Kruger National Park Travel Forum

Hello, everyone! I'm set to go to South Africa in mid-May and part of the two week tour will take place in the Kruger National Park (for three nights). I'll be staying at the Pretoriuskop Rest Camp for all of them. I've read some postings and other sites about this camp. I'm sort of concerned that it is so close to the Nimbi gate and that I won't be able to see a wide variety of game in the area because of this. The tour includes three safari rides (in the morning and night) so I will be able to go on the roads/loops near the camp obviously. My question is: does it really matter where you stay in KNP as long as you will be able to drive through a region of the park? I assume the Brendan tour selected Pretoriuskop because it would be easy to enter and exit KNP (instead of being caught in traffic within the park) due to the tour schedule. Some of the criticism I've heard of the camp from books or postings is that most visitors want to go deeper into the park for the best safari experience and that the grass is really high around the camp area making it harder to pick out game. For somebody who might not be able to return soon, I'd like to see as much as I can in a short amount of time. I'm really excited about seeing Cheetahs, Leopards and Lions, but as I've read, it's really hit or miss (especially around Pretorioukop). Will staying at Pretoriuskop dampen my experience? Thanks ahead of time for any information one can give me about this camp. I put a higher priority on seeing the game/wildlife in their natural environment than I do on the actual accomodations. Please consider that in your answers. Thanks again!

Hi, I am living in South Africa and visited Kruger Park quite often. Pretoriuskop is a lovely camp, and you should not have problems seeing game. Traffic is never a problem in the Park, as it is massive - bigger than The Netherlands. You are there for three days - during which you will see a lot of game - it does not matter where you stay, you cannot be garaunteed to see everything, but good luck and you will enjoy.

You are over-analyzing a highly variable situation. There is nothing wrong with the location of Pretoriuskop. From there your chances of seeing game are as good/bad as from any other camp in the next 100 miles. Seeing all three the big cats in 3 days would be very rare, no matter where you stayed - it took me 20 years of regular visits to Kruger park before I saw a leopard, and I still havn't seen a cheetah.