6-Day Kruger National Park Luxury Safari

The published safari covers the Johannesburg pickup around 05h00, closed 4x4 road travel into Kruger National Park, guided game drives, nights at Lower Sabie, Satara, and Letaba rest camps, then Timbavati private lodge nights with open 4x4 ranger and tracker drives, and the return to Johannesburg.

International flights, extra nights in Johannesburg, personal items, and tips for the ranger and tracker sit outside the bundle.

Guests will be picked up early from their Johannesburg hotel around 05h00 to avoid traffic, travelling in a very comfortable closed 4x4 on a major highway. We stop for a hearty breakfast on the way and descend nearly 2,000 metres from Johannesburg down the escarpment to the Lowveld, a journey of about 6 to 7 hours.

Rise before dawn to catch predators on the prowl, have coffee and rusks on the drive, then a late breakfast at about 09h00 to 10h00 at Tshokwane before continuing to Satara Rest Camp, the land of the lions. The long drive north can turn up baboon, elephant, zebra, giraffe, antelope, hyena, lion, and if you are very lucky cheetah, leopard or wild dog.

We leave at dawn with baggage, coffee and rusks, break at Olifants Camp for breakfast on the high restaurant deck over the Olifants River toward Mozambique, then continue to Letaba Rest Camp via Von Weilligh's Baobab and Matambeni Bird Hide.

We leave Letaba at dawn, exit Kruger at Ba-Phalaborwa gate, breakfast nearby, then travel via Hoedspruit to Bateleur Private Tented Camp or an equivalent private lodge. Afternoon assembly is between 15h00 and 16h00 for a snack and drink before an open 4x4 drive with a ranger and tracker, sunset drinks in the bush, and a meal around a fire.

Kruger rest-camp nights are at Lower Sabie, Satara, and Letaba, with restaurant or bungalow braais beside rivers and floodplains. Timbavati nights are at Bateleur Private Tented Camp or an equivalent private lodge, with a tracker in a special seat at the front of the open 4x4.

Hearty breakfasts on the highway and at Tshokwane, Olifants, and Letaba, lunches in camp, and dinners including a barbecue at Lower Sabie and braais at Letaba bungalows sit in the safari days. Timbavati meals are around the fire after night drives.

Pack layered clothing for chilly open 4x4 mornings, when blankets and sometimes hot water bottles are provided, plus closed shoes, sun protection, and binoculars.

Game drives are mostly seated, with long road hours from Johannesburg to the Lowveld and back, plus optional night drives and an optional bush walk with a ranger at the private lodge.