5 Day Best of Kruger and Blyde River Canyon: Private Safari in South Africa
Splendid Safari in South Africa
This tour is designed for the traveler with a limited amount of time and wishes to fit in a safari tour to the world-famous Kruger National Park. You will spend five days exploring all the wildlife that the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve and this amazing park has to offer. Enjoy a combination of activities, from private game drives with your highly qualified private guide to open vehicle night drives with the rangers.
Key information
- Private safari
- Minimum group size: 2 persons
- Services of an English-speaking guide
- Starting point and ending point: Johannesburg
- Entrance fees to Kruger and Blyde Canyon included
Highlights
- 2x full-day private open vehicle game drives
- 2x open-vehicle drives with Kruger
- Visit the famous sights and landmarks of the Blyde River Canyon
- Have the chance to see the Big Five, antelope, giraffe, and nocturnal animals
- Guided transfers to Kruger and return to Johannesburg
- Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and drinks included
- Dinners in true SA style, cooked on the fire under the African stars
- 4 nights' accommodation
Types
4 activity days in English
Accommodation
Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp or Similar (2 nights)
This small and delightful camp is situated in the southeastern corner of the Kruger National Park, on the northern bank of the Crocodile River, from which it derives its name.
After an early morning game drive, one can retire from the Lowveld heat to a lunch of prawns before coming back for a late afternoon game viewing. The game viewing area is known as the ‘Southern Circle’ and is renowned for its concentration of different prides of lion with different hunting techniques and behavior. It has an abundance of prides, herds, troops, packs, and swarms.
The area is also home to a larger percentage of the Kruger National Park‘s total rhino population. Go and experience humans living in harmony with nature. At Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp, one has the ability to experience the sharp contrast between the wilderness and the world out there.
Facilities
- Information at reception
- Public telephone
- Post box
- Shop, with a small take-away food section
- Laundromat
- Filling station
- Communal kitchens
- Communal ablutions
- Cutlery and plates hampers (inquire at reception)
- Basic first aid assistance
- Basic day visitor picnic area at the camp
- Cellphone reception
Satara Rest Camp or similar (1 night)
Satara is a busy camp, and not without reason. It is situated in an excellent game viewing area, with the bush relatively open and the animals plentiful and diverse. The camp itself has a rustic charm, with the bulk of the accommodation set out in a series of circles.
Satara is well wooded, and the birdlife is prolific. At night, the clink of fruit bats is fused with the chirping of cicadas and crickets. The calls of owls and nightjars add to the symphony that is punctuated intermittently by the whoop of hyenas, the screech of jackals, and the roars of lions.
Facilities
- Information at reception
- Public telephone
- Post box
- Restaurant
- Deli
- Shop
- Mini ATM facility available at the restaurant
- Laundromat
- Filling station
- Communal kitchens
- Communal ablutions
- Swimming pool with children’s playground
- Cutlery and plates hampers (from reception)
- Basic first aid assistance
- Day visitors' picnic area with boma on the perimeter of the camp
- Eco Information Centre and Amphitheatre
- Limited-channel DSTV at guesthouses only
- Cellphone reception
Blyde Canyon (1 night)
This is a mid-range chalet located inside the Blyde River Canyon (Panorama Route).
Program
This tour is designed for guests who want to enjoy the magic of a Kruger Park Safari but would like to see a bit of the surrounding area as well.
Endless Summer Tours will collect you at Johannesburg International Airport or hotel in Johannesburg / Pretoria. They will then transfer you to the Kruger National Park. You will spend three nights exploring the wonders of the Kruger Park, its wildlife, and its open vistas with your own private guide.
After which, you'll exit the park and spend a day viewing the Blyde River Canyon. You’ll visit famous features such as God’s Window, Three Rondawels, Bourkes Luck Potholes, and the Lisbon and Berlin Waterfalls. You will stay overnight in the quaint tourist town of Graskop before heading back to Johannesburg.
What to look forward to: Day by day itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and heading to Kruger National Park
Endless Summer Tours will pick you up at Johannesburg International Airport and provide a private, guided transfer to Kruger National Park. Your knowledgeable guide will keep you informed of all the history, culture, and scenery that you will see.
You’ll arrive at the reserve gates, enter, and start viewing wildlife immediately as you return to your camp. After booking into your accommodation inside the actual Kruger Park at Crocodile Bridge (or similar), you will embark on your first small game drive to get your first feel of the African bush.
The length of the drive will depend on what time you will manage to leave the airport and how tired you, the weary traveler, will be. This will be a great time to drive and you will be sure to get your safari off on the right foot with a special sighting.
Your dinner will be served back at camp after sunset, in true South African (SA) style, cooked on the fire under the African stars. Then, it will be off to bed as tomorrow, you will get stuck into your safari adventure.
- Main destination: Kruger National Park
Accommodation: Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp
- Mid-range rest camp located inside the Southern Kruger NP
Meals and drinks:
- Dinner (breakfast and lunch not included)
- Drinking water (other drinks not included)
Day 2: Full-day safari at Kruger National Park
You will wake before sunrise to get a head start on things. This will be the best time to view the game, as the nocturnal animals are still active and the other animals use the cool of the morning to move to the watering holes. Take in the sights and the smells as you enjoy Africa at its finest!
You will move along before stopping for a cooked breakfast, which will be prepared outdoors at a picnic site, with magnificent views of the surrounding bushveld and animals having their morning drink. During the heat of the day, you’ll relax by the pool, continue game driving, or sit under the garden trees as you identify the many birds found there.
Just before sunset, you will set off in an open safari vehicle with the Kruger rangers to enjoy a three-hour night drive with spotlights. The predators will be very active by then. You will return to camp for a wonderful dinner, again prepared by your guide in true South African style: on open coals and under the African stars.
- Main destination: Kruger National Park
Accommodation: Crocodile Bridge Rest Camp
- Mid-range rest camp located inside the Southern Kruger NP
Meals and drinks:
- All meals included
- Drinking water (other drinks not included)
Day 3: Full-day safari at Kruger National Park
You will start this day much like the day before: with an early rise to catch the worm (or lion) and another open vehicle game drive. You’ll drive to another section of the park for some variety and have a bush breakfast at a picnic spot along the way. After letting all this settle, you’ll carry on at a leisurely pace and find a cool spot to relax and take in the sights.
You will change camps on this day for a chance to see a different area of the park. After check-in, you’ll explore your new surroundings and then set off on your afternoon game drive.
Again, your guide will find a great spot to have a couple of ‘sundowners’ and afternoon snacks of cheese, biscuits, and traditional South African biltong, as you gaze over the vast savannah. You will return to camp to freshen up before meeting around the campfire to share the stories of the day. Your dinner will be served under the stars again!
- Main destination: Kruger National Park
Accommodation: Satara Rest Camp
- Mid-range rest camp located inside Central Kruger NP
Meals and drinks:
- All meals included
- Drinking water (other drinks not included)
Day 4: Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
You will have a final game drive in an open safari vehicle with the Kruger guides. You will leave at sunrise, then be back at camp for a cooked breakfast and check out. You’ll have a small drive through the park as you make your way toward the exit gate, and hopefully get one last glimpse of something special.
You will then exit the park and make your way to the Blyde River Canyon. There, you will stop at all the main attractions of the canyon: God's Window, Three Rondawels, Bourkes Luck Potholes, and the Berlin and Lisbon Waterfalls. Then, you will check into your accommodation in the actual Blyde Canyon Reserve.
Your dinner will be at the resort restaurant (at your own expense), with amazing views of the Three Rondawel formation right from your chalet!
Main destination: Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (Panorama Route)
Accommodation: Blyde Canyon
- Mid-range chalet located inside Blyde River Canyon (Panorama Route)
Meals and drinks:
- All meals included
- Drinking water (other drinks not included)
Day 5: Departure
On this day, you will have a leisurely rise, or you can choose to do a gorge hike. Afterward, you will enjoy a great breakfast at the lodge before heading off on the drive back to Johannesburg. At this point, feel free to add any extra nights to explore the area or other wild areas.
- Main destination: Johannesburg
- Accommodation: No accommodation
Meals and drinks:
- Breakfast (lunch and dinner not included)
- Drinking water (other drinks not included)
Disclaimer:
The exact order, contents, and rates of this tour are subject to availability. If an accommodation is fully booked, the operator will suggest a like-for-like alternative.
Included excursions
- Bourkes Luck Potholes
- God’s Window
- Waterfalls
Location
This safari will take place in Kruger National Park and Blyde River Canyon. Kruger National Park is one of the largest conservation areas in the world and will give you the best chance to experience all that Africa has to offer.
Food
Indulge in some authentic South African cuisine prepared for you under the splendor of the African stars! During the safari, you will be served four breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners, included in the price.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
Things to do (optional)
More open-vehicle game drives with park rangers can be added on at an additional cost. There is also a lot more on offer to experience and see in the area - attractions such as Pilgrims Rest (a historic gold mining town) and Sudwala Caves, to name a couple. So, speak to Endless Summer Tours' trusted reservations team, and they will design the perfect tour.
For those with an adventurous spirit, there are a number of adventure activities to do in the Blyde River Canyon.
What's included
- Professional guide
- Guided transfer to and from Johannesburg
- 2x full-day private open-vehicle game drives
- 2x open vehicle drives within Kruger
- Blyde River Canyon sightseeing tour
- Entrance fees to Kruger and Blyde Canyon
- 4 nights accommodations
- Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water (on all days)
- Limited refreshments at breakfast
What's not included
- Airfare
- Gratuities for any service received, guides, wait staff, etc.
- Tips (tipping guideline is 10.00 USD per person per day)
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Meals where indicated
- Alcoholic drinks
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Transfer included
O. R. Tambo International Airport
409 km away from your destination
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 50% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 7 days before arrival.
Reviews
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