A Kruger visit during May 2021

[Grantmissy]

During our recent visit to Kruger I was trying to imagine how Kruger would be during a visit in May 2021 – ten years from now and I found it both difficult and exciting for different reasons.
What I could imagine was that Kruger will still be visited by people with an interest in nature conservation but with very different needs for more robust entertainment, accommodation, experiencing nature and getting around.
What I imagine is that Kruger will be a more high-tech orientated environment catering for people’s needs.
According to the SANParks short synopsis of key markets dated April 2011 current visitors are mainly mature ageing white people with a high disposable income who consider visits to Kruger almost like a pilgrimage.
I think this profile would have changed completely during a Kruger trip in May 2021 and therefore Kruger would be a very different place as the majority of visitors by then would probably expect a completely different experience.
What I do know is that if possible I would love to visit Kruger during May 2021 and I hope all the forum members will also visit during 2021!

[Dabchick]

Well I certainly hope that it won't have changed too much.
In 10 years time my friends and I will only be in our late 30s and early 40s, and we already regard a visit to the KNP as a kind of "pilgrimage" and we refer to it as our "Kruger fix" that we need to recuperate from our big city lifestyles.
When we get to the KNP we use cell phones only to call home every few days - the rest of the time it is switched off and we certainly don't want to access the internet from the park.
Part of the charm of the park is that we can get away from all the technology.
I'll that the KNP stays rustic and don't get turned into a high-tech zoo cum amusement park reminiscent of Jurassic Park.
Just imagine - instead of self-drive, "rides" on "railways" that depart every half hour - YUCK. (I hope I don't give the good Dr Mabunda any ideas with this imagery )

[Grantmissy]

I am working in an environment where I have close contact with many future potential Kruger overnight visitors and I was asked by some persons, of which many already went for day visits, how my recent trip to Kruger was followed by some general chit-chat regarding Kruger.
Just one of the points mentioned informally by some is that the current Kruger style accommodation is not really suitable or preferred for larger families or larger groups of people to stay overnight when a more budget type family visit would be planned especially over holiday periods.
It is mainly designed to accommodate 2 to three people or 4 to 6 in the bigger family cottages leaving the family or group separated.

[cheetah2111]

If it ain't broke - Don't fix it!!"

[Bundi]

I doubt much will change in the next ten years, providing the hotel development does not happen.

If you think of one of your trips ten years ago and compare it to one of your trips now...............not much has changed. Surely there are small things that does change all the time, but in general it is still the same.

You still get as excited about going to the Park,
You still have your favourite spots, like ten years ago,
The tiles in the bathrooms and chalets are still excatly the same,
The permanent tents are still the same ones (although some of them needs changing)
The linen are still from the same factory the hospitals buy theirs
And the restaurant at Lower Sabie has not learnt any lessons yet.

But we love Kruger all the same.

[jeroenvm]

By then technology, like iPhone apps with layar features, should allow visitors to enjoy the park more, making it more interesting and accessible to all. Imagine being able to take a photo of a bird and getting immediate information on-screen about what it is, habits etc. I'd be happy with that.
I hope by they will have brought the accommodation up to better standards, which really should be able to bring in more visitors willing to pay for decent quality, benefiting the park.

[harrys]

I peronally hope Kruger stays as it is,with self drives still the order off the day. Kruger is there for people who loves nature and wants to relax and breathe fresh air and take in Gods beautifull creation, why do anyone want luxury accomodation and all the technology that make our world so stressfull . If I had my way I would have them make all the accomodation camp sites and break down all the other accomodation .

Have a wonderfull day

[forestgump]

In May 2021, the wildebeest herds and zebra will be flourishing, due to more grassland areas.
Elephants will be as numerous as Impala,the last remaining Giraffes will be getting cramps in their necks from bending down to eat the leaves on low bushes.

[FlorisCathy]

Maybe by then the 'change reservation' is also possible by using the internet account, just as the reservations now already work. Because sending an e-mail takes very long and using the phone oversees is very expensive...

But I hope there won't be changed much to the park itself. Never change a winning team.

[missings.a.!]

I am wondering whether cultural celebrations and dancing such as what a forum member experienced last week at Skukuza will become the norm. I intensely prefer peace and quiet in Kruger.

I am at a loss why anyone would want to change the tranquility of a nature reserve. But it appears many developers think it is the ideal way to go.

Except, it does bother me that the accommodation is often in a poor condition and I still cannot get my head round why they serve food you can find in any high street restaurant chain anywhere in the world, when the camp restaurants should be a showcase for South African food.

[Meandering Mouse]

Missings, I agree with the food bit.

I think that the enviromental crisis will make Kruger a more valuable asset. I wonder how issues such as fuel might affect our ease of travel? Perhaps there will be a greater move towards group travel in Kruger vehicles.

Will Kruger be negatively affected by global warming? Will in impact on the movement of animals?

A big concern of mine is the lack of road infrastructure towards Mozambique. Will there be heated debate about highways through Kruger in the same way it is happening in Kenya?

I that Zimbabwe has a functional and concerned government and that the dream of the transfrontier park is becoming a reality. Maybe there will be an elephant corridoor all the way from Botswana to Mozambique, or at least the start of one.

I hope that there will be more options to elephant culling.

I hope that there will be greater cooperation between the defense force and nature concervation and *** poaching will be a capital crime. I hope that I will not feel my heart sink as I read of another *** killed.

[Grantmissy]

Thanks Meandering Mouse and everybody else for providing great “food for thought” – I think the content of the different posts is doing that well. There are so many complex issues facing Kruger that I think requires larger than life leadership, tenacity and sensitivity to solve.

[Crested Val]

I hope that we can leave our beloved parks to be as natural as they can be, with just the necessary upgrades to shabby or broken accommodation and public areas etc.
We just need it to be basic but clean and safe.

I hope that more money can be spent on stopping poaching, and generally looking out for the welfare of all the animals in the parks, after all it's their home not ours.

I also hope that more can be done to ensure that visitors do not break the rules, like speeding, littering getting out of their cars etc.

Ever the optimist am I.

[missings.a.!]

Agree with everything you say.

Interestingly, well to me anyway! Is that I have begun to build a collection of books and videos about Southern Africa. There are not too many videos on the Kruger and methinks the marketing people are missing something by not producing a selection. I can think of several titles and it would add to funds raised without increasing overcrowding.

However, Harry Wolhuter’s Memories of a Game Ranger it is an absolutely delight with beautifully written "educated" language. In it he talks of the problems of visitors misbehaving in KNP when they were exiting their vehicles at sightings and says that inevitably someone would be harmed.

So the problem of the inconsiderate and foolish visitors existed even then.

[Grantmissy]

Some really interesting and thought provoking viewpoints by forum members regarding a future Kruger visit. I think the number of future visitors will also have an impact, the more visitors the more development to please those visitors, the more visitors the higher (maybe) the impact of noise, littering and road kills. I also think that these factors existed in the past but the visitor numbers were less. Maybe the level of respect and concern for nature conservation and respect for Kruger as a sort of iconic institution displayed by the increasing number of visitors will have a determining impact of the future of Kruger. I think if the level of the aforementioned decreases Kruger may change and a visit in 2021 will be completely different than today. But what I do hope is that we all will have a shared nature conservation vision for Kruger first and foremost and that Kruger will never lose its sparkle and shine.