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It’s amazing how far a person needs to go these days in order to secure decent warthog legs or ostrich steak. The good news is that the N1 north or the N4 east will place you in the right direction. Either highway will take you from Johannesburg or Pretoria toward a state park within the Republic of South Africa that equals the size of Massachusetts, Wales, Belgium or Israel. And along the way you’re sure to pass roadside stands vying for visitors to taste what for locals is considered “the usual.”
Kruger National Park is one overseas destination still affordable for Americans, if you can survive the airfare. Eight rand to the dollar is roughly what you’re up against. Once in country, the sub-Saharan cost of living will have a bit more mercy and leave you with the experience of a lifetime.
Located in the Transvaal in the northeast portion of the country, Kruger is bordered by Zimbabwe to the north and Mozambique to the east. Approximately 7,500 square miles are home to a diverse animal population, including impala, waterbuck, zebra, blue wildebeest, kudu, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, sable antelope, roan antelope, tsessebe, reedbuck, warthog, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and hundreds more.
There’s a certain irony in the fact that President Paul Kruger decided in 1884 that the time had come to preserve what was considered then fast vanishing wildlife in the Transvaal. By the early twentieth century the effort bore fruit and, thanks to the likes of Colonel Stevenson-Hamilton, the Kruger National Park was born. This was the first time land had been set aside solely for conservation purposes in Africa.
Today, the world is grateful for these early conservationists. Their vision has allowed for millions to glimpse the cycle of life on earth that connects us all to our humble beginnings. A few rules for your visit to Kruger:
1. Drive slowly once inside the park. If caught speeding you’ll pay a hefty fine. The wisdom of this rule will become evident as one species after the next takes advantage of the few and far between tarred roads.
2. Enter after sunrise and leave before sunset. Once again, another Solomaic rule. You’ll be amazed at how many eyes peer back at you in the early and late hours of the day and more often than not, on all sides of your car!
3. Call in advance to reserve accommodations inside the park. This is an unforgettable experience you won’t want to miss, especially having come this far. Bring a recording device, since the night hours offer sounds right out of a Star Wars episode. If you have money to burn, go all out and reserve luxurious lodging in a more remote part of the park. If not, reserve a bungalow at Skukuza Camp. The prices are very affordable and the location is perfect for venturing out on homemade safaris via car.
4. If you’re exceptionally brave and prefer a walking tour inside the park, you’re nuts. Don’t do it. But if you do, you’ll need to make your reservation almost a year in advance (hint — always call to inquire about cancellations…maybe you’ll get lucky).
5. Whatever you do, take your time. You will be hard-pressed to comprehend the wonderful feeling of moving with a herd of giraffe, spotting a lion breaking for lunch or an elephant calling for its young prior to charging your car.
6. Don’t get out of your car. Outside the park, you’ll notice that, like any country, South Africa is complex. Apartheid ended in 1993 but the issue of race continues to shape its cultural landscape. Reminders of the residual effects of housing individuals according to skin color are everywhere. White, black, colored and indian-dominated neighborhoods, for example, seem more systemic in scope than in America but that observation eventually fails. Some countries are simply further along in the ability to mask the issue.
Fortunately, like all of us, South Africans are beautiful people, proud of their rich heritage and intent on maintaining the best of their traditions. Music, language, art, sports, history, nature, safaris and ostrich steak will make you wish you could stay. You will be made to feel welcomed, and Kruger is only the beginning.
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