaytravel.co.za/). If you go to Vic Falls first and then go to Kruger you might find it easier and not have to worry about the connections.

We drove and used a lot more time getting there than most forums estimates.

To which part of Kruger did you drive, Cath? And how long did it take you from Johannesburg?

Hi all,
I will be in Jo'burg on the 14th Dec and will be there till the 19th and then plan to fly to Vic Falls, Zimbabwe side. I am looking for a 2-4 night Safari. Basic accommodations are good enough.

I was wonder if anyone could suggest a tour group from Johannesburg to Kruger national park or the game reserves near there. I am short on time, so flying closer to Kruger will be the best option. So here are my questions:

1. Which website or airlines should I look in to for a cheap flight from Jo'burg to Kruger and back? I prefer not to drive on my own.
2. Which travel groups do you reccomend to tour the park?
3. during my research I am seeing many tours, can you please reccomend a tour or two that you thought was great for a first timer in Africa on a safari?

Any information is appreciated.
Thanks

Hi All, I just signed up to this site and have been reading your insights on Kruger/Vic Falls. I will also be going to Cape town for a week and leaving out of Joberg. I'd like to see both Kruger and Vic Falls before heading back home. I'll be on this last leg of the trip alone so thought a tour /safari of Kruger would be best for me. Any suggestions on a particular company.. There are so many on line! I'll probably fly into Vic falls afterwards for a couple of days and would love suggestions on where to stay as well. It looks like a couple of you are just returning.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,
Cisabelle

I stayed at Jollyboys in Livingstone. It is located right in the heart of town. You will have lots of opportunity to meet other travellers while there. They provide airport pickup and free transportation to the Zambian side of the falls.

Good morning,

I need help!!! :)

I'm planning a trip for a friend who wants to take his Mom to Victoria Falls as this is one of her dreams! I'm so stucked!! I've search the Net for days with no joy!

They are staying in Pretoria and want to do the trip by car via Botswana. After visiting the Falls they want to go in the Kruger National Park direction and spend a few days in the area before returning to Pretoria.

They wanted to go to Okavango Delta or see as much as possible on the trip, but it seems like(according to other reviews I've read) that it wont be possible to do this by car.

Can you please make some suggestions on what will be the best? Which roads to take from Pretoria, border posts and route to where you can cross the border to visit the Falls? They would like to go back to Botswana after the Falls experience and then travel to Kruger National Park.
Any help will be appreciated!!!

Annemarier - Your friends best bet would be to fly to Zambia from Johannesburg to see the falls. We did it last year on a low-cost carrier - Kulula Airlines. They can them fly back to Johannesburg and drive to Kruger.