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KRUGER NATIONAL PARK (SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC)

Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park

I guess the most memorable moment of our trip to South-African republic was visiting the Kruger National Park. After flying in to Johannesburg, we right away went to an automobile center where a rented car awaited us. We decided not to linger in Johannesburg and, after getting into the car set the parameters of our journey in the GPS navigation system, which we tenderly called “Maria Ivanovna,” and set off on a long way to the Kruger Park. “Maria Ivanovna”, being in a hurry, miscalculated our route and we almost ended up in the nearby state of Swaziland.

It is good that we had a map that helped us to orient and to safely make it to our destination point. On our way we marveled at charming African landscapes. Several times we found ourselves in the rain, and in the end the African land treated us to a marvelous sunset. It seemed like everything around us became purple. The destination point of our route was right in the Kruger Park. When we came to our lodge1 it was already night time, that is, a real southern night, with huge stars and pitch dark. A friendly landlady met us and offered us dinner after a long drive. By the style of decoration the lodge resembled a colonial mansion. Everything reminded of the props from the Indiana Jones movies. A dinner table was laid right in the garden underneath a sausage tree, 50 meters away from the Crocodile River. Our dinner was accompanied by an “orchestra” of thousands of cicadas and crickets, and from time to time our table was enlightened by fireflies. On the bank buffalos peacefully flocked, and the river from time to time was crossed by crocodiles. On the other side elephants were bathing and a family of rhinos rested nearby. The night space above us was swished by bats that were carrying out their night watch. Admiration filled our hearts. And it all happened right before our eyes, right beside us, and we were in the center of this ingenious play of the wild nature.

The Kruger National Park is the oldest and most famous wild nature reserve in SAR, one of the biggest National Parks in the world. Along with Pilanesberg and the Table Mountain it is the most visited South African National Park.

Located in the north-eastern part of SAR, on the territory of Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces, the Kruger Park occupies almost 19 thousand square kilometers stretching 350 kilometers from north to south and 60 kilometers from east to west.

The Kruger National Park along with the Gonarezhou Park in Zimbabwe and the Limpopo Park in the Mozambique is part of the International Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (one of the Peace Parks). That means that on the territory of the park there are no protected borders between states and nothing hinders the animals’ moving around. According to a plan the combined territory of the International Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is now at the stage of being formed, will be around 100 square kilometers.

A proposition to create the wild nature reserve that would eventually become the Kruger National Park was submitted for discussion to the government of the Bur Republic Transvaal in 1895. In 1898, the positive decision was made, and the president of Transvaal Paul Kruger, whose name would be later given to the park, announced opening of a new wild nature reserve called Sabi Game Reserve.

Initially the park was created for controlling animal hunt and protecting animals from becoming extinct. The first overseer of the wild nature reserve in 1902 was James Stevenson Hamilton, who headed up the wild nature park until 1946; he did many things for its development and is rightfully considered to be the father of the Kruger National Park.

In 1926, Sabi Game Reserve and Shingwedzi Game Reserve and a number of farmers’ lands were joined into the Kruger National Park. The new park was opened for visitors in 1927.

The climate in the area of the Kruger National Park is subtropical. In summertime it is humid and hot; temperature rises up to 38 Celsius. Dry winter season is the ideal time to visit the park. The weather is much milder; temperature, as a rule, does not rise over 25 C. It is more convenient to observe the animals, since the growth of the plants is not as exuberant as in summer. Besides, animals every morning and every evening go to the water basins to drink. On the territory of the Kruger National Park there are around two thousand kinds of plants typical both to veld steppes and river valleys, foothills and savannas.

One can see over five hundred kinds of birds here, over one thousand kinds of reptiles (including around three thousand crocodiles), but, of course, the most interesting exhibits in the Kruger National Park are beasts.

In the Kruger National Park there are around 150 species of mammals, which is more than in any other African wild nature reserve. Of course, here one can find all the animals of the “Big Five,” which is considered to be the most dangerous species for a hunter – lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos and leopards.

In 1989, in the Kruger Park elephant hunt was prohibited; as a result by 2004 the head count of these animals increased up to almost twelve thousand, and in 2006 equaled thirteen and half a thousand. This is a problem, since the park’s territory allows only around eight thousand elephants to live there normally. An increase of the territory of the wild nature reserve might help in solving this problem.

Now, in the Kruger National Park there are around 27 thousand African buffalos, 350 black and 10 thousand white rhinos, over 5 thousand giraffes, around 18 thousand zebras, 3 thousand hippopotamuses, around 5 hundred cheetahs, one thousand and five hundred lions, one thousand leopards, around one hundred thousand of various antelopes and many other animals.

One can drive into the park from various directions through nine gates; the distance from Johannesburg to the nearest one of them – Numbi Gate – is 411 kilometers; to the farthest – Pafuri – 600 kilometers.

1 If you are going to Africa to safari, you will definitely encounter such a thing as lodges. This is a unique African invention for travelers. Usually lodges are located on the territories of National Parks and wild nature reserves of Africa where traditionally safari and tracking take place. Lodges are special places for accommodation of tourists created in the bosom of wild nature. Sometimes they are called ethno-hotels. Conditions in a lodge, as a rule, are comfortable; meals are provided on the spot.

Architecturally speaking, these are solid constructions where services, bars, restaurants and a veranda to observe animals are located. Rooms for dwellers are usually located in separate bungalows. The lodges are created for a special purpose – that travelers could enjoy great landscapes and living nature.

The first lodges appeared more than twenty years ago in one of the most well-to-do countries of Africa – Botswana. This example was followed by other African countries where safari is popular. As a rule, these are four- or five-star hotels, even though lodges might not have the stars officially. Sometimes one can get from one African lodge to another only by plane. Grand interiors in the African or colonial style is the indispensable characteristic of a lodge. Rest time in a lodge is special. Usually there can never be too many people in lodges and those tourists who treasure beauty of nature and seclusion will fully appreciate them. With that, there is no need to suffer the lack of conveniences, comfort and service.

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