What makes the Kruger “THE KRUGER”?

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Well, if you ask us what makes the Kruger National Park “THE KRUGER”, our answer wouldn’t be the prolific game or birdlife, awesome as that might be. To us, what makes the Kruger National Park special is the wide variety of habitats and scenery where all this life finds a niche to flourish. At almost 20,000km² in size, the Kruger National Park is bigger than some countries, and naturally a piece of land that enormous would encompass many different landscapes and habitats; in fact there are pronounced differences in the scenery as one travels from south to north through Kruger’s 350km length.

This first gallery of images were taken during my solo visit at the end of May to Pretoriuskop and Skukuza in the south of the Park.

Scenery near Pretoriuskop, complete with a giraffe
Beautiful Blue Water Lily
Impala Lily
Growing Sausage-Tree fruit
The reed-grown bed of the Sabie River
A Sycomore Fig Tree in a dry stream bed near Phabeni Gate
Sunrise over the Sabie River
Sunset Dam at Lower Sabie
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Animals congregating at Transport Dam
Animals congregating at Transport Dam
The Mountains of Malelane
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area – this hill is called Shabeni
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Kruger sunset
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Sunset near Pretoriuskop

The north of Kruger has a quite different character to the southern parts. Here, the Mopane and Baobab trees dominate the landscape, by virtue of their numbers and size, respectively.

This gallery of images were taken during our visit from 15 to 24 June to the northern reaches of the Park (based at Shingwedzi Rest Camp)

Animals congregating at a waterhole to the north of Babalala
A wide bend in the Shingwedzi River
Giraffe crossing the dry bed of the Shingwedzi
A pool at Red Rocks
A dry Shingwedzi River near Tshange viewpoint
A seemingly serene pool of water at Red Rocks
Baobab with Buffalo Weaver nests
Impala Lily
Impala Lily (Photo by Joubert)
Mopane leaves are uniquely butterfly- or spoor-shaped
Large Jackalberry tree on the Mphongolo Road
Baobab in a see of mopane, on the way to Bateleur
Sunset at the Mphongolo-Shingwedzi confluence
Mopane shrubs
Mopane tree
Sunset elephants in the Shingwedzi (Photo by Joubert)
The last photo taken today – sunset over the dry bed of the Shingwedzi River
Red Rocks from the viewpoint

 

30 thoughts on “What makes the Kruger “THE KRUGER”?”

  5. petrujviljoen

    Daar’s ‘n paar landskappe wat ek herken en ook foto’s van het. Die rocky outcrops by Pretoriuskop. Die groot ronde een is pure graniet – sê mense my.
    ‘n Fantastiese gallery van fotos van die KNP Dries. Wil nog eendag die noorde besoek.

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  8. Anne

    Kruger, oh Kruger … if only we did not live so far away! I have Kruger in my blood, having visited it since I was about four years old. Now I experience such heimwee when I see your photographs! A day spent at Addo yesterday assuaged that – a little!

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    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      Addo has a much different “sense of place” to it compared with Kruger, and that makes it a worthwhile destination all its own. The recent expansions to Addo, from the Karoo beyond the Zuurberge to the Indian Ocean, really puts Addo in a class of its own as well there simply isn’t any reserve anywhere on earth that can compare to Addo in its current state, and that gets me really excited!
      (And not forgetting the relaxed ellies!)

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  10. John

    Beautiful photos of both animals and plants!😊 It’s a dream to go to the Kruger Park! My sister and her husband have been there on safari.The Kruger Park is the most famous and well-known in the world. I watch Nat Geo Wild, on that channel they show a lot from Kruger Park.

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    1. de Wets Wild Post author

      Thank you, Lois!
      Places like THE KRUGER, where nature still rules supreme over large tracts of land for the most part, are so precious. There are very few such places remaining.

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    2. de Wets Wild Post author

      Thank you, Lois!
      Places like THE KRUGER, where nature still rules supreme over large tracts of land for the most part, are so precious. There are very few such places remaining.

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