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As some people have trouble getting from JHB International to Kruger, here are some directions. Printing this out and putting it in your handluggage may not be a bad idea.

Airport to Kruger in general

Coming out of the rental pick up area you will see a sign with three options. One says to the skystop one the R24 to JHB one the R21S to Boksburg.

Take the R21S to Boksburg. When you come to the N12 Split follow the signs to eMalahleni (Witbank) (to the left) when you come to eMalahleni you will join onto the N4E to Middelburg (This area is notorious for it's early morning fog and coal mine trucks). 1st Tollgate just before Middelburg. You now follow the N4E onto Belfast then Machadorp 2nd Tollgate. Now you have two options one to follow the N4E through Waterval Boven to Nelspruit (Not a nice route because of timbre trucks) or you follow the N4E via Schoemanskloof to Nelspruit (preferred route less traffic) this turn off is just after the tollgate. If you go via Schoemanskloof you will come to T-Junction turn left and this will join you up with the other road on to Nelspruit.

Kruger/Phabeni/Numbi gates.

When you come into Nelspruit the first major intersection will be the one you are looking for it will be marked R40 to White river you will be turning left towards White River (be aware the speed limits yo-yo along this road until White River).
In White River look for the signs to Hazyview (R40) you will be turning left once again. Just outside White River you will find a turning to Numbi gate (R569) follow the signs to Numbi gate. If going to Kruger or Phabeni gate carry on with R40 all the way to Hazyview, you will come to a T-Junction left towards Hazyview right will take you back to Numbi. When you come to Hazyview you will see the signs to Kruger gate (R569) Phabeni gate is also on this road, you will be turning right.
Further along this road you will see a sign to the right for Phabeni and carrying on straight will take you straight into Kruger Gate.

Malelane/Croc bridge gates.

Following the above route to Nelspruit you will carry on towards Nelspruit. There is now a bypass around Nelspruit, just follow the road towards Malelane/Komatipoort and you will come to another Tollgate. Just past Malelane you will see the turn off to the left for Malelane gate. Carrying on with N4E now to Komatipoort follow the signs to Komatipoort Croc Bridge gate once again to the left.

Missed the split in Johannesburg?

If you missed the R21/R24 split at the airport and have found yourself on the R24 to Johannesburg come off the Edenvale off ramp turn left to Bedfordview and just down the road you will see an on ramp for the N12E to Boksburg/eMalahleni (Witbank).

Another tip might be to try and plan your arrival time so that you will miss the afternoon peak hour traffic. Nothing as bad as trying to navigate your way with hords of Gauteng drivers racing on the roads

On Fridays it seems to me they all start to go home at 12:00

Alternatively and also advised for the Northern parts of Kruger, you can take the R21 towards Pretoria.
Take the N1 North Pietersburg/Polokwane turn off from it and again the N4 east Witbank from the N1.

For going to Northern Kruger skip the N4 east to Witbank and carry on with the N1 to Pietersburg/Polokwane.

Hi

First time in South Africa and we are going to do the Metsi Metsi trail. Hurray
In the information about the trail it says that we have to meet at Skukuza camp.
Does anyone know how long it would take me to drive from Johannesburg international airport to Skukuza camp?
What gate should I enter the park?

Thanks,
Susanna

Hi Susanna and welcome!

Hope this helps you...

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/get_there/distances.php

Thanx! You are my hero. Just a tiny question:

In the description on getting to Skukuza camp it states "Take the N4 to Nelspruit then take the R40 to White River, Hazyview via the R40. " From where does the journey start? Is it Johanneburg or somewhere else? As you might understand I'm a bit lost. South Africa is a loooong way from Sweden

Kind regards, Susanna

Hi Susanna and Welcome!

Have a look here for complete directions from JHB to KNP, and please come back with any further questions — lots of helpful people here! Will you only be in KNP for the trail or are you staying a few more days? Have a great time and please let us know how it goes, as we don't have many trip reports for the trails, none for Metsi Metsi I believe, so it would be great to have one from you!

I think this is the appropriate thread in which to ask this question (if not mods feel free to move..).
What is the best route from Phalaborwa to OT international? and How long will it take from Phalaborwa to OT International via the suggested route? Appreciate any advice & suggestions.

I would say take the R71 (I think it is) toward Polokwane and the N1 and then from there straight to Pretoria and JHB. It will probably take about 7 hours including a half hour stop. Just remember that you may get stuck in traffic near the airport particularly in the week and even more so during peak times, ie 7-9 am and 4-6 pm, so add an extra hour or two for that.

No doubt you will other opinions but I always head for Malelane Gate.
Allow 5 hours from Jo'burg airport which will allow a couple of 'comfort' stops.
Actually you will definitely do it in less - but play safe with gate times etc.

Again, Malelane to Skukuza can take any length of time you want but 2 hours should be reasonable and allow time to look at things on the way.
If I arrive on a day time flight around 9pm (eg KLM) I will stop over at the airport, then pick up a car first thing and be on my way by 9 am.
This makes for a very comfortable journey - and barring road works or accidents, traffic should not be a problem.

Some flights arrive late afternoon (eg Emirates) and I have then picked up my car and stopped halfway. Many other flights arrive early morning - usually in plenty of time to get a car and set off by 10, again OK to get to Skukuza.
Personally though I prefer the KLM way - it means you have had a good nights sleep before setting off on what is a fairly long journey.

Richard

I will be driving from JNB airport to Shingwedzi .
what is the quickest in your opinion ? enter at Phalaborwa or Punda Maria ?

For me I would always go in at Phalaborwa, it is quicker. The last 100km odd stretch of road to Punda can take a long time as it is tricky with all the people and anaimals around and all the traffic lights you have to stop at.

I agree with Richard.
We did the trip to Tsendze (near Mopani) from JHB a month ago.
I have also done the Ohrigstad route.
The N1 to Polokwane and from there to Phalaborwa is a lot more pleasant and safer than the Ohrigstad route. Have a look at .Shell Geostar to plan your trip.
The trip to Phalaborwa is not too long, you can do it in about 6-7 hours depending on how many times you stop. From Phalaborwa gate (which is right next to Phalaborwa) to Mopani is at least 2-3 hours depending on what you see along the way, and from Mopani to Shigwedzi also about 2-3 hours.

I would rather sleep over in Phalaborwa/Magoebaskloof or even Mopani if you're up to it and then you can have a leisurely drive to Shingwedzi in the morning.

According to the Shell Route Planner the distance from OR Tambo International to Punda Maria is 551km and the travel time is 5h58.

When traveling with my father-in-laws Landrover at 100km/h and stopping for a break we normally do it in under 7hours.

When we come over, our first flight is from Birmingham to Amsterdam, leaving at 6am.
We are scheduled to arrive at JNB at 9pm local time, which makes it a pretty long day.
I guess if we are through the airport and into our hire car by 10:30pm that will be good going.

I did plan to stay the night at the Formula 1 close to the airport but I see there is also one just off the N12 at Witbank.

Should we take the closer one or drive for an extra hour to Witbank and be a bit closer to the KNP for the next day?

If I was on my own, I'd drive as far as I could, have a kip in the car and be at the gates for opening but I can't see the wife going for that.