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Welcome to the forum , kujo !

My 7000 th post .

Sightings are not my top priority , I have just spent 10 (?) nights - I did not know what day it was after the 2nd day - in northern KNP (in my opinion the KNP starts around the Nkokodzi spruit south of Shingwedzi) - I did not turn the radio on even once and doubt if I drove more than 150km game viewing kilometres during my stay .
My priority is peace & tranquility , I may stop under a tree on a by-way along the Shingwedzi or Mphongolo loops for an hour or more and read and look and listen , or I may spend 4 or 5 hours at Nyawutse or a quiet ledge at Tshange .
I would probably not proceed to a special sighting if I was told of one - in my opinion more than 2 cars spoil the sighting and intrude on viewers experience and animals freedom .

To experience the KNP on foot out of the confines of a vehicle where one can hear & smell nature is the ultimate .

Yes , visiting the KNP is a spiritual experience .

Thank you Ndloti,

Maybe once my youngsters have grown up, the missus and myself can experience the Park the way you have, but for now I'm just glad that my children have the opprtunity of being in the Kruger...

Kujo welcome

As Ndloti just said, the smell and sounds of the bush bring the peace and tranquility.

But the excitement of the unexpected sighting - especially if it turns out to be a leopard - is part of the magic of Kruger .

Because of the peace and tranquillity, and also because of the feeling of "never knowing what you might see next". We do not "chase" the big 5 or cats or anything. Sometimes we will leave the camp at gate opening time, drive for a bit, stop somewhere and sit for maybe a few hours, just absorbing the smells and enjoying being close to the bush. We do not have radios on, we do not switch cell phones on, we do not read newspaper, this happens for 14 days out of 365, that is why we keep on going back to the Kruger, year after year

Tent dweller, what you said is so true : stopping somewhere under a tree or at a waterhole, opening the windows, smelling the dust and absorbing the bush, that is pure magic. And it will not take long before something will be visiting, there is always some activity, how small or how big - it doesn't matter. A special moment that I shall never forget was on a hot afternoon on the Timbavati road. We stopped near a herd of impala. They surrounded the car and were just peacefully grazing while we could hear them chewing the grass. For this and all the other magic things, I MUST go to Kruger once a year. For me, if I am lucky, only 7 days out of 365.

Kruger: 6-13 May

Leanawel and Tent dweller,

I spent my childhood in the African bush with mostly just wild animals for neighbours. The sounds and smells of those years stay with me forever.

So I just had to introduce my family to Africa, especially the Kruger. They were hooked the first time and have always wanted to return asap. I have also introduced some of our extended family with the same result. We all agree that you just have to soak up the atmosphere, stop and listen and watch. Just the little things make such a difference.

Friends ask me why we keep on returning......'once you've seen the BIG 5 sin't that enough?' Oh no! Every situation is different. That's what's so magical. We are visiting the animals in their world and learning from their behaviour. No 2 days are ever the same.

So my trips to the Kruger refuel me for another year or more to survive in the bsuy world outside those gates.

Umtali1

If WW3 started while I was in Kruger, It would carry on without me. I don't want to hear from the 'outside world' until I rejoin it.

Hi people, I am a Kruger lover and I just love everything about it. I have only visited the South once and Satara are once. I have visited the area between Punda and Shingwedzi time after time after time. I have had lots of day visits almost every two weeks and lots of night visits at Shingwedzi, I have seen the area so well that I know the roads inside out yet I still go back time after time. I have had days when I did not see a single Impala, but its just the smell and the natural beauty of the bush which takes me back again and again. There is no cellphone reception up north other than near camps. We do not play the radio because it might be the cause of not hearing a Lion Roar.

Everyone is right. People who dont like Kruger just dont understand it.

Bush Baptist and Kallis1786

So true - that feeling of not wanting to see or hear the outside world and to feel as far from the madding crowd as possible.

Croc Bridge is such a beautiful little gem, but I do not stay there, because I am too scared that I shall hear or see something of the outside world. The S114 is a scenic road, but once in a while you have a glimpse on the lodges outside and even a glimpse while I am inside - is too much. And it also counts for the sugar plantations or fruit trees - all I want to see is the bush.

The day you drive in (I always walk through the gate at Malelane just to connect with Kruger immediately), is pure bliss. But for each of us, only visitors , the day of departure is always so sad. I really do not want to go back to mensland - I want to stay in bosland forever and ever ... that's why we love Kruger so much

You right Leanawel. Kruger is just SUPERB and as you reach closer to the exit gate you go from this to this until you reach the gate to this But as soon as I exit, I start planning my next trip. Kruger is just paradise on earth

Kallis1786 - great minds think alike I started planning the next trip while still in Kruger And everytime the decision is the same: next year it MUST be for more than 6 days

Thats how it is. To be honest I have never stayed for more than 2 nights in the park, and the reason for that is because staying 45 mins from Punda Maria Gate, I go for a lot of day visits almost every 2 weeks, but the planning always starts before we even exit the gate to come back.