Planning a first time Kruger safari? You are in a position that most who’ve already been on a safari envy.
Planning your first safari can be somewhat daunting.
There’s plenty of logistics to think about, things that even the best safari company cannot really do for you, like booking flights and organising visas, and then there is the nitty gritty stuff, like what to pack, and how to approach your planning, things that can affect the comfort of your holiday but which are not so important that if you miss something, your safari will be ruined.
As someone heading off on a first time Kruger safari, it helps to know what to expect from your trip, because of all the holidays you could have, this one is certainly going to be the most extraordinary.
What the Days Actually Look Like
To do the Kruger right, you need to be in the park as early as possible, preferably just as the gates open. This means that your day will start well before the sun rises, before the birds start their pleasant morning calls, while the light is still low and the air is cool.
You’ll enter the park with your group (unless, of course, you’ve booked a luxury private tour) camera in hand and a heart beating with excitement, and head down roads that are well known for wildlife sightings.
The best safari companies tend to stick to the southern Kruger, and areas where the Big 5 and other park inhabitants are frequently spotted.
The days are generally hot, even in the middle of winter.
Once the sun is high up in the sky, not only will you be looking for a cool spot to relax a while, but so will the animals.
Midday will usually see you back at your camp or lodge, where you can spend your time taking a nap, reading a book on a shaded stoep, or spending some time at the pool, because the animals are resting too and being out in the heat doesn’t generally result in any sort of meaningful sightings.
By late afternoon, the weather is just right for the day’s second game drive, with the cooler air, and the brilliant golden Lowveld light making the last few hours of the day absolutely incredible for both wildlife sightings and photography.
The best first time Kruger safaris carry on for 3 to 5 nights, long enough to move past the restless first day and settle into the bush properly.
The Kruger National Park welcomes nearly 2 million people a year. And while most days play out according to a similar itinerary, no 2 safaris can ever be the same experience as you’ll always end up enjoying different animal sightings. On one day you might see a pride of lion feasting on a kill, the next day you could spot a couple of baby elephants running playfully between their herd. That is the unyielding fascination of a Kruger Park safari.
Choosing How You Travel
There are almost 300 Kruger safari companies, some owned and operated by locals who’ve lived in the area all their lives, and others owned and run by bigger, international agencies. Each will have a variety of travel packages available and the one that you choose will depend on your safari expectations.
A guided safari, one with a tracker who reads prints and broken grass stems the way most people read street signs, tends to suit a first time Kruger safari best. A first-timer generally gains so much more from someone who has spent years learning which waterhole to sit at, and when.
With a guided tour, you’ll also be given a transfer from the city or airport, to the Kruger, which helps to take away some of the logistical stress.
Self-driving through the Kruger on the other hand is ideal for those who already know the park and its roads, or who just want to be a little more hands on with their holiday.
If you are weighing up how best to travel through the Kruger, this quick breakdown might help:
| Style | Best for | Flexibility | What you’ll notice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided safari | First-time visitors | Lower, set drive times | A tracker reading signs you would miss entirely |
| Self-drive | Returning visitors who know the park | Higher, your own pace | More time behind the wheel, fewer expert eyes on the bush |
The Animals You Are Likely to Meet
The Kruger National Park is home to well over 147 species of animals and the southern Kruger, around Skukuza and Lower Sabie, has some of the highest sighting density in the park, and lion, elephant and buffalo are commonly seen here all throughout the year.
Spotting a leopard or rhino takes some patience and a good tracker, and even then, it is never a guarantee, whatever anyone tells you.
Aside from the Big 5, you might also see kudu (the famous antelope that graces the SANParks logo), impala, zebra, wildebeest, nyala, bushbuck, warthog, hyena, duiker, cheetah, wild dog, giraffe and many more.
The birdlife is also pretty extravagant, and travellers who look up as often as they look ahead, particularly along the rivers in the wetter months, will be treated to colourful sights.
The park is also home to various reptiles, including crocodiles and many different species of frogs and snakes.
What Actually Goes in the Bag (What to Pack)
It could be your first time Kruger safari or your 50th, this is what you need to have in your bag:
- Layers for the changing temperatures. Winter game drives, from May to August, often start below 10°C, so a soft fleece, a beanie, and a pair of gloves are worth having during that first hour and are usually stuffed into a bag well before the mid-morning stop. As the day warms, wearing breathable cotton or linen clothing will serve you far better than anything synthetic.
- Footwear for two different days. Closed, comfortable shoes for early starts and dusty paths around camp, and something softer for evenings once the day’s driving is behind you. Sandals have their place beside the pool, but not on a gravel path in the dark.
- Sun protection that works from the first morning. A high-SPF sunscreen, a lip balm with its own protection, a wide-brimmed hat, and a proper pair of sunglasses, since the Lowveld light comes in low and unfiltered over the bush.
- Insect repellent and medication. Insect repellent is essential, along with any personal medication in its original packaging, particularly anti-malarials if your doctor has recommended them for the region.
- Technology essentials. A spare camera battery, a small power bank, since plug points are not guaranteed on longer drives, and a dust-proof pouch for anything you would rather not find coated in fine red sand by the end of the week.
- A small torch or headlamp. Worth its weight after dark, when camps often run on generator power and the path back to your room is not always lit.
- The everyday extras. A reusable water bottle, swimwear for lodges with a pool, a pair of binoculars, and a small day bag for the vehicle.
On Choosing When to Go
The dry winter months, roughly May to September, will give you the clearest conditions for wildlife viewing, since the thinner vegetation and lower water levels attract animals, which then concentrate around the few waterholes that remain.
The wetter summer months, although not widely marketed as a good time to go on a first time Kruger safari, will treat you to incredible sights of newborn animals and a land that has gone properly green, though the bush itself grows thick enough to make sightings a bit more difficult, especially if you are travelling without a guide.
Where First-Timers Tend to Go Wrong
It is difficult to have a bad safari. Just being in the Kruger is enough to have an incredible holiday.
But to make sure that you are making the most of your trip, there are some things that first-timers might get wrong.
To start with, booking too short a stay is the most common misstep. A day trip is not enough for a first-timer, and 2 days, while great for some, will not allow you enough time to really get into the full experience and still have some time to relax. You want to give yourself at least 3 to 5 nights in the bush.
Remember, you’ll never regret spending more time in the Kruger, but you’ll almost certainly regret booking too little time.
The next mistake is arriving with a checklist mentality about seeing the Big 5, which tends to create some anxiety and then if you leave without seeing these animals, you’ll be disappointed rather than content. It’s not worth it to create unnecessary stress.
The other frequent mistake is skipping the midday rest because it feels like wasted time, when it is often when trackers and camp staff share the stories that never make it into a guidebook while it is also a great time to just relax a bit, you are on holiday after all.
Here at Kurt Safari, the guests who leave happiest are not always the ones who saw every animal they’d hoped to see, sometimes they are the ones who slowed down enough to notice what the bush was actually doing around them.
There is no correct way to have a first time Kruger safari. If your trip made you forget your watch for a while, then it was a great holiday.
It’s a Great Time to Start Planning Your First Time Kruger Safari
All of our Kruger Park safari packages, which include day safaris, private trips, luxury getaways and signature tours, are great for a first time trip, and to make your planning even easier, you can book right here on our website.
Continue Planning Your Kruger Safari
- Best Time to Visit the Kruger National Park
- What to Pack for a Kruger Safari
- Guided Safari vs Self Drive in Kruger National Park
- Kruger National Park Map & Regions
- Big 5 Kruger Safaris
