SANParks.org Forums

Hi
As much as we love Kruger, my wife and I want to try other parks in SA, within about six
hours drive from JHB. Suggestions please.
Best
Jeff

Hi Jeffrey52. We are only allowed to discuss, on this Forum, parks that fall under SANParks.

Marakele National Park, north west of Johannesburg, is a SANPark and you can find details on the SANParks web site. It is a beautiful park, in the Waterberg mountain - lovely scenery, a good range of animals (not as much as Kruger) and great birds.

Mapungubwe, due north of Johannesburg and maybe slightly more than 6 hours' drive, is, again, very different. The park is set on the southern bank of the Limpopo River, with view points looking over the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers and into Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Mokala National Park, near Kimberley, is also lovely. Several unusual animals - black springbok, copper springbok and interesting birds. It is on the edge of the Kalahari and you can see birds resident in the western half of the country there. It might be slightly more than 6 hours from Johannesburg.

I have been to all the above parks and can strongly recommend them. Another SANPark (which I have not been to) is Golden Gate National Park, near Clarens in the Orange Free State - south east from Johannesburg.

I suggest you go into "Parks A-Z" at the top of this page and have a look at all the information.

Happy planning.

Kgalagadi. 6 hours and a few minutes.

It is worth the 'few' minutes.

You Gauties are wimps. We Capeys have to drive at least 2 days each way to Kruger.

And pop in to Augrabies too. A gem.

BB - I absolutely agree, but I was trying to stick to Jeffrey's "6 hour" limit!!

I think I prefer KTP to KNP, in some ways, but it is a long trek and one really has to stay for 10-12 days to make it worthwhile. I can get to KNP in 4 hours from home and that makes a shorter trip feasible. Jeffrey's 6 hour limit also allows for shorter trips.

I also agree about Augrabies - worth including it in a KTP trip.

We are not going to KTP this year, but hope to return in 2014.

This time next week I will be near the end of the 11 hour trip from the Cape to KTP.

Think of me then Hippotragus.

Grrrrrrrr! I know envy is a sin, but I am envious! Have a superb trip and let us know all about it.