Self Drive on a Budget in Kruger Nationa Park, Wild Card

Camping at Letaba in Kruger National Park


Last time we were in South Africa and Kruger National Park, we had heard about the Wild Card. It is similar to the National Park Pass used in the United States parks. It is good for one year and allows you to enter the parks for an unlimited number of times. The international traveler can only buy the all-park pass but according to my calculations, the pass has paid for itself after the sixth day. The entry fee to the park is $36 per couple per day. If we did not have the Wild Card, the cost of staying in the park would be no longer be budget travel, adding in the cost of the rent car and the camping fee of $17 per couple at the current exchange rate. We bought a pass at the mall in Phaloborwa and than proceeded to the gate.

We got a permit to enter the park and the girl at reception told us if we did not find a space to camp we would have to be out of the park by 5:30 p.m. We thanked her and drove on into the park. There was not much wildlife at that time of day along the stretch of road we were on. We stayed on the paved road because we needed to make time to get to Letaba, check out sites and if necessary, head back to Phaloborwa.

We got to Letaba, and went to reception . Everything was "fully booked" as it was last time except this time, there was no allowing for a small tent by the ablutions block without a reservation. The girl at reception told us there was nothing she could do and we would have to leave the park. Robert suggested I check and see if there was anything available.

Before I could check out that option, the people behind us in line approached us and said they had overheard our conversation. They had two campsites reserved, were using only one, would we like to have their other spot. Would we ever!!! Took their extra spot for the four days they had it reserved for. They suggested we go to reception early in the morning and see if there have been any cancelations at Letaba or any other campground.


We were able to extend our stay at Letaba and make reservations for other campgrounds by checking with reception on various days. The important thing is you must have a exit permit issued by the campground to leave the park. Without this, you are in trouble. Not sure what trouble entails but did not want to find out!

The campsite has two kitchens available for cooking and washing of dishes. The learning curve on the three double hotplates takes a little while, but Robert mastered it! For the early morning game drives one of the nicest things about these camps is the instant boiling water! Makes it quite easy to make a pot of coffee quickly!

In the restrooms, there are two bath tubs on the women's side. I guess it is great for bathing all those small children. They were always in use when I was in there and you could hear the happy sounds of children bathing. There are laundry facilities also but the ablution block we were using did not have a working dryer and one washer was out of commission but since we carry a clothesline with us, there was no problem with that.



There are also huts and rondevals available. There is a park store with a surprising amount of fresh veggies as well as canned goods and meats. That of course is the other ingredient in making a park like this work is cooking your own meals! There is a restaurant if you do wish to treat yourself at some point on the trip.

Pictures of Leopard on the Hunt! Awesome experience with Mike the Safari Man !

Leopard on the Hunt! Awesome experience with Mike the Safari Man !

We were about to find a place for a "sundowner" where you get out of the vehicle and watch the sunset. Yikes!

As we road along the dirt park road we spied a game viewing vehicle stopped on the side of the road. They had spotted a leopard that was almost impossble to see in the grass, even with great sunlight. Ibises were circling loudly near the ground making their strange calls, but we just could not make out the leopard! Finally it got up and began hunting. We pulled along side them and they silently mouthed, "Leopard."

Afternoon Game Drive with Mike, Part I

After we had done our very interesting drive through the wild game management area in the morning with Mike, we returned to the camp to prepare for our trip into the Park. One of the interesting sights we saw when were driving through there was a hippo with one of his teeth growing sideways out of his mouth. Poor thing. We also saw a woodland kingfisher that was very colorful right above some puka on the ground. We decided to fix ourselves sandwiches and would enjoy them within the park. I walked over to the self-catering kitchen with my head in the clouds and not paying attention to what was going on. I got within 15 feet of the door and looked up and there was Gilbert by the kitchen. He flared his ears and took a step toward me. I started and then, WHAT DO YOU DO? They tell you to freeze, remain calm, and slowly back away. I can tell you, the first thing you do is panic! I was first tempted to jump into the bush but then moved slowly away and when I got out of his sight, walked as fast as I could back to our tent. Robert said I was as white as a ghost!

Mike drove me back over to the camper kitchen and we fixed the sandwiches and were off to pay our fees at the park gate. When you enter the park you, the pass is good for 24 hours. Because we entered at 1:00 pm, the permit was good until 1:00 the next day. Since Mike has been to the park several times, he had a good idea of where we could go. His main focus was looking for lions but we enjoyed other animals and birds along the way. Since he is driving a Land Rover, he was enjoying taking off on some of the small tracks that quite often petered out and we had to turn around and go back. His comment as he turned off onto these roads, "This is not a problem for a Land Rover!"

We enjoyed the puka and impala that were out in great numbers. We stopped at one waterhole and saw black egret, open billed stork, and African spoonbill. At another lagoon type area, we saw hippos gliding through the water lilies. At one point we were amused when a gray heron landed on the back of one of the hippos and it appeared that he was surfing as he was standing still on the hippo back and being propelled through the water.










We saw some a magnificant kudu male with his fine horns and nice markings. We saw Swainsons's francolin running back and forth across the road. We saw a very large herd of buffalo on both sides of the road. We continued to drive and explore areas of the park we had not been in. We saw elephants and a family of giraffe, the baby running back and forth.

Ground hornbills along the Luangwa River

One morning we were awakened to a new sound we had not heard. We were sure that it was a non-human sound. Robert went to try and see if he could find what it was making the noise. He came running back to report that it was ground hornbills walking along the riverbank. We as silently as we could walked down to the area by the permanent tents and watched them as they came past. They were making a "booming" type noise and the red throat pouch would puff out as they boomed. Robert said they looked like a group of monks moving down the river because they were so stately looking! We watched them until they moved out of sight on down the river. We heard them a second morning and they were across the river and we were not able to see them as well and they did not boom quite as long.

It was three adults and one immature ground hornbill. The reason we knew it was not a female is that she has blue on her throat patch. We incorrectly assumed because they were called ground hornbills they could not fly or at least not very well. We were surprised to see them flying while we were on our night drive. They are very stately in flight and have beautiful white wing patches visible.

Birding South Luangwa National Park : Sacred Ibis, Yellow billed Storks

Birding South Luangwa National Park : Sacred Ibis, Yellow billed Storks

Our early morning routine has been to fix a pot of coffee and then go sit on the river bluff and watch what wildlife is about. We have had two good mornings enjoying the antics of a yellow-billed stork. He wades through the water and appears to be fishing. He does some amazing acrobatics almost--balancing on one leg and lifting one wing as if for balance. We were able to watch him through the spotting scope and his colors are quite nice. His back has a pale pastel pink color to it and the feathers look scalloped and fluffy. We noticed there was pale turquoise on the end of his tail feathers. Up close his face is very vivid colors, red stripe, orange then the yellow bill. His eye is orange or so it appears. He does not seem to be frightened of people as he got quite close to us. In flight they are very beautiful to watch as well.


Another bird we have enjoyed watching is the sacred ibis. His colors are black and white feathers with a black head and beak. They are very graceful as they move about the area searching for food. When they fly they are so very graceful looking and make flying seem so effortless.