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I'm a first timer from the states and we will be picking up our rental car from the airport early afternoon.
I would like to be able to buy a cooler, some food (suggestions encouraged) and then get to our camp at Letaba before the gates close.
Reading this forum is very helpful and I would appreciate some advice on the driving route and the best place to shop for food and a cooler.
Thanks
Stan
PS Can a newbie sport a yellow ribbon?

A fellow AZ citizen! Welcome!

Our first trip to KNP was via Hoedspruit, but we arrived in the morning and we shopped at the Spar in Hoedspruit. If you are planning on entering via Orpen gate, heading to the actual town of Hoedspruit would be backtracking.

I'm assuming that you might be under a bit of a time crunch, so my suggestion would be to drive outside of the park up to Phalaborwa (it's an easy drive) and stop at the Spar that is very near the Phalaborwa gate. It's a very well stocked grocery and you can pickup a cooler and other supplies there. From there you're a straight shot to Letaba.

And YES, fly that yellow ribbon.

Welcome Stan , you can be sure to get useful info to your post maybe Tommorrow morning , as it is past 9 pm here in SA , hopefully some people still awake to answer your post

Wow, Stan and Starc , and both from Arizona

Just keep the time limit in mind. It is 51 km from Phalaborwa Gate to Letaba and to be on the safe side you should allow yourself about 90 minutes travelling time as the max speed limit is 50 km per hour in the Park on the tar road. It could take up to an hour to get from Hoedspruit to Phalaborwa and you still need to do your shopping. If you arrive at the gate and it is deemed that you will not have sufficient time to get to Letabe before the camp gates close (May, June and July closing time is 5:30 pm) you may be refused entry.

Enjoy your visit.

Hi elosonegro,
sure you will find loads of great advice and info Shopping en route to Kruger and Driving, best route to Kruger
Enjoy your trip.

A yellow ribbon is as essential as a smile on a sunny day and I hope you have plenty of those.