Kruger National Park Travel Forum

My husband & I will be taking our 1st trip to Africa in July 2008 with the goal to see bunches of hippos (which I love) for my 50th birthday.

The 18-day itinerary includes Chobe, Caprivi, Okavango Delta, Hwange, and Victoria Falls.

There are options for a three night pre-trip to Kruger National Park and for a four-day post-trip to Capetown.

We pretty much have decided to go to Capetown but are undecided on Kruger because we heard it is like Disneyland with blacktop roads and vehicles lined up to view the animals.

Soooo, Kruger or no Kruger???
Thanks!

It may be sacrilegious to say this, but if you are doing Chobe/Okavango/Hwange, I do suggest that you skip Kruger. The wildlife and terrain will be much the same as you are seeing in Botswana and Zimbabwe. And I think you will be as dismayed as you expect about the blacktop roads and loads of cars at Kruger, especially if you have done the other parks first.

If I were you, I'd take that post-park time and spend it in Cape Town, the wine country, and other more civilized spots in SA. By the end of 18 days in the bush you will be happy to see a comfy hotel room and some beautiful restaurants, which Cape Town has in abundance. That city is one of the most spectacular places I've ever been, and if you're going all that way, it would be criminal to skip it.

".....Kruger .....it is like Disneyland with blacktop roads and vehicles lined up to view the animals."

There are far more dirt roads than blacktop in Kruger and you can lose yourself in Kruger if you want. We recently sat at a water hole in the morning, and over a period of about 2 hours watched lions staking out and killing a buffalo. In those 2 hours there was one other car that drove near to us, didn't see what was developing and drove off. Late that afternoon we drove out that waterhole again to see how the feast had progressed - there were 2 cars parked 20 yards from the feast. Nobody had marked the "kill" on the map at the camp for other tourists to see. For us it is not about ticking off animals off a list - we prefer watching the behavior and interactions. Kruger is the place where we can do this at our own time and feel that we are not part of a man-made show.

Bunches of hippos (pods?) are common in Kruger, but you can't get close to them because you are not allowed to leave the roads. They don't allow boats.

But, I will agree that Kruger is not a "must see". Botswana and Cape Town should be sufficient.

I am well acquainted with the areas you are going to visit in Botswana and am happy to advise you to prepare yourself for some fantastic game viewing - especially Hippo's! As far as Kruger goes, I agree with the previous two respondents. Kruger is a vast space and you can go for days without seing anything particularly interesting, or you can come accross a lion kill in the happenning. The Cape Town trip is a must! A word of advise though, ... do some thorough research on where you want to go, what to see & do in Cape Town and with which tour operator. Unfortunately this is a very popular tourist destination in our country and attracts some unscrupulous "tour guides".
If you have four days to spare prior to the Botswana visit, why not consider neighbouring Namibia. The Namib desert & skeleton coast is spectacular!Hope this info helps - Enjoy SA!

"Cape Town . . . . . is a very popular tourist destination in our country and attracts some unscrupulous "tour guides". "

My favourite horror story re tour guides is about the quick tours to Cape Point. . . . . the tourists get taken to Slangkop lighthouse near Kommetjie instead! Much cheaper entry fee and saves at least an hour and about 40 miles in travelling. :-)