Kruger National Park

Wix Website Designer
Oct 1, 2021
3 min read

Updated: Apr 30, 2024

Kruger National Park is the largest wildlife park where animals can roam freely in South Africa the 7th largest in Africa. It's currently 20 000 sq km or 7 500 sq mi which is 2 mil hectares, but the Kruger National Park is getting bigger. Yes, the Kruger stared a 10-year plan in 2019 to expand to 10 mil hectares.

Kruger National Park - Location

Kruger National Park is located in the North Eastern part of South Africa km400 from Johannesburg and has it's own airport Skukuza right inside it or you can fly to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport - Nelspruit KMI the gateway to the Kruger as it's only km57 from the Kruger. The Kruger National Park is part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

Kruger National Park - History

The Kruger National Park as we know it today was once home to both the Stone Man and the Iron Age with over 300 recorded archaeological sites in Kruger Park attest to its occupation long before modern times. Most sites, however, had relatively short occupation periods, as the presence of predators and the tsetse fly limited husbandry. At Masorini hill, beside the H9 route, iron smelting was practised up to the Mfecane era. The reconstructed Thulamela on a hilltop south of the Levuvhu River was occupied from the 13th to 16th centuries and had links with traders from the African east coast. Before the Second Anglo-Boer War, the area now covered by the park was a remote section of the eastern Transvaal's last wild frontier. Paul Kruger who was President of South Africa from 1898 - 1902 was a big hunter himself, but also realised the need for conservation and the problems with poaching back then already. He proclaimed the area, which was inhabited by the Tsonga people, a sanctuary for the protection of its wildlife. The Kruger National Park officially opened in 1926 and is named after it's founder Paul Kruger and James Stevenson-Hamilton became the first warden of the reserve.

Kruger National Park - Vegetation

The Kruger National Park has a large variety of plant life and consists of four main areas:

Thorn trees and red bush-willow veld, Knob-thorn and marula veld, Red bush-willow and mopane veld and Shrub mopane veld.

Kruger National Park - Mammals

The Kruger National Park is home to the big 5: Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant and Buffalo and to that we can add the Cheetah and Wild Dog which makes it the big 7. The Kruger National Park has the largest number of large mammals than any other Park in Africa a total of 147 species. To name but a few Blue wildebeest, Burchell's zebra, Bushbuck, Eland, Giraffe, Greater kudu, Hippopotamus, Impala, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, Mountain Reedbuck, Nyala,

Roan antelope, Sable antelope, Warthog, Waterbuck, Crocodile, Spotted hyena.

Kruger National Park - Birds

The Kruger National Park is home to 517 species of birds 253 are residents, 117 non-breeding migrants, and 147 nomads. Six of these species, which are by and large restricted to Kruger and other extensive conservation areas, have been assigned to a fanciful grouping called the "Big Six Birds". They are the lappet-faced vulture, martial eagle, saddle-billed stork, kori bustard, ground hornbill and the reclusive Pel's fishing owl, which is localized and seldom seen.

Kruger National Park - Other Vertebrates

The Kruger Park is inhabited by 114 species of reptile, including black mamba, African rock pythons, and 3,000 crocodiles. Thirty-three species of amphibians are found in the Park, as well as 50 fish species.

Kruger National Park - Rest Camps

Visitors have access to the following camps in Kruger

Bateleur Bushveld Camp, Berg-en-Dal Camp, Biyamiti Bushveld Camp, Boulders Bush Camp, Balule Camp, near Olifants Camp, Crocodile Bridge Camp, Letaba Camp, Lower Sabie Camp, Malelane Camp, Maroela Camp, near Orpen Mopani Camp, Olifants Camp, Orpen Camp, Pretoriuskop Camp, Punda Maria Camp, Roodewal Bush Lodge Satara Camp, Shimuwini Bushveld Camp, Shingwedzi Camp, Sirheni Bushveld Camp, Skukuza Camp, Talamati Bushveld Camp, Tamboti Tented Camp, near OrpenTsendze Rustic Camp.