The Protea at Kruger Gate advertises an airport shuttle on its website, and SKZ is not only an airport, but the closest one to boot. So . . .

Good luck not paying park fees. If you land at SKZ you are by definition entering the park, and the drive to Paul Kruger Gate will be a a game drive, even if you keep your eyes firmly shut.

It is just possible that the Protea may have cut a deal with SANParks for transfer guests, but I doubt it. The vast majority of pax flying to SKZ will be staying somewhere in Kruger, only a very tiny number will be heading straight out of the park. Those staying at lodges outside the KNP boundaries will, if not arriving by road, most likely fly to MQP, HDS or PHW. The hotel shuttle is no doubt primarily geared to serving those airports.

Johan

I's suggest to check directly with the hotel to clarify what exactly 'airport transfer' means. Quick google maps check shows that one way drive between Protea and MQP is 1h30min and even longer for HDS. Doubt that if they do it for free, to send someone with car for 4h round trip drive just to bring back one or two person. SKZ comes as a logical choice in this case.

But, better to check.

I'd suggest flying via Nelspruit (MQP) if you're staying outside KNP. That being said I don't suggest staying outside KNP. For all the reasons given above, and Proteas are not that nice properties. Don't let for ed loyalty lead you to a poor itinerary

There are multiple opinions on this subject. I personally would suggest to stay outside of Kruger if you are cost conscious and want to do more than just game drives, like go to Panorama Route, go hiking, do scenic flights on motorized hand glider and so on.

I think the SANParks run camps around Skukuza are pretty cost friendly...

They don't.

As their website says, the price is R550. Reservation required.

Johan

That should be an option of last resort.

If nothing else, the whole rigmarole of entering the park is a pain in the behind, especially early morning when queues are long.

Spend the desired number of days in the KNP, and schedule other activities (Panorama route, etc.) before or after.

Johan

It all depends on ones budget. The best lodges by far and the ones that offer the best game viewing experience are the ones in the private reserves adjacent to the KNP, such as Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

Some of the lodges inside Kruger offer a game viewing experience on par with those in the private reserves, if not better. They also offer a more natural environment (especially Sabi Sand sucks in that regard), often a much larger traversing area and sometimes greater floral and faunal diversity.

For those who know Kruger really well, the self-drive experience can be just as rewarding, and far more varied and diverse.

Johan

I'll be staying at Lower Sabie next month. Is the wildlife good in that area? I have a few game drives booked with the park rangers.

Generally speaking, yes.

Bear in mind that the weather, especially rainfall, has a marked effect on game viewing. Given that February falls in the rainy season, game viewing could well be impacted. The Sabi River attracts a lot of thirsty animals, except when there are puddles everywhere.

One advantage of Lower Sabie is that the road network in the area is good. You can head out in three main directions, and then go off on any number of tangents.

Downsides are the size of the camp itself, and the amount of vehicle traffic in the area.

Johan

We've always been very happy with the amount of wildlife in that area, particularly if you aren't completely obsessed by the 'Big 5', there is lots of variety, big family groups of ellies, and Sunset Dam will be good for birds in February and guarantee you hippos and crocs. As Johan has said, in February it is rainy season so water is a bit more plentiful, and thankfully, it looks to have been a good year for rain this summer. I love Lower Sabie. I don't find it a particularly big camp, it has much smaller than Skukuza, it is smaller than Satara or Berg en Dal in terms of capacity and it has lots of open space so it never feels crowded except on the deck during the day. Even the restaurant at night is not full (or at least it won't be in February, might be different in the school holidays!). I love the fact Lower Sabie has so many roads you can take from it; within 5 minutes you can head onto 6 different roads, from grasslands to the riverine thicket. So for a first timer you get a variety of landscapes / habitats as well as animal spotting. Buy a park map at the gate, but you can have a look at the maps here which include vegetation types: Kruger Park Map | Game Drive Safari in the South East

Towards Tshokwane, look out for herds (e.g. buffalo and plains animals) and cheetah. Lion prides will follow the buffallo as far as they can on their territories. Wild dog have been seen a lot on the H1-3 near Tshokwane recently too. Towards Crocodile Bridge, again cheetah, zebra, giraffe, rhino. Wild dogs near Crocodile Bridge. Leopard are most likely to be spotted along the riverine thicket. Look in the tall leadwood trees and at each stream/river valley along the river banks, as in stop the car and use binos to look around. Lion are everywhere in that area, there have been hunts witnessed from the deck in the last year, and a few prides have got quite big. Look in the Sabie river bed for them lying on the sand banks, but they can be anywhere.

Yes, for sure, hard to miss those along the H10, assuming they are there. That's not always the case.

The plains below the Nkumbe lookout can be chock-a-block with game, but on other occasions there is nary an animal to be seen. Rainfall definitely plays a role, as does the seasonal movement of wildebeeste and zebras up and down the eastern (basalt) side of the park between Croc Bridge (winter) and the Olifants River (summer). Yet another factor is the drought cycle, which causes dramatic fluctuations in the number of buffalo.

Yes they do, but . . . . it all depends!

Individual lion prides have different prey preferences, depending on availability, pride size and strength (= number of males), etc. etc.

In the southern Timbavati, an area with which I'm intimately familiar, the lion prides have a very strong predilection for buffalo, to the point where it is most unusual to see them feeding on anything else. And yes, they do follow buffalo herds, but it doesn't follow that they are constantly on their heels. For starters, they will stay put when they have a kill, for up to several days or maybe even a week. Even when they do follow a herd, they can easily do so by listening. Lions have an acute sense of hearing, they will know exactly where big buffalo herds are even when several kilometers away. Finally, when they do get close to a buffalo herd, they have every incentive to stay out of sight.

So . . . don't expect to see a pride of lions casually strolling right along with every buffalo herd you encounter.


Johan