Kruger National Park

Wildlife

Key wildlife

• Lion
• Leopard
• Elephant
• White rhino
• Black rhino
• Buffalo
• Cheetah
• African wild dog
• Giraffe
• Hippo
• Spotted hyena
• Nile crocodile
• Zebra
• Greater kudu
• Impala

All of the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) live in Kruger National Park.

Best Time to Visit

Short answer: May–Sep. Also good: Oct–Dec, Jan–Feb.

Peak Good Quieter

Kruger is a year-round destination, but the dry winter months from May to September are widely considered the best period for wildlife viewing.

September and October mark the transition to spring. The bush is at its driest and most open, producing some of the year’s best game viewing.

The wet summer months from November to March is the best season for birdwatching, and it is also when many animals give birth. Seeing newborns alongside their mothers is one of the most memorable experiences Kruger has to offer.

Note that Kruger falls within a malaria zone. The risk is highest during the wet summer months when mosquito activity peaks.

Getting There

The most convenient airport for the southern section of the park is Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA), located near Nelspruit (Mbombela).

KMIA receives daily flights from Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban, and the drive from the airport to the nearest park gates — Numbi or Malelane — takes under an hour.

For the central section, Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport serves the Orpen Gate area and the private reserves of Timbavati, Klaserie, and Thornybush. Skukuza Airport, located inside the park itself near the main rest camp, offers daily scheduled flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Many luxury private lodges in the Greater Kruger reserves offer direct charter transfers from Johannesburg to private bush airstrips, with flight times of around 90 minutes.

For self-drive visitors, Johannesburg is approximately four to five hours from the park’s southern gates via the N4 or N12 highways.

Nearest airport: Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (MQP)

Fees & Access

Entrance fees

Daily conservation fees from 1 Nov 2026 to 31 Oct 2027 are R692 per adult per day for international visitors (R345 per child). South African citizens and residents pay R140 per adult (R70 per child), and SADC nationals pay R296 (R147 per child). Children are 2–11 years; under-2s enter free. Mozambique and Zimbabwe nationals pay the South African rate.

All gates are cashless; payments are accepted by card only, and fees are per person per day.

Gate hours

Entrance gates generally open at 05:30 or 06:00 and close between 17:30 and 18:30, depending on the season.

Summer months (Nov–Jan) have longer hours (05:30–18:30), while winter months (Apr–July) have shorter hours (06:00–17:30).

Health

Malaria risk: High. Ask a travel clinic about antimalarials before you go.

Fees and gate times change. Check the latest rates with the park authority before you travel.

Things to Do

Kruger offers far more than game drives. The park’s scale and diversity of habitats make it one of Africa’s most activity-rich destinations, with experiences ranging from self-drive exploration to guided wilderness trails.

Self-drive game drives — Kruger’s 1,800 km road network is among the most accessible in Africa. Armed with a map and a good field guide, self-drive visitors can spend days exploring independently, following the S-roads (gravel routes) that offer the best off-the-beaten-path sightings.

Guided open-vehicle safaris — SANParks offers guided morning and evening drives from most rest camps in open Land Rovers. Private lodge guests have exclusive access to off-road driving and spotlight night drives, dramatically increasing wildlife encounter rates.

Wilderness trails — Kruger is one of the few parks in Africa where you can walk among the Big Five on a fully guided multi-day wilderness trail. Five designated trails (Olifants, Wolhuter, Metsi-Metsi, Nyalaland, and Sweni) operate from remote fly camps, with a maximum of eight participants per trail.

Bush braai and night drives — Several rest camps offer bush braai experiences and night drives with spotlight searches for nocturnal species including leopard, hyena, civet, and aardvark.

Birding — With 507 recorded species, Kruger is a world-class birding destination. The Pafuri region in the far north is considered the park’s premier birding area, home to sought-after species like the Pel’s fishing owl, racket-tailed roller, and Bohm’s spinetail.