Kruger National Park

Star Gazing in Kruger Park

Did you know that Astronomy Africa offers 3-hour star gazing outings from Olifants Camp in Kruger National Park at R300 per person including refreshments.

Contact +27 13 735 6606

Picture courtesy of USGS Astrogeology

Early Humans in Kruger Park

The area that comprises the Kruger Park today was populated by early humans around 1,5-million years ago. Around 40,000 years ago (Late Stone Age) small tribes of nomadic hunter-gathers known as the San moved through the Lowveld region of present day South Africa, where the Kruger Park is located.

Mpumalanga gets New Park

September 2006 marks the declaration of the 54,000-hectare Blyde River National Park, which will combine the existing Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve with state-owned commercial and indigenous forests on the Drakensberg escarpment in Mpumalanga.

Blyde River National Park will offer accommodation and various tourism activities such as a cableway and a luxury hiking trail. There will also be facilities for various adventure sports.

Blyde River National Park will be home to about 2,000 plant species, which is more than the Kruger National Park. It will also be home to about 335 bird species as well as some rare fish species.

Dullstroom Arts Festival

Traveling to the Kruger National Park in mid December 2006?

Consider visiting the Dullstroom Arts Festival from 16 to 18 December.

Dullstroom, only three hours drive from Johannesburg, is South Africa's premier fly-fishing destination. The festival features music, visual and performing arts and the Dullstroom Bird of Prey and Rehabilitation Centre offers educational talks.

Two of the towns dams will be open to all, which means entry, fly-fishing, and fly-casting sessions will all be FREE!

Accommodation goes fast...so book now!

For festival accommodation and info, contact +27 13 254 0254 / +27 13 254 0020.

Cyclone Resources

More About Cyclones

South Africa's cyclone season spans November to April, peaking in January and February. However, few cyclones get close enough to South Africa to be destructive. Generally, only cyclones that develop north of 25 degrees south put South Africa at risk. When they do make landfall, they typically affect the provinces of KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Because Kruger National Park straddles both Mpumalanga and Limpopo, and is closer to the coast than much of these provinces, it tends to bear the brunt of the cyclone's anger. Recent examples of destructive cyclones are Domoina (January 1984), Imboa (February 1984) and Eline (February 2000).

Getaway Planning for Girls Groups

Planning a getaway with a group of girlfriends is quite different than booking a vacation just for you and your significant other. Here are some tips from Budget Travel magazine for planning a trip that your friends will be able to afford and remember forever.

Affordable Self-Catering Accommodation

Many of the lodges in and around the Kruger Park have become so expensive that it is impossible for the normal person to afford anything but standard rest-camp accommodation, which unfortunately is not really up to scratch. If you are into self-catering and self-drive vacations, why not try Khumbula iAfrica. The accommodation is very luxurious and spotlessly clean, and the staff are the most helpful you will ever experience. The cottage is located in a nature reserve where fences are not permitted, so the animals come right up to your patio. It even has its own private waterhole.

Prime Game Viewing Region

I define the Southern Kruger Park as the area ranging from the Crocodile River in the far South to Skukuza, the largest camp and administrative headquarters of the Kruger Park. It's an area that can be covered in a days driving, albeit a long days driving. Not that I'm suggesting you spend the day in your car. It is far more rewarding to break it down into smaller day outings spread over 3 or 4 days.

Behind Kruger Park's Climate

Like other semi-arid regions of the world, the Kruger National Park is subject to great variations in rainfall from year to year. This is because the Kruger National Park is situated beneath a zone of dry, descending air.

Kruger National Park’s climate, like the rest of the subcontinent, is influenced by anticyclonic systems that move over southern Africa from west to east. In summer, these systems give rise to extremely hot and dry conditions that can persist for up to two weeks at a time, often followed by the development of low-pressure cells over the interior that draw in moist equatorial air from the north and northeast. It is this moist air that underpins the development of thunderstorms. However, the low-pressure troughs often produce widespread and persistent rain.