Self-drive Safari with kids - What you can expect
Booking almost a year in advance meant that we were able to secure our pick of Sanparks offerings to suit both our budget and preferences. It also meant that we could take advantage of early flight specials and fly direct from Cape Town to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in Mbombela (Nelspruit) and save on several days on the road. This placed us a mere 1 hour's drive from the Kruger Park and meant we could fully relax and enjoy our time away. After collecting our hire car, we entered the park through a surprisingly quiet Malelane gate (I had expected queues of cars for the first day of the holiday). Friendly SANparks staff checked us in and sent us on our way for day 1 of our game viewing adventures. Driving slowly through the southern part of the park, we took a picnic break at historic Afsaal Trading Post (it's mentioned in the Jock of the Bushveld stories so do read this to your kids if they're old enough) before proceeding to Skukuza for our first two nights.
Skukuza was a hive of activity, which is completely understandable as it's the central administration hub and capital centre of the park. There in the well-stocked Parks Shop, I purchased wipe-clean activity books with animal and bird check-lists for my daughter who immediately became obsessed with ticking off as many animals and birds as possible on our trip. The beauty of the wipe-clean books was that we could start fresh each day so the novelty didn't wear off. For travellers flying in to the park, it's useful to note that the Park Shops at each camp are extremely well-stocked with fresh goods, meat and all useful items for a self-catering breakaway so you can shop there and prices are not that much higher than outside the park.
For our third night in the park, we escaped the craziness of the southern section of the park - it gets really busy with day visitors and overnight visitors during the holidays and the game rich south always more so than further north. We headed north to Balule - a historic bushcamp outside Olifants camp with just 6 rondawels as well as camping facilities. These rondawels are original Kruger basic thatched rooms with shared ablutions and communal kitchen. No electricity but gas water heaters and freezers and paraffin lamps are lit for night time. It was magical and peaceful and truly special. I would have loved to have stayed longer as the drives are great and we were fortunate to see lion across the Olifants river, have hyenas surrounding the camp and see plenty of elephant, antelope and incredible birds in the area. Olifants camp is close enough for a daytime visit to refuel, explore the park shop of enjoy a brunch at their restaurant perched high above the Olifants river.
We spent the next four nights based at Letaba camp, arguably one of my favourite camps and absolutely wonderful if you have children. During the school holidays, they're one of several camps in the park (the others being Lower Sabie, Skukuza and Satara) that offer a daily holiday programme for children between the ages of 6-16 years. My daughter absolutely loved the activities, such as kids only morning drives, night walks around the camp looking for bushbabies and using UV torches to spot scorpions and creepy critters as well as origami workshops, colour competitions and other fun activities in the Elephant Hall. The upshot was that I got a good break as well.
Our final two nights in the park were spent at Talamati bushcamp which is very special. This camp has just 15 roomy chalets all facing out over the perimeter fence with two hides, one of which overlooks the floodlit waterhole and allows you to spot nocturnal animals like honey badger, genet and other great sightings without leaving camp. It's a very scenic part of the park, great for spotting cheetah and fabulous birds and the roads are super quiet.
After leaving the park, we headed towards Graskop to explore Mpumalanga's Panorama route for three days. Our first night was spent at the Hoyo Hoyo Angel's View Hotel which perches itself on the edge of the escarpment overlooking the most exquisite views. With massively spacious rooms, and chic decor, powerful hot showers and exceedingly generous portions sizes at dinner and breakfast, this was a special touch of luxury to enjoy for one night. My daughter was absolutely sold on it. I would recommend for couples wanting to stay there to try out one of the Grotto suites perched right on the edge of the view. While a bit of a walk to reception and the main hotel, these permit you to sit outside and enjoy the great setting while also enjoying some romantic privacy.
The next day started out unexpectedly foggy which ruled out all the viewpoint excursions we had planned so we headed towards Sabie, stopping off to view MacMac falls and then Bridal Veil falls (beware the road here, it was really potholed!!). We elected to skip further waterfalls in favour of exploring Pilgrim's Rest. This is the original Gold Rush town in South Africa and is full of quirky museums, macadamia nut sellers and unsolicited car washing entrepreneurs.
We received a very warm welcome at our next accommodation location in Graskop town itself - Westlodge, a pink and green pseudo-Victorian style guesthouse at the edge of town with views over the undulating grassy hills and forests. Our host, Gustav and his wonderful team went out of their way to ensure our stay was warm, comfortable and we were given all the inside tips on where to go, what to see and the best times to do it. From here, we explored God's Window, Bourke's Luck Potholes and the Blyde River Canyon - all great spots, well-maintained (entry fees are charged) and offering plenty of space for energetic little people to explore and run around. A definite win when travelling with kids. The Panorama route itself makes for the most stunning drives, it's safe and everyone is super friendly and definitely book several days here if you're wanting to visit.
I know that we'll be back soon for sure.