Self-drive Kruger safari with kids: the beginners guide

Plan plan plan

The first thing you need to do before booking your trip to Kruger is to plan ahead. A long way ahead. If you are self-driving and staying in SANPark (South African National Parks) restcamps (as we did), you may need to book your accommodation up to a year in advance. If you are staying in private lodges (which are a lot more luxurious but not what this particular post is about) you can probably book closer to the date of travel. But the rest camps are extremely good value for money starting as low as £20 a night – which is what makes Kruger so accessible. And so affordable.

You may be stuck with certain dates to visit the park/South Africa depending on the age of your kids. But even so it is worth looking at what different times of the year are like: the summer (the northern hemisphere’s winter) can be extremely hot in South Africa: temperatures in Kruger have been reaching up to 43 degrees celcius this week. The winter tends to be a lot chillier at night but can still have lovely sunny days. There also tends to be less vegetation, making it easier to spot wildlife. School holidays will always be the busiest time – take a note of South African school holidays.

Where to stay?

So once you have decided when you want to visit Kruger, I suggest you start thinking about how long you want to be “on safari” for and which camps you want to visit. To help with this, have a look at the SANParks website – their Kruger section is a wealth of information, including forums where you can ask any question you like. I also used guidebooks, maps, personal recommendations, TripAdvisor…..

Even so, it can be incredibly confusing to decide where to go. For a start, think about distances. As a rule of thumb you will probably travel at about 25 mph in the park – speed limits are low on all the roads and you will have many interesting things to stop and look at along the way. Five or six hours in a car at a time is enough for most people, so you probably won’t want to travel too often between distant camps.

In terms of what is on offer at the restcamps, the SANPark website has all the details. Accommodation includes very nice rondevals and bungalows (ranging from 2-bed up to larger family guesthouses), cheaper rooms without kitchens, permanent tents and campsites. We always went with the rondavels, which each had bedrooms, bathrooms, fans and aircon, kitchenettes and somewhere to sit outside with a cold beer and watch the sunset. They weren’t luxurious, but they were comfortable and clean.

Location of the rooms can also be important. In some camps, for example, you can stay right on the perimeter with fantastic views of rivers, out onto the park, or the sun setting in the evening. Take a look at the maps to see where each bungalow is placed and chose the one closest to the views. At least, that is what my recommendation would be!
The bungalows all come equipped with plenty of kitchen equipment – pans, cutlery, plates, various types of glasses, Braai tongs etc. Also dish clothes, washing up liquid, all sheets and towels…..the only thing they didn’t have which we would have found very helpful was a colander for draining pasta and potatoes…

Eating?

There are shops selling food in the camps but they are quite basic so don’t rely on them to stock up too much. They did have quite a lot of wine and beer choice though!

Of course if you are doing a self-drive safari, you need something to drive around in. We drove our seven-seater car up from Pretoria as my parents were staying so we needed the space. If you are coming from overseas, you will need to hire a car. The roads in Kruger are excellent, all either tar or relatively smooth gravel (with some corrugated parts). You won’t need a four wheel drive but I would get the most comfortable car you can afford – you will be spending a lot of time in it!

Many people fly into Johannesburg and hire a car from the airport. If you do this, be aware that it is a long drive to Kruger so you might want to plan to stay a night in Johannesburg before you leave for the park or along the way. There are lots of places on the road to stop to eat, stock up with food and fill your car with petrol. There are also petrol stations at some of the larger rest camps.

Another choice is to fly to one of the airports near Kruger, from which you can pick up a hire car. This cuts out a lot of travelling if you are only in South Africa for a short time. Of course this adds cost for the extra flight.
We did come across one breakdown in the park, plus heard stories of a few more, so make sure you know what to do if you did get car trouble. There is a mechanic based in the park (at Lataba) who will come to you if necessary.

Also make sure you get a good map and/or route book. There are smaller and cheaper versions available to buy in the park itself.

You can also book game drives and walks. although the walks are generally only for children aged over 12. At very reasonable prices. The evening and night drives in particular can be a great way to see the park after dark. As the camp gates close to the public after sunset.

What will you see?

This I can’t tell you because this is the beauty of the self-drive safari. You just never know what is round every corner. It could be an empty road, or it could be a road full of baboons or zebras!

You will almost certainly see plenty of these:

Another two excellent leopard sightings. Plenty of lions, serval; lots of hyena, countless hippos, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, buffalo, elephants, impalas, steenbok, kudu, waterbuck, crocodiles, monkeys, baboons, mongoose……it really is non-stop wildlife.

Of course, all parents know that when they plan a holiday they have to make sure the children will be happy. Otheriwise everyone will be miserable! A self-drive holiday like this can be difficult with small kids. Generally you will be in the car for hours at a time.

Don’t take your children at all unless you know they are ready for it.
Book camps with pools, especially in the summer. A dip in the pool after a game drive was a fantastic way to cool off and to let off steam. Some of the pools were less busy, and nicer, than others.
Have lots of pens, paper, books, tablets etc in the car. Keep your children amused when pickings are sparse outside the window.
Don’t forget snacks, especially for the early morning drives. We found the behaviour of our youngest improved dramatically once we had given her something to eat in the morning. Always keep lots of water in the car too. We took hot chocolate to make for them at the morning stops when the adults had coffee.
Invest in some child-friendly binoculars and possibly a camera for them before the trip. Make sure they have got the photo they need before moving on. There are bird and animal-spotting guides for children available in the shops at the rest camps. As well as lots of books, some games etc.
Remember that malaria can be an issue in this part of South Africa. There are generally more mosquitoes in the summer when it usually rains more. Some people chose not to take any prophylactics at all. They just use spray and cover up as much as possible. We decided to use the pills. Certainly speak to a health professional about it before you chose what to do.
Be flexible!! You may want to get up at the crack of dawn every day to get the best chance to see animals; but it might not work out if your kids won’t get out of bed. You could take it in turns to stay behind with the children if there are enough of you. If the children are getting grouchy in the car, try and find a place to get out for a stop. Let them move around a bit. If this doesn’t help, consider calling it a day.
If things do go a bit pear-shaped, remember that you are still having an experience that you will almost certainly all look back on fondly. Your kids will be gaining so much from being in a place like Kruger. Observing the animals in their natural habitat can make you forgive the odd difficult moment. Know that the overall benefit to all will be immense. Kruger is a very special place and any child who gets to go there is very lucky indeed