Indholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2025 i Kruger Magazine

“The bare trees and landscapes now wait for the first rains to crown them in fresh green.” Welcome to the Spring 2025 issue of KRUGER MAGAZINE With spring peeping around the corner, it’s hard to believe we are already approaching the fourth quarter of 2025 – and at such a pace. The slower rhythm of autumn and winter has ended, and Mother Nature is quietly signalling the change. The dry leaves have stopped falling, and the bare trees and landscapes now wait for the first rains to crown them in fresh green. Another wedding was recently celebrated in the Kruger National Park – which seems to be becoming the venue of choice for nature lovers. You can read more about this one on page 11. Speaking of venues, we feature…

Their first visit to the Kruger in 2018 sparked a love for the Park that would shape the years ahead. From early mornings at waterholes to camping under the stars, it became the backdrop for milestones – including a marriage beneath a Kruger tree. Our first visit to the Kruger National Park took place about six and a half years ago on 9 October 2018. Our shared passion for wildlife and nature drew us to this enchanting place, where we immediately felt a sense of tranquillity and magic. The Kruger quickly became our cherished ‘happy place’, a sanctuary where we could unwind and escape the chaos of the outside world. Following that first visit, we returned numerous times, often staying at the Pretoriuskop Rest Camp in cozy huts for quick…

In Southern Africa, there are 18 bird species that carry the name ‘chat’. Twelve of these are true chats while another five are the robin-chats. There is also a chat flycatcher. The robin-chats are generally rather furtive birds, while the true chats are less shy and fairly easy to see. In the Kruger National Park (KNP) and its surrounding areas there are four of the true chats and four robin-chats. The chat flycatcher is a bird of the arid west and does not occur in the KNP. This article will focus on the four true chats, while the four robin-chats will be covered in the next edition of KRUGER MAGAZINE. Though they share a name, chats are widely diverse in looks and behaviour, and no two are from the same…

Introduction Topping the lists of the most sought-after Bushveld creatures by visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP), must surely be the ‘big cats’… the iconic lion, leopard and cheetah. Even the smaller, more elusive cat species, such as serval, African wild cat and caracal, trigger enormous excitement when spotted by the flick of a tail or twitch of an ear. Whilst these terrestrial cat species are often observed by tourists to the Park, most visitors are unaware of another group of ‘underwater cats’ that lives in the rivers of the Park. The Kruger National Park boasts the highest diversity of freshwater fish species amongst all the national parks in South Africa, with an estimated 49 fish species naturally occurring in the Park. The ‘Life in the Rivers of the…

I often think of that day in November when I photographed this majestic elephant that had come to cool off at the water’s edge. He seemed to savour that moment as much as I did. With my husband, we had booked a day at Umgede Hide, located in the Balule Reserve in the Greater Kruger National Park. This hide is a special place for nature lovers. Having been there several times, I know how essential patience is. That day, sitting in silence with my eyes fixed on the waterhole, I waited… Suddenly, a movement on the right caught my attention. There he was. A magnificent elephant. My heart raced; I was captivated. A mixture of emotions – awe and a touch of fear – washed over me. Seeing one of…

Jaws, Paws & Claws Quite the mouthful, eh? As passionate wildlife lovers, we often find ourselves pursuing these words. Let’s elaborate. Jaws – one might first think of a yawning lion or lioness. Perhaps a crocodile? For me, it recalls two remarkable encounters with the powerful jaws of the spotted hyaena – a year apart, oddly enough at the same location: the culvert on the H3, 1km south of the S118. There I discovered a hyaena mother nursing about 30 metres off the tar, her pups barely visible. I returned often, hoping for a better glimpse. One day, parked at the culvert’s edge, lens on the beanbag and engine off, I noticed tiny paw prints at the entrance. Silence. A flick of an ear, a sniffing nose, then a head.…

Is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of nearly two million hectares (20 000km²) in the province of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the north-east of South Africa. It extends 360km from north to south and 65km from east to west. It became South Africa’s first National Park in 1926. In 1993, fences between Associated Private Nature Reserves (APNR) and the Kruger National Park were removed to encourage wildlife migration and the Greater Kruger National Park was born.…

In this series we will be covering the most popular roads to travel in the Kruger National Park (KNP). The popularity of certain roads has come about over the years thanks to the amazing wildlife sightings it produced. It is commonly known that wildlife has territories they roam, which then become home for these animals – and it is therefore not surprising that some of the big cats are named by frequent visitors to the Park. There are even WhatsApp groups for some of the leopards and sightings are posted there. This series will start with a map of the area/road we cover, so next time you book for a stay, maybe choose the road, then the rest camp or camps – which we will include in each article. Keep…

Our KRUGER BIRD CHALLENGE was initially created to generate funds to finance the production costs for the regular Conservation Projects that we showcase in each issue of KRUGER MAGAZINE. The project was launched on 21 September 2021. Little did we know how popular it would become. From individuals to couples to groups – some of which have registered for a second round, mostly to better their own previous challenge. Many of our registered challengers are groups, including friends, families and even business colleagues. It is an ideal group activity, and we are quite sure that there is a lot of ’inside challenging’ within these groups, making it even more challenging! 400 days after the first registrations started pouring in, we had the first challengers’ Checklists coming in, and by that…

General description The star chestnut, Sterculia rogersii (sterkastaiing in Afrikaans; mbava in Xitsonga; shimbvumbvu, munamu or mukakate in Tshivenda) is a deciduous tree and one of two chestnut tree species occurring in the Kruger National Park (KNP). The star chestnut is a small (up to 6m tall), thickset tree with an unusually thick, seemingly succulent-like main trunk, most often dividing near the ground into multiple stems. It has a very sparse, moderately spreading crown. A typical tree can be seen in the garden in front of the restaurant at Olifants Rest Camp. Identification The bark is smooth, brownish-red and peels off in paper-thin flakes to reveal the glossy, yellow to yellow-green, mauve to purple or pink bark underneath. Leaves are alternately arranged or clustered on short side branches, three-lobed (sometimes…

In Issue 30 of KRUGER MAGAZINE, we commenced the development history of commercialisation in the Kruger National Park (KNP) and in the previous edition (32) the fourth phase running from 1955 to 2001 was covered. Overview of commercial history The commercial development history of the Park can be categorised into the following phases: Phase 1 - Up to 1930 (4 years) – Early pioneering years. Phase 2 - 1930 to 1945 (15 years) – Several small operators were appointed to run all commercial activities (retail and food) while simultaneously checking in overnight guests. Phase 3 - 1946 to 1955 (11 years) – After World War II, when volumes increased, a single operator, called Kruger Park Services, was appointed for all camps. They managed shops, restaurants, filling stations and garages, while SANParks…

Spring has always been a season to celebrate. In South Africa, many of us remember Spring Day at school – that one special day when we could leave our uniforms at home and arrive dressed in bright, colourful attire. Ask around why we celebrate spring and you’ll hear a range of answers from different walks of life. For us, working closely with the hospitality world, the answer is simple. Our warm, sunny days combined with unrivalled natural beauty, wildlife and landscapes make South Africa one of the finest travel destinations in the world. Add to that our love of hosting, and there’s hardly a better place to shake off the cold and worries of life than here in our sunny country. Celebrations bring inspiration – so mark spring in whatever…

“Mine is Mahlometela.…the man who sees everything.” Soon after I arrived at Malelane Section in the nineties, I discovered one had to have eyes at the back of your head to ensure you remained on top of all the activities (legal and illegal) that made up a typical day of ranger obligations in this special part of the Kruger National Park. Firstly, the Crocodile River represents the southern boundary of the Park and transgressions in and around the river were many. Also, at the time Malelane Gate was the second busiest gate in terms of access by tourists and the plethora of camps and picnic sites resulted in many man-made impacts that had an influence on the biodiversity of the area. The month of June 1995 was no exception, and…

THEME GRAZERS AND BROWSERS Spring 2025 Theme: GRAZERS and BROWSERS Once again, our GRAZERS and BROWSERS theme produced an incredible variety of entries – exactly what makes this category so enjoyable. Imagine how dull it would be to choose winners if every photo was of the same species! Thank you to all entrants for keeping us on our toes. Congratulations to our winners – well deserved. And to our sponsors – a warm thank you. Our next theme is KNP SELF-DRIVE, CAMPS & HIDES, so get your photo library ready for entries when we kick off in mid-September. Please check the Ts&Cs carefully, as there may be changes. 1 Elisabeth Sicard – Winner ‘Quiet strength’ Elisabeth wins a three-night midweek stay for six guests at Leopard Rock Guest Lodge. Sponsors: Leopard…

Introduction Most, if not all, visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) who have more than a general interest in the flora and fauna of the Park are aware that there is a diversity of plants and animals in the far north that they have not seen elsewhere in the Park. The Pafuri Picnic Site for example, is a well-known spot where many birdwatchers see birds they do not see elsewhere in the KNP. But few people are aware of just how uniquely rich this part of the KNP is in terms of flora and fauna. In total, an astonishing 250 plants and animals have been recorded here and nowhere else in the KNP. But what is meant by the ‘far northern KNP’? It simply is the area north of…

In issue 27 of KRUGER MAGAZINE several terms and concepts describing vegetation groupings at different spatial scales were introduced and explained. To recap, ‘Allies’ in the KNP context are either veld types with similar dominant vegetation but on different geological formations, or similar geology and dominant vegetation but considerably different geomorphology. In issue 28, the first two vegetation Allies of the Kruger National Park (KNP) were described. Allies 1 and 2 are unique in the KNP, each consisting of one landscape only. In issue 29, Allies 3 and 4 are described. Ally 3 consists only of one landscape, whilst Ally 4 consists of two landscapes. In issue 30, Ally 5 was described. Ally 5 consists of two landscapes, 6 and 7. In issue 31, Ally 9 was described. Ally 9…