Kruger via Panorama Safari, South Africa

Duration: 5 Days | 4 Nights
Season Dates: November to December

The Kruger National Park is one of the worlds’ leading nature reserves and on a 5-day safari we spend quality time on safari making the most of your time in Kruger.

WHAT TO EXPECT
The Kruger National Park is one of the worlds’ leading nature reserves and on a 5-day safari we spend a lot of time exploring the Park. Most operators only do 3-hour morning and afternoon drives, but the KNP is vast, and Kurt Safari was one of the first operators to introduce full-day safaris on our 3-day safari tours. This gives clients a chance to see a larger part of the Kruger and different areas, compared to short 3-hour safaris which must remain close to the camps, resulting in driving the same areas on every safari. Spending a full day in the KNP can sound tiring, but the guides stop regularly at rest camps and lookout points. The extended time increases the chances of seeing more wildlife as we traverse different grasslands and ecological zones. Your 5-day Kruger and Panorama Safari will include a Sunset / Night safari on Day 1, A full day open safari vehicle on day 2, a Full day Panorama tour in a closed vehicle on Day 3 and 2 morning safaris in the Kruger Park on Day 4 and 5. 80% of our clients on 5-day safaris encounter all the Big 5. Kurt Safari makes use of Umbhaba Eco lodge and Hazyview Sun in Hazyview for our Kruger accommodation, these are privately owned quality lodges, with en suite accommodation and great meals, 15 min. from either Phabeni or Numbi gates, Kruger’s Premier wildlife area.

Departure & Return Location
06:30 AM – 06:45 AM: Clients will be collected from lodges within a 5 km radius of the OR Tambo
International Airport. 06:45 AM – 07:00 AM: Clients will be collected from the Shuttle and Bus Terminal at the OR Tambo International Airport, please see the Map below, we depart at 7:15 AM. Transport to the Airport is available via the modern Gautrain or Uber. Clients can fly directly into Skukuza Kruger National Park, or Kruger Mpumalanga International Airports and be collected by your Kurt safari Guide at no additional cost.

What to Bring
• Comfortable shoes
• Warm & Rainproof Jackets
• Sun hat
• Sun Cream
• Cameras
• Personal belongings

We prefer the lodges and hotels outside of the Kruger Park as there is a bigger variety of accommodation and it is only a 10–15 minute drive to the nearest entry gate. All the accommodation venues are privately owned. We cannot take children under 8 years old on shared safaris but please request a quote on private safaris.

Important Note
Clients flying out of OR TAMBO on the last day to please not book flights earlier than 20:00 pm for domestic flights and 21:00 pm for international flights as one cannot always guarantee on-time arrival at OR Tambo International airport. Clients should arrive the day before their tour starts to avoid missing the shuttle to KNP, as this vehicle is not private and cannot be delayed.

DAY 1: Transfer from Johannesburg & Sunset Safari (Lunch & Dinner)
Guests will be collected from various lodges and hotels within a 5 km radius of the OR Tambo International Airport between 6:30 am and 6:45 am, and then from the OR Tambo International Airport shuttle and bus Terminal between 6:45 and 7:00 am, we depart at 7:15 am.

Clients can fly directly into Skukuza Kruger National park, or Kruger Mpumalanga International Airports and be collected by your Kurt safari Guide at no additional cost. We will travel directly to our lodge in Hazyview and arrive between 11:30 am – 12:00 pm. Guests will have time to relax, unpack and enjoy a light lunch. We depart the lodge around 15.45 Pm for a Sunset – Night safari in the Kruger National Park. Every safari is special and different, later afternoon when the temperatures drop wildlife starts moving and your guide will try his best to help you find the best possible sightings, before returning to the lodge around 20.00 pm for a lovely dinner, and a Good night’s rest preparing for your Full day safari in the Kruger national park.

DAY 2: Full Day open vehicle safari in the Kruger National Park (Breakfast & Dinner)
All safaris start before sunrise, Mpumalanga means the place of the rising sun and is the first province in South Africa to see the sun rise. This is the best part of the day, not knowing what to expect, after a short drive to the park, we enter the park gates and your guide will have an idea of the best areas to find the best wildlife including the Big 5 and plains game, this is the finest time of the day to see predators.

The Lodge will arrange breakfast packs and your guide will stop after about 3 hours for a breakfast and bathroom break and chance to get a coffee. We then continue with your safari, Kruger offers a variety of eco zones and each one has a different range of wildlife, we visit rivers and watering holes as well as plains and Bushveld regions. We then stop for lunch at a rest camp, where this meal will be for your own account, time to do some curio shopping or enjoy a cold beer! The guide will then continue with the safari heading towards the lodge, we arrive around 15.30 – 16.00 pm, time to relax, swim and have a great dinner.

DAY 3: Full Day Panorama safari (Breakfast & Dinner)
Visit Gods Window, Bourkes Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon (world’s 3rd largest canyon), Lisbon waterfall, the 3 rondavels and the town of Graskop.

Today we start with delicious hot breakfast at the lodge at 7.30 Am and your guide will meet you at 8 am in a closed air-conditioned vehicle. The Panorama route starts after a 45 min drive from Hazyview, however we climb almost 1000 meters in elevation to the Northern Drakensburg Mountain range.

The temperatures vary a lot from Hazyview, so bring a jacket and comfortable walking shoes as we do some lovely walks. We visit God’s Window which allows people a window from the escarpment and 1 000 m drop below one can see as far as Kruger and beyond on a clear day. Your comfortable walking shoes will be needed as the various lookout points have paths and trails to the view sights. To get to the top takes an average person around 15-20 minutes, but it is worth the walk through a natural rainforest environment.

Bourkes Luck Potholes is a stunning natural formation created by water erosion over hundreds of years. The Bourke’s Luck potholes have round carvings and holes with different sizes formed in the Treur River and Blyde river confluence in the red sandstone. Your guides will brief you on all the history of the region. Guests can use small foot bridges and walk over the chasms, looking at the water flowing through the cracks and holes. There are also several small but beautiful waterfalls that litter the area, we spend about 1 hour here and it’s a great walk of about 1 Km in total.

Blyde River Canyon, the 3rd largest canyon in the world. The canyon is over 40km long and is as deep as 1 200m. The canyon contains vast amounts of plant life with rivers and dams making up the floor of the canyon. At a certain lookout point on the canyon, guests get to see another beauty of the Panorama Tour, the 3 Rondavels – The Rondavels get their name from their similar appearance to the Rondavel houses a traditional hut commonly built in Africa, these 3 outcrops stand prominently from
the landscape.

The Guides will also visit Lisbon falls, a beautiful waterfall that has a strong flow of water throughout the year. Lunch and some curio shopping will be in the Highveld town of Graskop, famous for its great Pancakes and our lunch venue for the day, there some great small shops and quests will have time to enjoy a stroll through the town.

Arrive back at the Lodge at about 4 Pm after a great day, enjoy a drink, a swim and dinner at the lodge, before an early start for a last morning safari in Kruger.

DAY 4: Morning safari and Afternoon at Leisure (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner included)
We always depart before sunrise and this is the best time for viewing wildlife as predators are mostly active in the early hours of the day. Your guide will focus on animals and regions not yet seen or covered, The Kruger National Park has 148 mammal species and over 500 bird species so there is always something to see, no safari is ever the same.

Kruger has a huge network of roads to choose from guides will safari in different areas of the park in different seasons, giving clients the chance to see more sightings and the beautiful wilderness and vegetation.

We return to the lodge around 11 am, today we have an afternoon at leisure, swim, enjoy some great walks around the lodges, try our local bears or just enjoy our great African weather. A light lunch and tasty dinner will be served at the lodge.

DAY 5: Morning safari and Transfer back to Johannesburg (Breakfast)
No safari is ever the same and today we have your last safari in the great Kruger National Park, time to just enjoy the bush or find your elusive leopard. Our guides have years of knowledge and experience and they will go out of their way to ensure your safari is memorable.

After a short breakfast and coffee stop, we will continue with the safari returning to the lodge at around 11 am, here you say goodbye to your guide and freshen up before the journey back to Johannesburg. Clients are collected by the shuttle at around 11.30 am, and we return to Johannesburg OR Tambo shuttle terminal and lodges within a 5 km Radius, arriving between 17.00 – 18.00 pm.