SANParks.org Forums

1. On average, how much fuel do you guys use (per/day or per/week).
2. How many km do you travel in one day?
3. Is there only one petrol station at Skukuza, or do some of the other camps also have petrol stations? If not, where is the closest fill-ups to Lower Sabie, Berg en Dal?
4. Any other fuel related advice will be welcome.

The amount of petrol used depends on the vehicle. My Fiat UNO used much less than the Honda Ballade we used for the last visit. What kind of vehicle do you drive? I'm sure the musketeers will then be able to help.

There are petrol stations at all major camps. Open for half an hour after gate closing time.

I drive a Toyota Corolla 1.6GL and get on average between 11 - 12 km/l.

Yip - Letaba and Shingwedzi have petrol stations as GP said.

Is fuel consumption not really good in the Park as one travels so slowly all the time?

I think it is safe to work on 100kms a day. Certainly not more, probably less, most days.

Consumption in Kruger sucks... realy sucks juice.

I drive a toyota too and generaly gets around 600km on 50l at avg 80-90km/h which relates to 12km/l. At 120km/h it could get to 700km/l.

In the park I will be lucky to get 450km on a 50l (9km/l). Driving slowly at snail's pace does nothing good for consumption.

Just for info for other people - all petrol stations in Kruger also have diesel. This is not always the case in other National Parks.

Diesel engines are completely opposite - they don't like speed they like to lug (pull hard) .
In the KNP I don't use the accelerator pedal at all , idle speed has enough torque to pull in any gear . So you let the clutch out (slowly) in 1st gear for about 8km/h . You can shift up to 2nd and then 3rd as required . 3rd gear does about 22 km/h and doesn't feel inclines or corrugations .
It's actualy a wierd feeling at first but it works because the injector pump senses any drop below idle speed and compensates instantaneously .
Consumption average is about 25 km/l (4 l/100km) like this , I bull.... you not including stopping time with idling engine , but I like to switch off engine , to let the outside sounds in , asap .

A landcruiser diesel bakkie can pull a 2 ton skiboat up out of the sea in thick sand using this exact technique - idle speed and slow release of clutch only . When petrolheads see this they can't comprehend . they are used to reving up and dropping clutches which results in all the torque being spilled on wheelspin .

A "Lister" diesel generator or waterpump is another example of a low-revving , economical (on fuel) yet immensly high-torque engine .

In the Landy (5 cylinder diesel), I take my foot of the pedal and cruise in 2nd at about 10 km/h and in 3rd at about 18 km/h. Very low fuel consumptions nice at viewing speeds. The problem is LBJs in bushes that cause frequent stops, reverses etc.

I do remember in days gone by, the 80's I think, that Total did have a wildlife sponsorship thing going. Don't know if that is still the case though. Remember that your rubbish bag you got at the entrance gate was sponsored and printed by them.
I could of course be fantasising about this and be completely wrong Age is catching up with me, you know.

"Regarding the SANParks/Total fuel tender:
* It is according to the contract that was first signed in 1958;
* The contract runs for 10 years. The current one runs from 2001 until 2011;
* It involves every park (not just Kruger!) and there are 32 petrol stations at various camps across the country;
* The original contract included the construction of a new camp on the Olifants River.
Up until then, the camp that is now called Balule was called Olifants.
The contract also includes funding to print the entrance permits, a certain amount of paper litter bags that are distributed to people entering the gates and various other commitments;
* The present contract stipulates that all the petrol stations have to comply with all environmental laws.
This is why a number have received face-lifts and others (eg Lower Sabie) have been rebuilt totally;
* Every now and then, various companies do approach KNP (or visa versa) with various ideas of sponsorship.
As a result of this, facilities are built, for example, Sappi recently sponsored the Sable Dam Hide."

[quote]November 21, 2003

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT FROM
TOTAL SA AND SANPARKS

For immediate release
SANPARKS AWARDS FUEL

TENDER TO TOTAL SA

TOTAL South Africa has once again been awarded the main fuels and lubricants contract for all the National Parks in South Africa. TOTAL has been successful in tendering for the SANParks contract since 1958.

The contract was officially signed between TOTAL and SANParks on November 21, 2003 at Skukuza camp in the Kruger National Park.
TOTAL will not only supply the main fuels and lubricants for use by SANParks in all of its parks in South Africa, but also fuel and lubricants for resale at the some 32 service stations operated by SANParks throughout the country.

The current contract will run until the year 2011. During 1958, two years after TOTAL South Africa started marketing petroleum products in South Africa, it successfully tendered for the national Parks contract against all the major oil companies in the country.
At the time TOTAL was given no chance of winning the contract because of its size.

Much to the amazement and distress of the other major oil companies, TOTAL was awarded the contract to supply all National Parks on January 1, 1959, and has been successful in retaining it since that date.
With the current contract having been awarded for a ten-year period until 2011, it will mean that TOTAL would have supplied SANParks with its petroleum needs for more than 50 years.

SANParks administer and manage 22 national parks throughout the country.
Of the 32 TOTAL service stations operated by SANParks, 12 are situated in the Kruger National Park.

Speaking at the signing of the new contract, Didier Harel, Managing Director and CEO of TOTAL said that the company was very proud and jealous of its long-standing association with the SANParks. "We at TOTAL believe that we have not only made a major contribution to the success and growth of SANParks efforts to ensure that our very precious and unique flora and fauna are conserved and managed effectively, but have also taken an active role in some of the projects undertaken by SANParks.

"TOTAL's involvement in and concern for nature conservation has been one of the pillars on which the company has been able to grow and become a major player in the oil industry in South Africa", Harel said. He expressed the hope that the association between the SANParks and TOTAL would be able to continue far beyond 2011 when the current contract comes to an end.

In his speech, SANParks CE Mr Mabunda said that the agreement between Total SA and SANParks was a classic example of how good relations can be between two companies, 50 years of business marriage is not child's play.
If this current relationship is anything to go by, therefore there is no reason to believe that this relationship cannot improve even more as the years go by.

In Kruger last April I drove a VW Touran TDI. We used the cruise-control while driving and always drove around 35km/h in fouth gear. Fuel consumption on average was 23km for one liter of diesel.