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I'd be interested to hear from you what your typical day in Kruger is like?
Sorry for the load of questions but........

What time you leave the camp in the morning?
How long you out for?
Do you stop for food during the day?
How far you drive?
Do you split the day up with rest in between back at camp?
What time you get back to camp for the night?
Do you spend most time on H-roads or S-roads?

Any info will be fantastic as I can get a feel for the ideas from you for my visit in August.

Thanks

Rob

Hi Rob
I leave camp at gate opening times.
Normally with a cooler bags with drinks and some snacks.
I prefer the sand roads and look for a spot to stop and to be alone.
I don't prefer picnic spots, too busy for me. I will drive around until i feel its time to head back to camp but normally I will rest at camp between 12 and 3 o'clock.
Then its time again for the afternoon drive, only returning by gate closing time.
Then its relaxing time with a fire going....*sigh*

Hi Rob

My typical day in Kruger, drive from the time the gates open until its time for the gates to close Obviously during my upcoming trip this is going to change a bit

In your situation I think it depends on a 2 issues....when (what season) you go and how long (many days) you go for.

If in summer then its far too hot to drive after 9 or 10am...I go out for a drive when the gates open and come back for a siesta and drive out again just after 3:30 until gate closing time.

If in winter its ok to drive the whole day, the days are nice and usually sunny and not very hot

If you only go for a few days you obviously want to see as much as you can and therefor stay out of camp longer.

Its great to plan your route and cover all roads, both gravel and tar. Its also nice to stop at a picnic spot, depending which one, either make your own food on the "skottel" or order from the shop.

When are you going (oops, just saw now that you're going in August) to Kruger and which camps are you staying at....then maybe we can give you some more advice.

Try to be first at the gate

Untill 11h00 or so and then for a nice brunch

If it is a long drive, most definately for a pie and gravy and cips at one of the camps


In the afternoons before the gates close, we like to sit at a waterhole or a dam
In time just before the gates close

I love the dirt roads more than the main roads

Rob, these are only my choices and my typical day in a park. I know other people do have different preferences

Hi there nothsafoto. Good questions!

During August it will be winter in KNP and according to my book winter is by far the best season to visit...it's not that hot, bush is not that dense, not a lot of water in the bush, etc,etc.

We usually leave camp when the gates open, drive around scavenging the "kosblik" (food-box...a 2 liter ice-cream container), left-overs of the previous night's "braaivleis" (BBQ), and return round about 11 or 12 to have a bit of a siesta and sitting around.

Well, thinking of it we eat like carnivores...meat, meat, biltong, dried wors, some more meat and maybe a little bit of bread and boiled eggs as well just for variety sake!

In the afternoons we are going out again about 2 hours before gates closing time and return just before the gates close.

After arriving late afternoon it's time for braai again...lekker (tasty) meat and maybe a bit of sausages as well just to add a bit of variety to the menu!

We tend to drive more on gravel roads.

Enjoy your holiday and remember your trip report!

The main tar roads(H) are more busy (traffic) than the dirt roads(S).
But on both roads you may see all the animals.
During the middle part of the day it becomes very hot,then animal activity is very low,
so a lot of people head back 2 camp during 11am-3pm.
Best game viewing times for me are the 1st 3 hours and the last 3 hours of the day.

Hi Rob!

I'm a little lazier, and don't get out of camp when the gates open, but 20 minutes later.
That gives me time to load the car with the photography gear, food, Thermos flasks of boiling water (for the morning instant coffee), and a cooler bag with ice and soft drinks (beer, whiskey,
fruit juice) for the afternoon.
And a few bottles of water, dehydration can become a fact!
While doing that I have 2 cups of coffee and a smoke, so I'm totally awake.

Then it's clean the cups, straighten the bungalow/tent, check if it's monkey proof.
If it has been raining, or dew has settled on the grass, a tar road is what ones needs.
Cats don't like water, remember?
And the tar heats quicker than gravel.
So tar roads to see more lions if we want to, but leopards are cats too, so...

We usually have more or less planned which roads to drive, depending on a few factors.
Sightings of course, but there is more: light!
If staying in Satara I be travelling towards Orpen, not the S100 for instance.
That way the sun will be behind me, so I can make photos of the <fill in animal>, not get a silhouette!
In the evening it'll be turned around of course.

Midday is a disaster for photography, the sunlight is way too harsh, and that results in bleached out colours, so you need branches overhead.
Now in the Pafuri area to name one it's no problem, otherwise it's time for hides, waterholes etc.
And a picnic of course, the tummy will be rumbling, and picnic spots are good for birding.
If need be shopping will be done around that time as well.

Then comes the evening Golden hour, so if you know a spot where you're likely to get that <fill in animal> it's off to that place.
Like Sunset dam for instance.

Inside the gate with plenty time to spare (2 minutes or so), relax with a beer, light the braai, chat with neighbours (if they are willing) to find out what's where in sightings, eat, more beer while listening to the sounds of the bush, and early to bed.

Hi Rob
We normally start the day the night before - studying the map to make our decisions about what route to take.
We tend to have the bad habit of moving camps too often, but if we are two or more nights in one camp, then we try not to do the same route 2 days running.
We make sure as much is ready as possible the night before so next morning we only need to shower, make coffee/tea/hot chocolate for the road and load everything in the car.
Hubby is a very early riser so he makes sure we are ready looooong before quite necessary - he says we can sleep in at home.
Always stop somewhere for a lekker brekkie/brunch fry up mid morning.
Snax snax snax all day.
We very seldom are close enough to get home for lunch - anyway one can be lucky in the heat of the day and there is less traffic.
Or we just laze at the nearest picnic spot if we are tired.
Back at camp at the last possible minute to prepare for braai, decide on the route for the next day and early to bed!
Isn't it just the nicest holiday one can have?
And yes - we always fit in at least 1 pie and gravy

It really depends on what season it is and where we are.

I'm up first, just before the gates open.
Put the kettle on, get dressed fill the flask, stock the cooler bag with cold water bottles.
Then we grab the mugs, coffee, flask, rusks, binoculars, books and camera and we are out of the gates about 10 mins after they open.

We drive for about 1/2 hour to an hour then find a quite spot, preferably a waterhole or something, and have our coffee and rusks.

We then drive on for another hour or so and then have some breakfast in one of the camps.
We'll do another 2-3 hour drive and then have a light lunch.
If it's summer then we'll laze around our bungalow until about 2-3 hours before the gates close, then we'll have a slow drive out and back, with no where particular in mind.
If it's winter then we'll probably drive all day, stopping at a picnic site or camp to stretch our legs etc.

In the evening we'll shower, eat, write the diary entry, download photos etc and put all the gear near the door so we can grab it on our way out in the morning.

If we're in a bush camp then maybe we'll stay around there for the whole day.

We get up at 8h30, shower and have breakfast.
We then go out on a little drive, and get back in time for a swim before lunch.
Then we have a siesta while the kids find some others to donder, and then have an afternoon drive.
We get back before 17h00 to light the fire before it gets dark.
After the braai, we sit around the fire chilling until late.

We will be in KNP for 6 nights in the bungalows at various camps in Nov. '12. Since we're new to this
could someone give me an example of what a typical day might include? We will have a rental car and \
this is our first time in S. Africa & KNP. We're very excited !!!

Hey!

Welcome to the forums!

Which camps are you staying at?

My day goes like this"
5:00am - wake up and make coffee for the rest of the family.
5:10am - Wake up rest of family
5:30am - Leave for a drive as the gates open
9-10 - Go back to camp and have breakfast, sometimes later depends on sightings. If I had a drivers licence and didn't have to be driven my parents I would stay and drive the whole day! But that might be tiring for beginners
11-1:30pm - Drive or have lunch and come back and sleep.
3:00pm - until gates close - drive. This is the best time in the day for game viewing as all the predators come out.
Then come home and have a lekker braai! This is definitely the best part of the day!


But this is an average day, but almost all of them something will change. You might see the most amazing sighting ever and sit there the whole day.


Enjoy and good luck!

Pretty much the same as above only we often plan our day to have breakfast at one of the picnic sites (but we bought a cooler box on arrival and took picnic set of plates etc with us). With the long days a siesta after lunch is often appreciated
After a braai dinner we take a good torch and do a walk around the camp and the perimeter - you see some terrific wildlife this way

Wake up at 5.00am, leave the camp at 5.30, drive until you reach a picnic site, make breakfast (bacon,eggs,tomato etc) then continue driving till about lunchtime, go back to camp have a bit of a rest then drive again till gate closing time,get back to camp,shower/bath then have a braai,and dicuss the routes that will be driven tomorrow

Lioness7, a very warm welcome to you

My most marvelous moment is waking up and that first cup of coffeee.

I like to sip it slowly and take in the sights and sounds. It is a prayer in itself. I will often pack a flask and have my next cup at a waterhole a view site or a dam. Then I decide from there... each day is different.