Skukuza is the main camp in the Kruger National Park and is substantially larger than several smaller towns in South Africa. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kruger National Park and offers accommodation to satisfy all tastes and needs. We stayed in a family bungalow on this trip.
Our bungalow had two bedrooms, each with an en suite bathroom. A large living area to relax in (we did not make much use of this as we were out as much as possible to find animals), a well-equipped kitchen with a fridge, microwave oven, and all other utensils one would need for a comfortable stay.
The Lowveld is known for being hot and fairly humid, and as our visit took place in November, well into the southern hemisphere summer, we appreciated the air-conditioners in the rooms.
Most will know the Kruger NP as the elite Big 5 National Park in South Africa. We could not agree more. And that is the reason for our visits to the park – to find larger game, other smaller animals and reptiles, birds, insects, and even fish if we can see them in the beak of a raptor. And then take photos. On this specific trip, we did not find any lions but we were fortunate with two leopards sighting in one day, and wild dogs and cheetah on our last day as we were leaving the park. However, there are more to do in the park than just self-drive game drives, guided drives by both external operators and internal, bushwalks, several historic and geological sites to visit, picnic at some of the more popular or lesser-known picnic sites (we discovered a couple we would love to return to), and too many other activities to mention.
You will find much negative feedback on social media about conditions, facilities, and service in the park, and all national parks for that matter – we experienced some of that ourselves during a recent return visit to Mapungubwe NP. However, we learned to prepare ourselves to go with as much of an “expect-the-worse”-attitude, and every time it turned out to be a great visit without any hick-ups. We learned to appreciate whatever comes our way and simply make the best of it.
We most definitely will return should we ever get the opportunity again. KNP is in our blood!
PS. we did not take any photos of the facilities we stayed at, but to make up for it we will bombard you with pictures of animals!
