5 Day Kruger Park and Greater Kruger Safari (OL05)

For guests flying into Nelspruit airport, we advise guests arrange their flights to arrive around 11h00 on the morning their Kruger Park safari starts, where your guide will pick you up off your flight and continue your safari.

We depart from Johannesburg between 07h00 and 07h30 in the morning and make our way to the Kruger National Park, arriving around 12h00. Before entering the Kruger Park we will stop for lunch in one of the small towns en-route to the park. Our first afternoon will be spent driving inside the Kruger searching for wild animals, accompanied by a professional guide, who gladly divulges information to you, on the parks amazing diversity of wild and plant life.

We get to our first camp in the late afternoon where you check into your Kruger park lodge and have enough time to go for a swim, purchase necessary items at the camps shop, or simply take a stroll around the camp to stretch your legs after a long days driving.

Your guide begins preparing the evening meal, situated just outside your chalet, under the stars and served by candlelight. Apart from the cooking your guide is of course available to identify all the nocturnal sounds you hear, and possibly entertain you with some amazing experiences encountered over many years of guiding in Africa. Wine is served and included in evening meals. Dinner included

The early morning knock on your door signals the start of your second day in the Kruger. After a cup of coffee and some snacks, your guide packs the vehicle and you begin your early morning drive. It's still really early in the morning, nice and cool, and a perfect time to spot elusive predators who at this time of the day are still very active.

After a successful morning drive you stop at a picnic spot to enjoy a relaxed breakfast.

After breakfast we continue driving, searching for animals. You will find your guide to be a wealth of knowledge not only concentrating on animals but also identifying birds, trees, insects and explaining some of the park's fascinating geology.

After the morning drive you return to camp and have an opportunity for a midday siesta or just general relaxation time. Kruger's camps are well established with large, old indigenous trees, housing many different bird's reptiles and even bats. So it's nice at this time of the day to also enjoy what the camps have to offer.

In the afternoon you head out again on a drive, returning just before the gates close.

In total you will do about 6-7 hours driving each full day in the Kruger. This allows us enough time to show you many different animals and birds.

Once again your guide cooks your meal out under the stars.

Breakfast and Dinner included.

Your guide is on time, as arranged for the wake up call. Fresh coffee and snacks are enjoyed before packing up and leaving camp to start the morning's drive searching for wild animals. After a couple of hours you stop for breakfast inside the Kruger at one of the picnic spots.

After breakfast we continue driving in the Kruger and slowly begin making our way to one of the exit gates. We exit the Kruger and immediately journey on to one of the many private lodges situated within the world famous Sabi Sands Private Game Reserve.

Our goal is to arrive for lunch after which you have a little time to freshen up before we head off on our game drive in one the lodges open vehicles. The afternoon game drive will continue on into the evening, returning to the lodge about 4 hours later.

Dinner is usually ready upon our return and is served under the stars beside a crackling fire. It's always pleasant sitting around an open fire with a drink, discussing the days events and what we can expect to see tomorrow. Breakfast and Dinner included.

Another early wake up, followed by coffee before heading off again in open vehicles, searching for wild animals.

We are often asked what the difference is between the Kruger National Park, and a private Game Reserve such as the Sabi Sands, and in fact why we combine the two.

It's always very difficult to compare two separate wildlife destinations and in the past we have found the two locations appealing to different people. Kruger can generally be regarded as the "Great Unknown", you never know what you're getting and sightings are largely a case of being at the right place at the right time, of course our guides are extremely familiar with the Kruger and know where they have a good chance of finding certain animals which greatly increases your chances of seeing them, accompanied of course by the knowledge which they share with you. However the surprise factor is still there and that is greatly appealing to many of our guests.

A private game reserve on the other hand, is almost guaranteed to deliver excellent sightings as the guides are all in radio contact so the minute one group encounters animals, they radio them in, giving everyone else in the area the chance to see them too.

As a result, when we combine the two destinations, the result is often a safari that utilizes one of Africa's premier wildlife destinations (the Kruger National Park) and the excellent "up close" encounters with animals in the Sabi Sands.

After our morning drive we return to the lodge, enjoy a relaxing breakfast followed by some time to relax by the lodges pool. There is also an opportunity for you to go on a morning walk after breakfast if you wish.

Lunch is usually served around 14hoo before we leave on another afternoon/night drive, returning to the lodge for the evening meal. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner included.

After your wake up call and coffee we head back into the bush in the hope of seeing and photographing more of Africa's spectacular wildlife.

The Sabi Sands is particularly famous for it's brilliant sightings of leopard and whilst we cannot guarantee these sightings, you stand a more than fair chance of seeing and photographing these beautiful animals, seldom more than 3-4 metres from the vehicle!

After the drive breakfast is served. There is time for you to freshen up before we pack the vehicle and begin our journey back to Johannesburg.

We return to Johannesburg via the panorama route which includes Blyde River Canyon, Three Rondavels, Lisbon Waterfalls and Pilgrims Rest, where you stop for lunch.

After lunch it's a good four hours drive back to Johannesburg and you arrive back at the Outlook Lodge or your hotel around 19h30. Breakfast included

Included:

Transport for the duration of your safari

Pick up and drop off in Johannesburg/Pretoria

Professional guides

Meals as indicated in the itinerary

All day drives in the Kruger National Park

All day/night drives in the Sabi Sand

All entry fees and daily conservation levies

Accommodation with en-suite facilities and air-conditioning (accommodation in the Sabi Sands, whilst luxurious, does not have air-conditioning)

Sunset/ night drive

Bottled mineral water during the day in the Kruger National Park

Wine with evening meals in the Kruger National Park

Panorama route on the last day

Excluded:

Drinks (wine and bottled water is included in the Kruger but all drinks are for your own expense in the Sabi Sands)

We request guests do not fly out of Johannesburg on Day 5 as we cannot always guarantee our arrival time in Johannesburg.