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Thompsons have a good reputation with some dutchies a know and i have seen them driving around Kruger a few times. Small
trucks with 6 to 8 people . The small group is very important. Means that more people are attented to while gamedriving.

If I was coming to South Africa for a limited number of days to be allocated for game viewing there is no question in my mind that I would not opt for the self drive option but would rather go to one of the lodges where you are guaranteed sightings. It is not easy to visit Kruger by oneself for the first time and it is certainly not everyone who sees things on their first trip. It takes years of experience in knowing the animal's habitat and how to look into the bush to start seeing things for yourself. If you can afford it I would not hesitate to book in at one of the Lodges in the Greater Kruger National Park. They are very varied in their pricing structures but I am sure that a little shopping will provide the info you are looking for.

Hello all,

I know above sounds impossible but it's nevertheless true.

We will be travelling first time to Africa, arriving to Johannesburg end of December and have limited time, about max 4 days for Kruger, any suggestions which company to use, we are not picky and are on a limited budget? Tried to find something but did not have much luck.

Thanks in advance.

Most people that go to Kruger travel in their own car. That's why you probably didn't find much on the net.
I'll have a look and see what I can find. Perhaps someone else has a recommendation.
You need a tour from Jo'burg, I think?

edit: The Baz Bus seems to have a few tours. If you Google kruger tours backpackers you'll get quite a lot of hits. What's your budget, more or less?

Yes, we are flying to Jo'burg out budget is about 400-450 EUR.

Virtually every camp in Kruger offers both a morning drive and a sunset or night drive so provided you can fly in as close as possible you could do all your drives with Sanparks! There are a lot of transfer companies who operate a service from the major airports - I know for a fact that they service KMIA (Kruger Mpumulanga International Airport). If you would like me to I can phone my son at Thornybush and ask for the name and telephone number of one of these companies. This of course depends on whether you have Kruger accommodation booked! Please feel free to PM me for more information.

Hi alfa omega
Welcome
This link might help:
Backpackers operation with lots of tours etc.

Why choose alfa. Isnt it a type of car

Sure, it's 8 months late, but I figured I'd check back in.

I ended up going with ecoafrica and the Walking Rhino safari and I couldn't be more happy.

ecoafrica (Julia) was really cool to work with. She was very responsive and through, which given my insane attention to detail was welcomed.

Even better was the Walking Rhino safari. The private tour was much preferrable to driving around ourselves.
1. I would not have had a clue where to go to see wildlife
2. I would not have seen half of the wildlife as the drivers were spotting stuff from hundreds of yards away
3. It would have been annoying being in a line of cars on the side of the road waiting my turn
4. It was much cooler having someone who had knowledge about each animal to share. I would have enjoyed it less without the little trivial tidbits of info I gleened from guide
5. We were basically riding around in private. The vast majority of the time there wasn't another car anywhere near us.

On the tour company itself.
The lodging was fantastic; really convenient and comprehensive, yet rustic. The beds were amazingly comfortable. The food was great, people were really nice. Definitely my favorite trip.

Now here's where it set itself apart, the actual "walking" part of the walking safari. Phenomenal! Indescribable. You MUST do a Walking Rhino safari and DEMAND Bernard as your guide. He's amazing. Great personality, knows everything about everything, has an eagle eye, can actually communicate with the animals (no BS - he called zebra and they responded, and then started running toward us; a leopard started walking away; he called it and it returned - he did it about 5 times)

He went above and beyond to drive us out to see male lions roaring outside of our camp at about midnight.

He grew up in the park so he knows where and how to find things.

I wouldn't change a thing, and I highly recommend both the Walking Rhino group and getting Bernard as a guide.

if anyone wants any specifics feel free to email me (jeffchisholm@gmail.com) since you were all so helpful to me when I was planning.

Thanks,

Jeff Chisholm
New York

Jeff, that is really great to hear
Thank you for sharing that with us.

JC, this is what we need to know.
There are many people who could benifit from this...

It is wonderful to hear how someone really enjoyed themselves but arn't these NON Sanparks entities making their mentioning on this forum taboo - or so I was told when I made reference to private game reserves and had my posting removed.

Penny, that is a great question. Although Rhino Walking Safaris are conducted in the KNP itself I am not sure what to answer you here. Lemme get back to you on this one, ok?

Dear Penny

Rhino Walking Safaris is operating within the KNP and is not a private game reserve. They are one of the private concessionaires operating in KNP (agreement with SANParks) (like some of the other concessions in KNP). The area they operate in is an area north of Skukuza (you will see the turnoff to their camp on the tar road between Skukuza and Tshokwane just south of the turnoff to the high level bridge crossing the Sabie River. So they are part of KNP (unlike the other companies/reserves bordering KNP).

Hope this helps!

Thanks Kruger for that right on the money answer!

I did read a lovely article on the Rhino walking trails in Getaway some time ago. Compared to manyof the other concesssion camps, the price was also good.
I did notch it up as one of my "must do'es" for the future.
.... when I win that blessed lotto