Safari in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Hi friends, thank you for reading this blog 🤗 Last week we saw what safari in a private game reserve looked like. This week, let’s explore the famous Kruger National Park in South Africa!

If you think Botlierskop private game reserve is huge, wait until you see Kruger National Park. Did you know that this park is as big as Israel?

With such a huge space, limited time, and hopefully, a stroke of luck, maybe you’ll see the Big 5 in one day. Or at least some of them.

So, to minimise your disappointment, I strongly recommend you go for a full-day safari(s) when in Kruger National Park. I mean, come on, you’ve flown from far far away to South Africa. Let’s go BIG!

Still not convinced? Okay, here are some spoilers:

• My jeep broke down before the safari, on the 2nd day
• I managed to see a leopard on the 2nd day
• I managed to see a pack of wild dogs and a hyena on the 3rd day

So yeah, my luck sitting on a jeep for 10 hours was varied from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3. I hope this information helps you to decide.

Safari Day 1: Kruger National Park, South Africa (with bus)

I was lucky to be able to do three full-day safaris in Kruger National Park, South Africa. It was tiring but worth it.

The first safari was included in the tour package but instead of jeep, we did it with our tour bus. No complain since it’s free, hehe! 😁

I took it as a taster, to understand how my days would look like for the next two days.

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Safari Day 2: Kruger National Park, South Africa

I woke up at 4am so I could prepare myself for the full-day safari. It was the day that we had been waiting for — safari in the Kruger National Park, South Africa!

After having our packed breakfast, we departed from our hotel at around 5:30 am. But alas, just when we reached the gate, our driver realised there was something wrong with the jeep.

Soo… the driver and some very helpful people tried to fix it, but it was hopeless because we didn’t have the part needed. Then, we waited for almost one hour for the hotel to send a new jeep.

When in the wild, you’ll never know what will happen… Expect the unexpected, guys! Luckily, I signed up for a full-day tour. Also, it’s a double luck that our driver realised it before the safari.

Imagine the jeep broke down in the middle of the road, near a pride of lions… Who would come to save us? 😂😂😂 #jurassicparkhorror #krugerparkhorror

In the end, we were glad that our jeep broke down because… we saw a leopard!!! 🤩🤩🤩

If it didn’t happen, the timing wouldn’t be right. We were so lucky 💖💖💖

Let me ask you a question. If you’re stranded in Kruger National Park and are thirsty, which one would you choose?

• Elephant dung
• Water from a pond filled with dead animals

The best answer is… elephant dung!

It’s gross, yeah, but surprisingly, it has very little bacteria. So, between life and death, choose a fresh elephant dung, squeeze it, and drink…

You can read more about the unexpected benefits of elephant dung here 🐘😮

Fun fact: Lions’ tongue is like a grater, it’s very sharp! One lick and a layer of your skin will be peeled off 😱 So, don’t play around with these big cats!

When it comes to safari, traffic jams = something good awaits. Yes, this is the kind of traffic jam that people love when in Kruger National Park!

Usually, when we see many cars or jeeps stop, it means there’s an interesting sight nearby. It could be one of the Big 5 or maybe a rare sight of an animal.

The most exciting Kruger National Park traffic jam happened on my 3rd safari day, when I saw… oh, just keep reading 😁

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Safari Day 3: Kruger National Park, South Africa

Willem joined us for the full-day safari on the third day. He and Jacquie were on the same jeep with me. Too bad David and Christine (his mother) didn’t join us because they wanted to rest.

I can understand, though… Waking up super early and sitting on a jeep for 10 hours are tough.

Not long after we entered Kruger National Park, South Africa, we saw a traffic jam in front of us. Our driver was highly skilled, he managed to drive to the front so we could get a close-up view of… a pack of wild dogs!

The 3rd safari day in Kruger National Park was cloudy and it was raining for a while. The wind blew quite strong so it was cold, especially when sitting on a moving jeep. Luckily, the were some ponchos in the jeep…

Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3, each of them has its own charm and unique safari experience.

For Day 3, the weather was a bit melancholic. Sitting on a moving jeep, with the wind blowing off your hair, looking at the beautiful view of Kruger National Park… just be present, enjoying the moment.

Since Willem sat behind me and near the jeep’s door, I could take some of his photos. I really like my candid people photos on Day 3 safari because they give out a relaxing, sentimental vibe.

By the way… whenever you see the Big 5, you should keep quiet in order not to disturb them and put yourself in danger. But I didn’t know why, the jeep full of people behind me suddenly played “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”.

🙄 HELLO?? Why do you need a background music when admiring the lions?? 🙄

At a glance, it was cute and matched well with the situation. But in fact, it wasn’t cute at all!

If the animals attack you because you disturb them, they could be shot — in order to save your life. It’s very sad because you’re the one at fault. Humans are meant to protect the nature.

So guys, please keep quiet and don’t play any music during the safari. You can always edit your videos and add music later…

Also, don’t drive too close to the animals or they’ll run away to the bushes. Please be considerate with other travellers who also want to see the animals up close 🙏🙏🙏

There are some rest stops in Kruger National Park, South Africa. They have different designs and sometimes, sell different merchandises.

When doing safari, you can’t choose which rest stop to go because the jeep will go where the animals are. So, if the animals you’ve been seeing are in Point A but you want to go to the Point B’s rest stop, it will waste your time.

Tired of being bundled with my coat and poncho for hours, I saw a photo shoot opportunity. What a nice van! This time, my new friend, Paul, was the one who helped me to take the photos.

Halfway of the photo shoot, Willem passed by and shook his head when he saw me playing model 😆😆😆 Okay, Paul, you can stop now! 😳😳😳

I kept the ham and cheese sandwich that I got in the morning for lunch so I could save some money. It was filling enough, and I would have an included dinner later on, so it was fine 👍

The sunset was very memorable that day. It reminds me of Taylor Swift’s song, “Wildest Dreams”…

Say you’ll remember me
Sitting in a nice coat, starring at the sunset, babe
Wildest dreams… aah aah…

Just when we thought it was a quiet drive home, suddenly someone who was seated behind me shouted,

“STOP!!”

I was startled. Eh? What happened?

“Hyena! Driver, please go back!!”

Apparently, THERE WAS A HYENA AT THE ROADSIDE. Yes, she was not inside the Kruger National Park. No idea how she escaped…

When she started walking, we kept following her. We were about to inform the park about the lost hyena when she found a hole under the Kruger National Park’s fence and… whoop! Went inside.

Pheww… We were glad that she knew the way home! It would be sad if she was struck by a vehicle. We were so happy that we could see a hyena super up close 🤩🤩🤩

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Campfire and Dinner Under the Sky at Timbavati Safari Lodge, South Africa

The video above happened at our last dinner at Timbavati Savari Lodge, South Africa. After the dinner, suddenly the chefs and staff showed us their moves. African dance is energetic!

Although the lodge is about 30 minutes from Kruger National Park, but it’s still considered located in the middle of a jungle.

When I first arrived, I was happy with my lodge. It was quite spacious, especially the bathroom. But when I looked at my bed closely, to my horror, I saw a lot of tiny spiders crawling!

At that time, I thought I would sit on a chair and sleep… Okay… I could do it… Three nights sleeping on a chair…🥲🥲💪💪

In each lodge, there was an insect repellant spray. I sprayed the whole room then went out to look for Willem.

I tried to be calm and asked him if it was a normal thing since we were in the jungle. He assured me that all I had to do was spray the insect repellant in my room and the spiders would disappear.

A staff walked with me and my roommate, Helen, to check our room. To my surprise… the tiny spiders had disappeard from my bed!! YAAAAAAY!!! 😭😭🙏🙏

After long safari days, I could sleep well in Timbavati Safari Lodge, South Africa. No insect bites, no malaria. Although I’ve sprayed mosquito repellent to my body, sometimes I still got a few mosquito bites.

Anyway, dinner in Timbavati Safari Lodge was wonderful! Think of dinner under a starry sky and campfire. It was romantic yet wild — I was in yellow ‘Jane’ dress but alas, no Tarzan 😆

By the way, whenever it’s lunch or dinner time, I would look forward to the lunch/dinner roll. The appetizer breads in South Africa are so good!!!

The texture is chewy… then you spread butter on it while it’s hot… OMG, WE LOVE IT 😍😍😍

I didn’t take any photo of the bread when dining in Timbavati Safari Lodge, but here’s an example of the heaven-licious bread:

Alright, back to Timbavati Safari Lodge. Here in Africa, you can find some Indonesian, Malay, or Chinese food. For example, bakwan goreng aka fried vegetables dough below:

But, South Africa and Asia are different continents! I know, but apparently, during the colonialisation, the Dutch or British brought many slaves from other countries to Africa to build the roads.

They had to do it because many Africans were hunters or farmers, so the locals didn’t really know how to build the roads.

Due to assimilation, you could find bakwan goreng, Thai sweet chilli sauce, fish cakes, and oxtail soups in South Africa (my own experience). I even had omelette with fresh chilli (the one that we need to pound) in a hotel!

By the way guys, if you’re earning dollar, pound sterling, or any strong currency, please be mindful when commenting on how cheap the food and drink in South Africa are.

Yes, the quality is high and they’re super cheap (for MYR it would be a reasonable price, not cheap) but many locals don’t earn much. Also, remember that tipping is highly encouraged!

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You could feel a sense of wilderness when staying in Timbavati Safari Lodge, South Africa. Even in the lodge area, you could see some wild animals like monkeys, springboks, and wildebeests roaming around.

Whenever I walked alone to or from my lodge, I always prayed that I didn’t meet any dangerous animal 🙏🙏🙏

I had pleasant dinners and stay in Timbavati Safari Lodge. There’s only one minus thing: the WiFi is only available in the swimming pool/bar area.

Actually, it’s a good chance for us to do a digital detox: to be present and talk to our friends. But after 10 hours safari, I wanted to contact my family, read news, read comics, open my email… You know how I felt.

Now I’m back in Malaysia, I wish I could just forget about getting updated and be present, talking to my new friends and crush…

Because nobody can turn back time. And I don’t know if we would meet again in the future.

So guys, let this be a note for you… You don’t need to know what happens in the world today when doing safari in South Africa. Forget about your phone!

Be present and enjoy the company of your new friends… Appreciate the moment 🙏🌿

Whew, it’s such a long post! I hope you don’t get bored reading it, hehe… Have a great week ahead!

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