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TIPS FOR THE FIRST TIME KRUGER DRIVER

BASIC STUFF AND COMMON SENSE

It is imperative to have a good roadmap. You can buy one at any Gate as you enter if necessary.

Ensure that you have enough fuel for the journey (if you doing the trip above, there are commercial fuel stations just outside Phalaborwa Gate, and inside the Park at Orpen Gate). Take plenty of water and some biltong or other snacks to keep you going until you get to the next stop.

Make sure that you take the opportunity to stop at the Restcamps and getting-out points that you pass: there are limited opportunities to stretch your legs, relax a little, and get some food.

Observe the common-sense rules of the road. STOP if animals are crossing the road, and do not threaten them by approaching too closely.

Do not get out of your car unless signage indicates permission (AND circumstances indicate safety).

Do not travel faster than indicated (50 km/hour on tar roads, 30 on sand). There are Park Police with speed guns in the bush, particularly around the Gates near closing time.

Allow plenty of time for viewing, so expect to achieve far less than these speeds. Check your distances. Make a plan and stick to it (e.g., be at Letaba for late breakfast). Keep an eye on the clock and the distance to your destination. Compensate if you are running late (e.g., cut out those circular routes to waterholes on sand roads). Expect to be fined if you are late entering Gates or Camps.

Whilst driving yourself in a sedan car, some of these kind of encounters:

... can lead to some of this:

FINDING THINGS

There are certain things that you cannot miss, like this scene soon after a roadside lion-kill:

Without the benefit of a guide in their car to interpret the signs of the bush, some people get frustrated and drive along at speed between clusters of other vehicles to follow up on what they are seeing. This is a viable strategy and enough for some, particularly if in a rush.

However, it is the private glimpses of nature going about its business- a leopard resting up a tree with a carcass twice its size it has just dragged there, just yourselves with a herd of a hundred elephant or buffalo parked up at a waterhole- that make your trip magic.

If you drive slowly, keep your eyes peeled, think about what the natural signs are telling you, and trust your luck, you will be rewarded with sightings like this:

Both of these pictures were taken on the same road on consecutive days. Had you been "making distance" rather than waiting for things to happen around you, this pride of eight lion would have waited for you to pass before breaking cover. Instead they came out onto the road one-after-another, and ambled contentedly along it, enjoying the heat reflecting back off the tar onto their paws in the afternoon sun. Their relaxed state was broken by a vehicle approaching at speed from the other direction and they melted into the bush once again.

Talk to other people if you get the chance. News gets relayed rapidly along the bush telegraph (e.g., cheetah on the plain north of the road 5km west of here).

A passenger-laden car in a National Park does not NEED to move. Find a promising spot to stop- a river view, waterhole, dam, bluff, or a popular animal path- switch off and let you senses acclimatise to what is happening around you. Listen carefully, and after a few minutes you will attune to the roar of activity taking place in the "silent" bush. Bird will be calling from all angles. You will hear mammalian alarm calls. Your intrusion into somewhere with a scarce resource like water will have set alarm bells ringing across the animal kingdom. It will take some time (at least five minutes) for the more shy creatures to build up the courage to continue about their normal business if they perceive you not to be a threat.