Greater Kruger and the Lowveld.

The distinction that matters when planning is between the national park and the private reserves on its western edge. Kruger proper is self-drive country with rest camps, public roads and fixed hours. The private reserves — Sabi Sand, Timbavati, Manyeleti, Klaserie and their neighbours — are traversed by guided vehicles that may leave the road, drive after dark, and follow a sighting rather than pass it.

That is why a Greater Kruger itinerary tends to be built around the private reserves for the game viewing and, where the budget or the appetite calls for it, the national park for its scale and its self-drive freedom.

What is here

• Kruger National Park
• Sabi Sand Game Reserve
• Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
• Manyeleti Game Reserve
• Blyde River Canyon and the Panorama Route

Journeys through South Africa

• A taste of culture →
• Namaqualand flowers →

Elsewhere in South Africa

• Cape Town and the Cape PeninsulaCape Town is the city most itineraries are anchored to, and the Peninsula gives it a coastline, a mountain and a wine region within an hour of the centre.
• The Cape WinelandsStellenbosch, Franschhoek and Paarl form the classic winelands triangle, about an hour inland from Cape Town.
• The Garden RouteThe Garden Route runs roughly from Mossel Bay to Storms River along the southern coast, and is the country's classic self-drive stretch.
• KwaZulu-Natal and ZululandKwaZulu-Natal combines a warm coastline, the Drakensberg mountains and Big Five reserves that are malaria-free or low-risk.
• The Eastern CapeThe Eastern Cape's private reserves are malaria-free and sit within reach of the Garden Route, which is why they so often close a family itinerary.