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FYI the franchise owner makes no apologies for his markups - he says he is there to make a profit. Markups are in the order of 100% or more

Take it or leave it your choice

Hehehe I guess its a law of suply and demand.

We have mastered the art of packing what we need outside and REALLY just topping up on drinks etc in the park.

GOLDEN RULE: AVOID AS FAR AS POSSIBLE: Clothing, electrical equipment, batteries, binoculars, cameras & equipment, camping equipment and those types of things because then you will pay... and pay heavy...

The food is expensive but it's not horribly outragous. Perhaps meat may be but we never buy in the park anyway.

I made the 2 best investments ever and closed my eyes and just paid for what turned out the best 2 things for me in the Park since sliced bread. I bought an ice-maker and a "plug in" coolerbag that uses the cigarette lighter power. If you look at the ammount of ice bought in a week whilst being in the Park, you'll be surprised how much it cost to keep all your goods cold when camping with cooler boxes. The ice maker already paid for itself by the money saved from bying ice the whole time.

The electric cooler bag keeps everything nice and cold (and within reach without having to stop and get it from the boot or back of the bakkie) whilst driving in the Kruger. Nothing more unpleasant than drinks going warm for me. With this cooler bag I can bring all my meat and drinks bought from outside the park and unpack everything in the camp fridge when at your chalet etc.

We have to start reverse the old saying and change it to "if you can't join them, beat them!" I can't afford paying those high prices and I had to beat them at their own game to make it still affordable for me to visit the Kruger frequently.

My 2 cents...

Dan I had the same experience.
We take all we need with, keep in cold in the Waeco and cool in the Mobicool.
Possibly buy the odd cold beer and bread once we have had enough of "roosterkoeke" and "vetkoeke".

I think that all the prices in Kruger are going a bit over the top now. Not only in the parkshops but also in the restaurant and for the accommodation too. ("Euro Europeans" also have the disadvantage now of weaker euro.)

At the moment I am planning my trip for next year and I looked at the some prices for 2010/2011. Fortunately I really like camping because, for example, the price of a BD2 bungalow in Satara will go up from zar 740 to zar 825, the price of a BD2 bungalow in Letaba from zar 660 to zar 730 and a BD4 bungalow in Mopani will go up from zar 655 to 720. I know the profits are for Sanparks, and hopefully will benefit the park(s) we all love, but in the end it means we can do less with our money.

Since I am on holiday I like to have dinner in the restaurants. But on my last trip in January it was shocking to learn that they charge zar 165 now for the buffet. I am not sure but I think last year I paid zar 135 or so. (Yes, I know I don't have to eat in the restaurants and I am afraid this habit must change in the future.)

Hows this for a joke ... At Afsaal , a pack of 2 neoprene (wet suite material) insulated cooldrink holders at R120 .

I hear you Impisi08.

I keep all my slips of all my trips and compare them year for year. Each trip I stay over would average 4-5 nights. I had to downgrade my accommodation type some places to more or less spend the same amount on sleeping over now.

In 2008 I stayed a total of 5 nights in BD2 chalets. It worked out on R2600. For that same trip I would now pay R3700.

So, as an overseas visitor, is it sensible to buy a couple of "cheap" cooler boxes outside the park and stock up on meat and drinks? We are going into the park to Skuks for 5 nights in September. What kind of things are practical to buy outside (in Hazyview) for us? We shall be up early and out all day (coffee and snacks/sandwiches). Return to camp for meal in evening (meats, bread, salads and rice/pasta). One evening will be at Selati but the rest should be self catered (braai etc.).

Any advice much appreciated.

The Park's Shops, is run like any other business. I understand the sentiments regarding high prices, as I live here and I have to pay the high prices for food stuffs on a daily basis. Just my 2 cents worth:
The shops and restaurants in Kruger pay a huge percentage off turnover over to SANParks as their rental. On top off that, housing is provided to each and every staff member, which, is included in their package. Then the normal overheads occurs.
Because of logistics, most of the groceries comes from one mainstream supplier- in Jhb- obviously they are more expensive, because of travelling, etc. Ive said somewhere that its is cheaper to buy ciggies in the local PnP in Hazyview than at the particular wholesaler.
Other wholesalers simply arent interested in the park.
Now add on that there is a captive audience, eg there is a limit on the number of feet passing through.

Now lets make the maths:
Items are bought in at a premium
Rent is high-
Staff accomodations needs to be paid- once again- high.
Electricity needs to be paid- standard at any business, but a premium is put up in the park.
Staff needs to be transported back to their accomodation at closing times- at a cost to the company.

Yes, curious is over priced, but the mark up on food stuffs is in comparrison with other retailers. Sounds redicoulous, but its true.
If you look at the SANParks year end report, and look under PPP, you will find that the park shops has brought in millions over the past year- thats their rent

So its sad on the one side, but good for conservation on the other

Sanpfan,

Apart from anything else you get a better selection outside the park (although for some reason SO can only find Guinness in the Park...).

We take a cooler bag with us from the UK - it folds down flat inside our luggage. Buy some ice bags with your shopping and fill with the stuff you need to keep cool. It should easily be enough time for you to get your stuff to the fridge in Skukuza.

We tend to bring some stuff with us from the UK - mainly coffee and packets of dried stuff and boil in the bag rice etc for the fussy eater amongst us (SO is a veggie). Snacky stuff is readily available and the meat is like nothing you will taste here in the UK.

The only thing you will struggle with is fresh bread but Skukuza's shop has a better choice than most.

Bert, the Park Shop is too expensive so I am thinking about alternatives.

Living of the land:



or ....

We have found the Parks shop in Lower-Sabie during our recent visit to be well stocked, clean and the attendants friendly. The three Parks shops that made an impression on us were the aforementioned, the one in Skukuza and the Letaba shop.

We do exactly the same as saraf when we come over from England. We have 2 freezer bags which we pack into our luggage and fill with those little things that tend to roll around. Once we get to Malelane, its into Spar for the shopping, including some of the cheap freezer blocks, which we tend to leave behind a the end of the holiday. We also tend to leave the park for shopping every 4/5 days or so. This gives us a little break, and since the removal of the decent coffee machines, the chance of a nice cup of Latte

Mike and Trish Goss

Perks .
We take most of what we would need (and this is very basic ) with us and what we did leave behind, never left us feeling violated if/when we needed to buy in the park/camps.
We don't buy curios or momentos though...

edit : I do/did find fresh veggies rather expensive.

I've heard mixed reviews of meat quality in the shops. Anyone have an updated experience?