SANParks.org Forums

According to my booking slip you may arrive late by prior notice at any of the following gates if u have a vaild booking reservation at the folowing camps:

Croc Bridge - Croc Bridge
Malelane - Malelane, Berg-en-Dal
Numbi - Pretoriuskop
Kruger - Skukuza
Orpen - Orpen, Maroela, Tamboti
Punda Maria - Punda Maria

Up till 21:00 @ R150.00 per car.

So don't rush.

If you are late back due to unavoidable reasons they seem to be pretty understanding.
Try not to get back after the gates close though - you will be fined if you have been careless.
There is a guard at the gate at all times.
You can go to the gate in the case of emergencies after hours and the guard will assist you.

The maps you can buy in the Park are very good. They are well marked with distances etc and so it is easy to work out how long you are going to take from one place to another. Usually count on driving at an average speed of about 25-30kms an hour and give yourself a bit more time incase you are held up at an exciting sighting. Doing Kruger self drive is the only way as far as I am concerned

I always calculate times using an average speed of 15 - 20km/h. This allows for rest room stops, time spent at sightings that is of interest and trying to ID that little brown bird. You also then have to take into account time spent at picnic spots. I then leave an 1 - 1 1/2 hours "open" at the end of the day, which gives you "extra time" for those times that you travelled slower than you anticipated.

We have a little GPS and my husband has programmed in the various camps, gates etc.
It then calculates our E.T.A. going on the speed we are travelling and not withstanding any unexpected "roadblocks" we normally make it with about 5 minutes to spare.
A few years back we were sandwiched between a herd of approx. 100 buffalo and a huge bull ellie, on the H4-1 above Lower Sabie, so we weren't going any where.
By the time we managed to get through we realised we were not going to make Croc Bridge by gate closing time, so decided to go into Lower Sabie and plead our case.
Well the end result was that we had to stay overnight, with no clean clothes, toiletries or anything.
They were not interested in our story, even though we had a game guard from Nkuhlu in the car with us.
In future we would just head for the gate and explain when we got there, we had plenty of pics and video footage to back us up.

One of my friends had a group of Ellies that caused a roadblock and luckely he had a digital camera so when he got to the gate (I think it was Kruger or Pabeni) He showed them the pics and they understood and let him go with no fine.

Sounds like a good idea to call into the camp if one is going to be late due to reasons beyond our control.

Does anyone know if,and what the procedure is to get a late permit for a camp. I will invariably be late at a camp soon,and want to know if it can be done.

Thanks,
w

Hi WJ, I think the procedure is to phone the camp.

As far as I know late permits are only available at certain camps that are in close proximity to entrance gates and are operational until 9 p.m. for a cost per vehicle you will be escorted to the camp for example from Paul Kruger Gate to Skukuza. It is certainly only applicable to a few camps and is not for folk who just happen to want to come in from a drive late. The cost was R100,00 per vehicle - I do not know if this has subsequently increased like everything else.

I think Penny has it right, you can arrange to enter a gate after normal gate closing time and pay R100 to be escorted to the nearest camp, like Malelane gate to Berg-en-dal.
No ways can you pay R100 to just arrive back late at a camp or everyone would do it, would be cheaper than going on a sunset or night drive

Found some info on this page.

Late Entry

Late entry escorts (at a fee) are available at the following gates for the camp in brackets only. This is only available until 21:00. Escorts depart every half hour until this time:

* Paul Kruger (Skukuza)
* Numbi (Pretoriuskop)
* Malelane (Berg-en-Dal and Malelane)
* Crocodile Bridge gate (Crocodile Bridge Camp)
* Punda Maria gate (Punda Maria Camp)
* Orpen gate (Orpen Camp)
* No late admission at Phabeni, Phalaborwa and Pafuri

Gate Security will phone camp duty phone when there are guests and transport is arranged. If guests advise in advance, then trips can be better planned. Fee is currently R150,00 per vehicle.

Last year winter we were about an hour late getting to Orpen and were staying in Tamboti. We phoned ahead and were let in with no problems or escort. My problem was getting out the car at Tamboti entrance to ring the bell. That was quite a scary experience as it was pitch black outside.

I know that there are hefty fines for missing closing times.

We once had a situation where we missed it because we got stuck, because we 3 elephants decided that they were going to walk along the road we were driving on, and we had to keep reversing to stay out of the way.

Thankfully, we were one of three cars, so the let us off.

My question is though: If we would have been the only car on that road during this time, would the gate wardens accept Video and Photographic evidence?
As a R1000.00 is a lot to have to pay, if you get held up by an animal that would have no problems crushing your car.

Anybody know what the rules are?

Thanks

Nicaubs,
Not too sure what the actual rules are regarding late arrival where it is no fault of yours but caused by an "animal roadblock"
It happened to us a few kms North of LS a few years ago and when we realised we were definitely not going to make it out at Croc Bridge gate by closing time we went into LS camps and asked them what our options were and if they could inform the C B gate that we were coming through late but they were not interested and we were forced to overnight there.
We even had a ranger in the car with us as we had given him a lift from Nkulu.
In future I would just make sure we had plenty of video/digital film with date and time on and carry on to the gate and plead my case.
I think most of the gate officials would be fairly understanding under those circumstances and with enough evidence as long as you were not hugely overdue.