The
park was first proclaimed in 1898 as the Sabie
Game Reserve by the then president of the
Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger. He first
proposed the need to protect the animals of
the Lowveld in 1884, but his vision took another
12 years to be realized when the area between
the Sabie and Crocodile Rivers was set aside
for restricted hunting.
The Scottish born James Stevenson-Hamilton
(born in 1867) was appointed the park’s
first warden on 1 July 1902. Stevenson-Hamilton's
nick-name was SKUKUZA, given to him by the
people he was ordered to remove from the park.
The word means - "he who scrapes
clean". Skukuza is now the headquarters
of the Kruger Park and the largest of all
the camps.
On 31 May 1926
the National Parks Act was proclaimed - driven
mainly by a man called Piet Grobler, and with
it the merging of the Sabie and Shingwedzi
Game Reserves into the Kruger National Park.
The first motorists entered the park in 1927
for a fee of one pound.
The park is unrivalled in the diversity of
the life forms existing within its borders.
There is much evidence of early man in the
park with san rock paintings and old archaeological
sites which are protected and conserved along
with the parks living assets. |
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The Kruger National Park
is the largest National Park in South Africa and one
of the largest in Africa. It has a surface area of
19,633 km² (7,580miles²) or 2 million hectares
or 8.2 million Acres. It is roughly the size of the
state of Massachusetts in the USA or Wales in the
UK. Driving from the north of the park to the south
would be like driving from York to Portsmouth in the
UK. |
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Compared
with some of the other well known parks
of Africa, such as those in Kenya and Tanzania,
the Kruger's habitat is quite different.
The Kruger National Park is characterized
by combinations of savannah, thornveld and
woodland eco-zones and offers spectacularly
different habitats.
Woodland and shrub type vegetation is characteristic
of Northern and Southern Kruger whilst Central
Kruger is characterized by more open Marula
and Knobthorn savannah type habitat.
The Kruger Park is generally flat or gently
undulating and slopes gradually from west
towards the Lebombo mountains in the east.
The parks surface is marked with ridges
and granite koppies. The park's height above
sea level varies from 893m on a mountain
top in the south to 122m at the bottom of
the Sabie River Gorge. The majority of it
lies between 200m and 400m above sea level.
Kruger is drained by 6 major rivers and
is bordered by the Limpopo in the North
and the Crocodile River in the south.
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The
hottest months are from December - February (average
max temp 35 deg C average min temp 22 deg C) , and
the coldest months from May - July (average max
temp 26 deg C average min temp 10 deg C). The milder
months are March & April and August to November.
Rainfall is usually most likely between September
and April, and the park often experiences sporadic
rainfall in the form of thundershowers which are
over almost as quickly as they begin. From April
to August there is very little rain. The southern
regions of the park usually receive the most rainfall,
and the central plains the least.
The highest recorded temperature in the Kruger National
Park is 47.2 deg C or 116.9 deg F (January)
The lowest recorded temperature is - 4.2 deg C or
24.4 deg F (July) |
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This
enormous and magnificent park is one of the most
popular public-entry game parks in the world. It
has 9 entrance gates, 12 main camps, 5 bushveld
camps and 2 bush lodges.
All visitors to Kruger National Park are required
to make use of the extensive road system. Made up
of 1444 km of gravel surfaces and 878 km of asphalt
roads, the road system allows the visitor to explore
a huge area of the enormous park. Off road driving
is not permitted in Kruger Park, which allows the
wildlife the freedom to avoid being hounded by motorists
if they so choose. It also prevents destruction
of the sensitive bushveld habitat.
Each camp has a variety of accommodation types available
such as camping, permanent safari tents, en-suite
chalets and guest cottages. The camps are all inside
the Park but are fenced off for safety reasons to
prevent wild animals from entering - especially
at night.
The camps also have shops which stock food items
and curios and most camps have a restaurant where
buffet style dinners and breakfasts are served.
There is a resident doctor based in the main camp
of Skukuza
The Park has a well trained anti-poaching team to
combat illegal hunting and although this does occur
on a small scale (mostly for food) , it does not
have an adverse effect on any of the animal populations
within the park. |
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deciding on a safari to the Kruger Park, whether it
be a photo safari or a normal safari, it is important
to understand what people mean when they talk about
the "Kruger National Park" as opposed to
the "Greater Kruger Park" - there is a big
difference. |
This is shown on the map as the large area in
light green
It is also often referred to as "KRUGER PARK"
or simply "KRUGER".
In short this is a wilderness area, managed and
operated by SANPARKS (South African National Parks)
and is partly subsidized by the government. It
is the largest of all South Africa's National
Parks of which there are currently 20.
"KRUGER" is one of the largest public
entry wildlife reserves in Africa and visitors
are allowed to self - drive their own vehicles
around the well sign posted reserve, or go with
one of the Private Open Safari Vehicle Operators
(like WILD 4). There is a strict policy of no
off road driving and visitors are not allowed
to alight from their vehicles, unless at clearly
demarcated areas.
The "KRUGER" marked in light green,
together with the private reserves on its western
boundary and the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique
- marked on the map as olive green 
is what is known as the "GREATER KRUGER PARK".
Although there are no fences between the "KRUGER"
and these "PRIVATE" reserves, they are
managed separately. One of the most well known
of these is the SABI SANDS where luxurious lodges
like Londolozi and Mala Mala are found. Self drive
is not permitted in these private reserves and
all game drives are accompanied by armed rangers.
Off-road driving is allowed.
This area has recently been incorporated
into the "Greater Kruger" area and the
international boundary fence in the north eastern
section has been pulled down to allow the movement
of animals from "KRUGER" back into the
Mozambican side to repopulate the area after it
was devastated by years of civil war. Mozambique
is a peaceful country now and a number of species
have moved back to the park but it has a long
way to go before it reaches the animal densities
that "KRUGER" offers.
"KRUGER" offers value for money
& comfortable accommodation allowing us to
spend more days on safari exploring the vast National
Park. The lodges in the "PRIVATE" reserves
offer ultimate luxury accommodation, which is
great if you are on a relaxing holiday, but on
a photo safari where you expect to do a lot of
photography, spending only a few hours a day in
your luxurious accommodation is simply a waste
of money.
Some of our clients choose to pamper themselves
with a 2 or 3 night stay at one of these lodges
(we would recommend after your kruger trip), which
we can organize for you. They do offer a very
different experience to the one we have in the
"KRUGER" but at a much higher price.
You also need to understand that you will not
be with other photographers at these lodges and
may end up with people who do not understand the
intricacies of waiting patiently for a shot.
In the private reserves, unless you hire a private
vehicle - at even more expense, you will go on
game drives with other people who are not there
to do photography but rather to see as much as
they can.
Another point to mention is that by staying in
one of the Private Reserves, you will not get
to explore a very big area. "KRUGER"
on the other hand, offers far more in terms of
different habitat and a much bigger area to explore.
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Kruger
offers an unrivalled variety of animal species: 507
birds, 336 trees, 147 mammals, 114 reptiles, 49 fish
and 34 amphibians!
All the large African mammals are present including
the BIG 5 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Black and White
Rhino and Cape Buffalo) Kruger also has African Wild
dog and Cheetah. |
Below
you will find a list of animals commonly seen and
photographed in the Kruger Park and at the other locations
visited on our scheduled safaris:
WILD 4 "AFRICAN
WONDERS" and WILD 4 "KRUGER
NORTH to SOUTH plus BIG CATS" |
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| APPROXIMATE
ANIMAL NUMBERS IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK |
CENSUS
YEAR - 2003 |
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| Cape
Buffalo |
25
000 |
Warthog |
3
800 |
Lion |
1
500 |
| Elephant |
11
700 |
Waterbuck |
5
000 |
Leopard |
1
000 |
| Giraffe |
9
000 |
White
Rhino |
5
000 |
Cheetah |
200 |
| Impala |
150
000 |
Wildebeest |
17
000 |
Spotted
Hyaena |
2
000 |
| Kudu |
5
000 |
Burchell's
Zebra |
32
000 |
Wild
Dog |
350 |
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Perhaps
the most exciting thing about visiting any African
Wildlife Reserve is that every visit is entirely
different. Kruger National Park is no exception
and every single day spent in the bush is a new
and exciting experience.
Being a large reserve with an extensive road network
system, Kruger affords the visitor many different
opportunities to view wild animals doing what they
have done for thousands of years. Being able to
watch and photograph these animals is truly a privilege.
Below you will find some interesting stories that
have been photographed by Stu on his visits to the
Kruger Park. |
WARTHOGS
CHASE OFF ATTACKING LEOPARD |
The following story was witnessed and photographed
at Renosterkoppies Dam South of Skukuza
in the Kruger National Park.
My attention was drawn to the alarm call
of a male Impala and after waiting a while
I suddenly noticed a Leopard running at
a group of Warthogs feeding nearby. Most
of the Warthogs fled but what looked to
be a female, turned and faced the advancing
Leopard and the two stopped and stared closely
at each other.
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At
that point the rest of the Warthog group returned
and they then proceeded to circle the Leopard.
Suddenly the female who had initially faced
the Leopard charged at it, causing the Leopard
to take evasive action and flee to the safety
of a nearby tree. |
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From
the safety of the base of the tree, the Leopard
kept a hungry eye on the piglets who, together
with the adults had now advanced to within
10m or so of the embarrassed Leopard. After
waiting a few minutes the Leopard launched
another chase at the piglets, scattering them,
but the female Warthog stepped into the picture
and once again faced the Leopard, after a
few tense moments, she chased the Leopard
up into the safety of the tree. |
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From
the safety of the tree, the Leopard kept watching
the group of warthogs as they slowly moved
away to feed and eventually came down and
showed interest in another possible attack.
However the female warthog was still on the
alert and noticed the intentions of the Leopard
and again advanced towards it where they confronted
each other for a third time before the Leopard
decided it had had enough of the determined
female and bolted yet once again to the safety
of the tree. |
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GREAT
WHITE EGRET SHOWING "KINGFISHER STYLE"
FISHING HABIT - Never before recorded in Kruger
Park |
One
morning in the Kruger Park at Sunset Dam I
recorded some unusual behaviour by a Great
White Egret. The Great White Egret landed
on top of the back of a Hippo that was lying
with a group of Hippos about 30 m from the
waters edge. This, itself was not unusual
for me but it made for a nice photograph.
I noticed that the Great White Egret was very
erect and in the “hunting pose”
and thought it might fish while standing on
the back of the Hippo. However this was not
the case and what I saw and managed to photograph
next, was to me very unusual hunting behaviour
for a Great White Egret. |
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Time
after time the Egret took off and flew up
to 20 m away from its vantage point on the
Hippos back and whilst still in flight, stabbed
at the water with its sharp beak, trying to
skewer a fish. On the first attempt the Egret
missed totally, on its second attempt it got
very close, you can actually see the fish
jumping out of the water to escape. |
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On its third attempt
though, it managed to catch its prey, and
returned to the back of one of the Hippos
to devour its catch.
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GIRAFFE
LICKING BONES |
I
came across this unusual sighting near Olifants
Camp in the Kruger Park. A female Giraffe
slowly approached the carcass (rib cage) of
another Giraffe that had been killed by Lions.
The giraffe circled the rib cage a number
of times and bent down to smell and look at
it. Eventually it bent down in front of one
of the leg bones, in the common drinking pose
and began to lick the leg bone for quite a
while before standing up and slowly walking
away. It continued to look back at the carcass
a number of times before it began feeding
on a nearby tree. |
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A
LIONESS FIGHTS FOR SURVIVAL |
I
observed and photographed this scene from
the bridge over the Sabie River, not far from
Lower Sabie Camp.
I first noticed what looked to be an old Lioness
fishing in the Sabie River and successfully
catching a Catfish. However on closer inspection
it was clear to see that the Lioness had BTB
(Bovine Tuberculosis) and that she was very
weak and desperately hungry. Lions in Kruger
Park are sometimes infected with the disease
which is not natural to the system but which
has come into the Park through its host -
Buffalo. Buffalo in turn caught the disease
from domestic cattle with whom they sometimes
come into contact, along the borders of the
Kruger Park.
When Lions kill an infected Buffalo, they
end up with the disease after eating the infected
buffalo's lungs. Later, the entire pride may
become infected as they are a social cat and
live together.
The Lioness returned to the river not so long
after and duly fished out another Catfish.
It was then that I realized that she was not
catching the fish but merely hauling them
out of the river, for some reason or other,
the fish were already dead. |
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Time
and time again the Lioness returned to the
Sabie River and bravely strode out into the
crocodile infested waters to claim more dead
Catfish. She was clearly too weak to hunt
normal prey items such as Impala, Zebra etc
but her determination to survive had led her
to take whatever was available. |
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