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Kruger National Park vs. private game reserves in South Africa
An At-A-Glance Guide to Choosing Between Kruger National Park and South Africa's Private Game Reserves When it came to planning our trip to South Africa, Kia left me to my own devices, knowing how much I enjoyed poring over maps and researching possible routes. It's fun most of the time, but occasionally stressful because I know I'm responsible if something goes wrong. With this in mind, I have endeavored to answer a key question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of Kruger National Park compared to private game reserves in South Africa? A safari in…
Kruger National Park vs. private game reserves in South Africa
An at-a-glance guide to choosing between Kruger National Park and private game reserves in South Africa
When it came to planning our trip to South Africa, Kia left me to my own devices, knowing how much I enjoyed poring over maps and researching possible routes. It's fun most of the time, but occasionally stressful because I know I'm responsible if something goes wrong.
With this in mind, I have endeavored to answer a key question: What are the advantages and disadvantages of Kruger National Park compared to private game reserves in South Africa?
A safari in South Africa is a bucket list item and I didn't want to go wrong. So I spent a few hours browsing guidebooks and blog posts to weigh our options. To save you the same hassle, I've compiled my findings below to give you an at-a-glance guide to choosing between Kruger National Park and private game reserves in South Africa.
Kruger National Park in brief
Kruger National Park is one of the best destinations in the world for wildlife viewing. Covering an area of 19,485 km2 (roughly the size of Wales!), the park is home to an abundance of the Big Five wildlife (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) as well as 142 other mammals including cheetah, giraffe, hippopotamus, zebra and hyena.
alt=“Big 5 sightings are the Kruger National Park and private game reserves in South Africa”>Atlas & BootsBig Five sightings are not uncommon in Kruger National Park
Named after Paul Kruger, former President of the South African Republic, the park was partially protected in 1898 and became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
In 2002, Kruger National Park joined Mozambique's Limpopo and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou. The resulting Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park became the largest wildlife park in Africa, allowing the free movement of animals in one of the largest nature reserves in the world.
Private game reserves coming soon
The "Greater Kruger Park" refers to the Kruger National Park (managed by the government through SANParks) and the adjacent private game reserves, some of which share unfenced boundaries with Kruger.
The private game reserves in South Africa are more expensive but also more comfortable. Sabi Sands is the most luxurious of them (and therefore the most expensive). Other private game reserves in the area include: Balule, Kapama, Klaserie, Makalali, Manyeleti, Thornybush and Timbavati.
We stayed at Honeyguide Khoka Moya Camp in Manyeleti Game Reserve. Manyeleti, owned by the local Mnisi tribe, is the only park allowed access to black South Africans during apartheid.
Take a look at this map to get an idea of the overall layout of the private game reserves in Kruger.
Kruger National Park vs. private game reserves
Below we list relevant information to help you choose between Kruger National Park and private game reserves in South Africa.
| Private game reserves | National Park (public) | |
|---|---|---|
| The big 5 | Yes | Yes |
| General sightings | Good Most lodges are located in the south where leopard sightings are common. Guides exchange information, making locating game easier (although radio contact can be distracting). | Good Depends on your ability to find animals when driving yourself. Larger herds, greater animal diversity. |
| Crowd level | Low Even when the lodges are full, the guides limit the number of vehicles during sightings. | High Very busy during school holidays (Dec-Jan, Easter and June-Jul). Expect tour buses, commercial restaurants and an uncontrolled number of vehicles at sightings. |
| Vehicle limit for sightings | Yes | No |
| Self-driving | No | Yes |
| Off-road | Yes | No |
| Guided game drives | Yes Some lodges limit the number of people per vehicle so everyone has a window seat. | Yes. These can have 10 people per vehicle, so not everyone will have a window seat. |
| Dedicated trackers | Yes | No |
| Private game drives | Yes | No |
| Night trips | Yes | No game drives are restricted to daylight hours. The exception is if you book an evening trip with SANParks. Private operators and self-drive tourists are not allowed to drive after dark. |
| Area covered | Limited You see a small part of the Greater Kruger with minimal landscape variations. | Far-reaching greater distances, greater landscape and vegetation diversity. |
| Guided hiking | Yes Typically offered as standard. | Yes. You can book a guided hike with SANParks rangers. |
| flexibility | Rigid The daily routine in private game reserves is usually quite fixed. | Free |
| Accommodation | Luxury lodges with air conditioning, private pools, WiFi and spa facilities. | Simple bungalows with air-conditioning, private bathrooms, and kitchens; simple cabins with shared bathrooms and kitchens; Camping. There are a few private lodges in the park, but they use the same roads as everyone else and therefore don't offer good value for money. |
| Eat | High standards | Basic standard |
| Self-sufficiency | No | Yes |
| cost point | High to sky high | standard |
Our recommendation
Kruger National Park offers the opportunity to see larger herds and a greater variety of animals. The landscape is more diverse and the costs are much more manageable.
If you can afford it, we recommend a private game reserve for all of the reasons mentioned above. Of course, costs play a big role. We spend a lot more per night than usual, but our philosophy is that if you're flying all the way to South Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime safari, there's no point skimping there.
Good luck and let us know in the comments if you have any questions.
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