11 Mistakes First-Time Kruger Visitors Make
Picking the wrong entrance gate
This is the first crucial step that you need to get right when entering Kruger National Park. First of all, it depends which camp you will be staying at. The Kruger Park is about 2 million hectares- that’s the size of Wales. If you are staying at Pafuri camp at the top of Kruger you are not going to plan to go to Malalane Gate which is at the bottom of Kruger. The camp has 10 main gates and we would suggest always choosing the gate closest to your camp in order to get settled in on the first day.
Not planning your game drives
At the Kruger main camps you can buy brilliant maps courtesy of tinkers.co.za when you arrive or you can even order online from their website (they ship outside of South Africa). These are our favourite maps and are great to plan your route drives and give you an idea of how long you will be gone game driving for. Alternatively, you can download an offline Kruger Map on an app such as KrugerGuide.
Underestimating distances on travel days (allow for game viewing)
When you are planning to drive either from camp to camp or you are driving into Kruger for the first time, we highly stress that you leave to start your journey at your earliest convenience. Often times a stretch of road that you estimate will take 2 hours can easily take twice as long as things can impact the drive such as: road closures (especially after floods), traffic from other cars looking at big cats, elephants blocking the road, interesting animals that you want to stop and observe yourself and not taking into account the speed limit (50km/hr on tar roads).
The last thing you want is to have an amazing sighting and be forced to leave it because you need to get to your camp before the gate closes. So on travel days, get up early and get driving because you will never know what will happen along the way!
Not knowing your gate open/ close times and underestimating gate strictness
At the gate of your camp, you will see 2 wooden clocks and these will show you what time the gate opens at and closes at. These change seasonably. Some first-time visitors can take these closing times not as seriously as they should and rock up to the gate 10 minutes but make no mistake, this is a traffic offence and you will be fined.
Driving at the wrong time of day
They say the early bird gets the worm- in this case it’s the early bird gets the lion. The minute before the camp gates open there is usually a queue of eager tourists in the dark waiting and for good reason. Night animals are finishing up their activities and heading home and if you are lucky you might catch one of them. You might see a honey badger prance along the road or a porcupine scuttle off into the bushes. Most of the time people are searching for big cats still active before the heat of the day sets in. Big cat sightings during the day are common but they are usually under the shade of a bush, sleeping all day- not very exciting. But in the early morning, they are still walking around, maybe even still hunting, making a very cool sighting.
This doesnt necessarily mean theres a ‘wrong’ time to drive around Kruger- During the heat of the day, when animals are lethargic and hiding from the heat of the sun, you might spot a python basking in a tree over a stream or a leopard sleeping on a branch.
Getting too close to wildlife.
I think some tourists hear the word ‘park’ and they think the animals are similar to zoo animals. The Kruger park is not a zoo, it is a preserved nature reserve giving wild animals the freedom to act as nature intended (emphasis on the wild). Yes, the park is managed to a certain extent- it has to be, but the animals are free to roam and do as they wish. We are in their territory, not the other way around. These are wild animals and they are not tame. Keep your distance.
The only place outside of the camps where people are allowed to exit their vehicles are at places where it clearly states you can, such as picnic sites which are unfenced.It is not unheard of for a leopard to stroll through a picnic site where visitors are having their lunch on a rented skottel braai. Otherwise visitors must stay in their vehicle at all times for their own safety.
Although visitors running into trouble with animals outside the camp is uncommon it does happen and when it does, it is usually encountering elephants. 99% of the time, elephants will gently stroll by cars and as long as you give them some distance to cross the road at their own leisure you will not have a problem. The problem is when distance is not given. Elephants are temperamental and if you do not respect their wishes they will let you know. We have often had to reverse our car a significant distance when a moody elephant (usually a bull in musth) wants to show who is boss. When an elephant approaches a car and flaps it ears, this is a warning to back off. They can also show frustration by trumpeting while flapping its ears at the car or shaking its head. The most dramatic threat it will give you is a ‘mock charge’ where it will rush the car, before stopping suddenly, ears spread and trumpeting loudly. However once they see you are not a threat and are backing off they will leave you alone. This is not to make you panic when you encounter an elephant but for you to be aware that although they have a ‘gentle giant’ reputation, they can be very temperamental and don’t take kindly to people who do not give them distance.
Waiting to book (accommodation can book up well in advance during SA school holidays)
Please try and book as soon as you decide to go to the Kruger Park, as accommodation can fill up 11 months in advance ESPECIALLY if you are going when there are also school holidays. South African families flock to Kruger on school holidays so please book your accommodation well in advance.
Not taking advantage of the sunset/night drives and morning walks on offer.
The morning walks are one of our favourite things to do in the Kruger. Being out in the bush surrounded by nature and wildlife and getting to feel the bush under your feet as the sun has just risen- there are few greater pleasures in life. It is definitely not for everyone, it can be intimidating and adrenaline spiking but beautiful. The great thing about the morning walk is that even though you will see less game, you get to appreciate the smaller things about the bush that you cannot from the car- flora, insects, bird sounds, burrows, small reptiles etc.
The great thing about the sunset and night drives is that while everyone else is hurrying to get back to camp as sunset approaches, you can be heading out to search for animals that are about to come alive. 80% of mammals in the Kruger Park are nocturnal so this is a great way to spot the big cats, porcupines, genets etc.
You can either sign up for these activities before you arrive when you are booking accommodation online to ensure a spot or you can book when you arrive at reception but with the risk that it is booked up.
Choosing the wrong time of year for your goals
Choosing what time of the year to visit Kruger is very important- especially if you are coming from abroad and this is the trip of a lifetime for you. We have already spoken of school holidays and booking accommodation in advance but what time of year should you visit? This can be a personal preference but if you are unaware of the South African lowveld climate, here are some things to know:
South Africa’s lowveld climate can be divided into 2 seasons: Wet vs Dry. In the winter (May to September), the rains stop, the bush becomes dry, grass dies back, areas of bush are burned to prevent wildfires. All this is great for game viewing. Whereas in summer you can only see a few meters into the bush, in winter you can see far into the bush due to the lack of dense foliage. Water becomes scarce and animals congregate around waterholes. Dramatic hippo fights can be seen in the late dry season (August-October) as water dries up, territory decreases and clashes between males can be seen from overcrowding. This can also be a good time to go to the park with children, as less water means there are less mosquitos and less chance of malaria. This is also peak season so there are more crowds of people.
In the summer (September to April), the rains begin, the foliage grows back, the bush becomes lush and green and the heat and humidity increases. The pros are that the landscape is incredible and beautiful, you can hear dramatic thunderstorms at night, migratory birds return which makes the bird-watching amazing and newborn zebras, impalas, wildebeest, warthogs etc are born which leads to higher predator activity. Except for school holidays, there are also less crowds of people. The cons are that some can find it too hot and humid (35 degrees celsius), game-viewing is much harder to see with the dense vegetation, mosquitos increase and flooding risk increases (record-breaking floods in January 2026).
Not prepping for the cold and rain (Africa can also get cold and rainy!)
Many people think that Africa is constantly hot and that a rainjacket or hat is the last thing you would need and maybe in some African countries this is the case but the South African lowveld is not one of them. When the sun goes down, it does get cold especially in winter. In the summer, the rains are abundant and you will want to bring a light rainjacket. In the winter, although the day can be warm when the sun is shining- at night and early morning it can be very chilly with temperatures dropping to 10 degrees Celsius so bring layers and hats, especially for booked drives in the open game-viewing vehicles.
Underestimating monkeys/baboons
They are clever, they are naughty, and they WILL get into your newly bought boerewors if you do not take heed. Thankfully, the Kruger camps have baboon-proof bins and they even have a steel gate in front of your fridge and door. However, this will not stop them going through your cupboards, bags, anything really to search for some goodies. When you leave your accommodation make sure you have your food put away safe or else you will come back to crumbs.
Lowveld- a region of veld situation at a low altitude, especially in the low-lying region of north-eastern South Africa
Boerewors- South African sausage
Skottel braai- A skottel braai is a large, shallow, concave disc used as an outdoor cooking surface over a portable gas cooker
Musth- a periodic condition in bull elephants characterized by aggressive behavior and accompanied by a large rise in reproductive hormones
