Kruger National Park Travel Forum

Now for the details... sorry if the Q's sound alittle ignorant :(

1. We're booked on Kulula from Cape Town to Jo'burg. Will this flight land at the domestic airport (is there one?) or at the one and only Joburg International? (We're booking a car from the airport. Wouldn't want it to wait for us at the "other" airport if indeed it exists !)

2. We are keen to book the Nissan Almera from Avis. There will be 3 of us. Will this be suitable for KNP esp the gravel road and "off the beaten" paths? Any special "coverage" we should consider?

3. Ok ... this is one of the "safe" questions which sometimes might urk the locals... well here goes ... is it safe to drive after dark from KNP to Jo'burg?

Thanks!

It is only one airport with a domestic side and an international side. Kulula will land on the domestic side. Whenyou enter the arival hall you should be able to find Avis easily. There are also info desks if you get lost. We have done KNP in all sorts of cars before and never had problems. Not sure about "off beaten" roads though. The main roads are fine and you travel very slow. Last time we used Avis they had a all inclusive coverage. Just check this before you book. You are still responsible for a part of the money when something goes wrong but it is a minimal amount. You can look at BUDGET as well. Just as good as AVIS and a bit cheaper.

We prefer not to do long drives at night. A large part of the drive is on a highway so it should be OK. Another option maybe is to spend the night in one of the little towns like Sabie or Graskop and leave early in the morning. The only problem early in the morning is the fog but that is also a problem in the late afternoons and evenings. But on the other hand there isn't always fog.

Hope it helps.

Hi
When do you came down?

LouisSa

1. From this month, Kulula also starts servicing Lanseria airport on the northern side of Johannesburg: http://travel.iafrica.com/flights/869444.htm

2. Most of the time a sedan car can travel all the public roads in the KNP, including the gravel ones. Seasonal floods or fires may change that, but the staff at the camps will tell you about problem roads if they happen. You will see other smaller roads marked with no-entry signs, which are sometimes called firepaths, and where even the tourists with 4x4's are not allowed to drive. Your major disadvantage (though not too serious) of hiring a sedan car is the height for viewing over the tall grass.

3. This local gets irked with the dumb one-liner question "Is South Africa safe?" or "Is Johannesburg safe?". Your question is asking about a specific activity which makes it a little different....:-)
The N4 and N7 highways and toll roads are to top international standards. The only time that I have felt unsafe there at night has been in a very heavy rainstorm when I couln't even see the front of the car. If I stopped, would the car/truck behind me know I had stopped? The dangerous bits of such a night time journey would be the connections onto the highway. Driving to Jhb Intnl airport would be relatively okay, but finding Lanseria at night, behind Diepsloot, is not to be recommended yet. Lanseria airport is not as well signposted as Jhb International.

Oh, by the way, is Malaysia safe? I know that tourists are kidnapped there. ;-)

ha.. ha... ha... cute, Gerald, real cute :D and thank you.. info is excellent - as always! I'd already booked Kulula and e-ticket says JNB airport so I guess I don't have to worry about Lanseria.

Annette and Dao - thanks for info on car hire. Cost between Budget and Aroundabout are comparable - and are alot cheaper than Avis. Additional info given is great! We're all set now, done all the bookings....

LouisSA, we'll be in Hoedspruit on 27 April and thanks for the heads up on the 4 lions in town! I'm really looking forward to this trip. It's thrilling to wake up to zebras and giraffes in your backyard - but lions! That's wild!

Thanks all. I think all the nagging Q's are done. Now I'll be going through the rest of the travel pages and travel tips.