Kruger National Park. Kruger national park where is kruger national park

To this day it has preserved its original fauna and flora. For more than a hundred years, the park has attracted tourists with the opportunity to watch the lives of lions and leopards, rhinoceroses and elephants, buffalos and giraffes in their natural environment.

The picturesque Mount Lebombo, amazing rivers Crocodile and Limpopo, big lakes, luxurious vegetation - all this can be seen in this world-famous park. National Park Kruger is located in the territory It covers an area of over two million hectares. Such territory, for example, could accommodate Israel.

The park is divided into 14 zones. Each one is different different representatives fauna and flora. It should be recognized that the Kruger National Park (South Africa) owes much of its enormous popularity to the “Big Five”: lions, rhinoceroses, elephants, buffaloes and leopards. Experts assure that the north of the park is much more original and spectacular, but its southern part is more popular and developed by tourists.

From the history of the park

Kruger (national park), a photo of which you can see in this article, was founded in 1898. The idea of its creation belongs to the ex-president of the Transvaal, Paul Kruger. He conceived the idea of creating a reserve to protect endangered and rare species animals and environmental conservation.

However, the park received its first tourists many years later (1927). In the spring of 2002, the Great Limpopo Transnational Park appeared. It included Kruger Park (South Africa), Manjini-Pan, Gonarezhu, Malipati (Zimbabwe), Limpopo (Mozambique) parks. All these territories were protected areas, so hunting was limited here (to preserve the number of rare animals). Status National Park it received in 1926, after the annexation of nearby farms and the Shingwedzi reserve. The official opening of the park, named after Kruger, took place a year later (1927).

Today Kruger is considered the largest in the world. The Great Limpopo National Park has no state borders, so tourists can visit it with one visa. Today the park stretches 400 kilometers from south to north and 70 kilometers from west to east. In the east the border extends to Mozambique, and in the north to Gonarezh National Park in Zimbabwe.

This area is considered part of the Peace Park project. It provides for freedom across borders and creates one of the largest game reserves in the world.

Infrastructure

For long history The park has an excellent tourist infrastructure created here. This is a network of excellent, magnificent roads, and several equipped parking lots, and car rental, and excellent restaurants, and comfortable campsites and hotels. There is even an airport here.

This huge park employs more than 3,500 people, most of whom are engaged in customer service. For everyone who wants to observe the life of animals in wildlife, excursions by car accompanied by a ranger are organized here. It is quite natural that independent walking is prohibited. Moreover, they can be very dangerous, since the Kruger National Park, a description of which can be found in all the advertising booklets of travel agencies working in this direction, still remains an island of wild nature.

IN lately Tourists are increasingly choosing to watch wild animals using a hidden camera. In this way of "hunting" recent years Kruger is famous. The national park allows its guests to take amazing shots. For example, you can see battles in a herd of buffalo, film how they behave and record the movement of huge alligators.

These days, the Kruger (National Park) is very popular - more than a million tourists from all over the world come here every year. The ideas of Paulus Kruger are still revered today. Main operating principles unique complex- hospitality, openness, love of wild nature. are very proud of this reserve, considering it a shining example harmony between man and nature.

Kruger National Park: description

This amazing reserve is distinguished by rich flora and fauna. More than two thousand plants grow in different climatic conditions:

veldt steppes;
river valleys;
savannas;
foothills

Travelers are always especially interested in the huge baobab trees, which are absolutely familiar to local residents.

World of birds

Kruger is a National Park in which more than five hundred species of birds feel quite comfortable. Among them there are many very rare and endangered species. If you get the chance, pay attention to:

hornbill;
buffalo weaver;
neck;
fishing owl;
bustard;
eagle;
stork.

Other inhabitants

There are many in the park interesting representatives fauna. Among them:

50 species of fish;
more than 100 species of reptiles;
33 species of amphibians.

Kruger (National Park): animals

It is no secret that tourists are especially attracted to the mammals of the reserve. About 150 species live in this vast territory. The total number of animals reaches a huge figure - more than 250 thousand. In some areas the concentration of wild animals is the largest in the world.

We have already said that representatives of the “Big Five” live in the park. Their number is impressive:

rhinoceroses - 300 black and 2500 white;
8,000 elephants;
2,000 lions;
15,000 buffalo;
900 leopards.

In addition, herds (102 thousand), blue antelopes (14 thousand) and zebras (32 thousand) graze on these lands. Rhinoceroses prefer to sleep during the day. You can see them active at night or at dusk. Interestingly, this huge and seemingly clumsy animal can reach speeds of up to forty-five kilometers per hour.

Elephants

Many tourists are attracted by the huge representatives of the proboscis order - elephants. In one day, such a giant consumes more than 300 kg of grass and leaves. As a rule, elephants move rather slowly (2-6 km/h), but at short time they can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h.

Where to see animals?

Many rare and sometimes endangered animals can be seen in the Kruger Nature Reserve. The national park is distinguished by a fairly even distribution throughout the territory. The likelihood of seeing them largely depends on the state of the vegetation cover and the terrain.

The south has the highest density of fauna. Near streams and rivers, near the Skukuza Pretoriuskop, Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie camps you can find elephants, hippos, crocodiles, small families giraffes, buffalos. The central parts of the park are inhabited by large herds of zebras and antelopes, which attract predators such as lions and cheetahs. Northern regions Huge herds of elephants and buffalos, leopards and nyala antelopes have taken a liking to the area.

Attractions

In addition to the magnificent nature and numerous animals, on the territory of the reserve you can get acquainted with the culture of African countries. There are ethnographic settlements, monuments and other attractions here, which include:

254 archaeological sites;
archaeological finds dating back to the Stone and Iron Ages;
Albasini Ruins - trading station (XIX century);
Elephant Museum;
Stevens Hamilton Memorial Library.

Where to stay?

Tourists here have a huge choice of accommodation - from modest houses located within the park to magnificent hotels around it (private areas). Here you will completely forget that you are in the wild. You will remember this only when an elephant passes by.

Private hotels (lodges) are located in very picturesque places that are convenient for observing animals. But this is not their only advantage. In such hotels, as a rule, everything is inclusive: accommodation, meals, non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, trips around the park and other services. Often such mini-hotels offer their guests quite low prices V weekdays and in the off-season. But before checking in, ask if they accept guests with children. The fact is that the vast majority of such establishments accept young visitors over 12 years of age. Some lodges are rented out for at least 2-3 days; in any case, guests must pay for this time.

There are 18 camps (state-owned) for recreation in the park. They differ in size and equipment. The largest ones have excellent restaurants and supermarkets on site, and you also have the opportunity to cook your own food in the open air.

In the five smallest camps - Mopani, Boulders, N`wanetsi, Roodewaal, Jock of the Bushveld - you will have to do your own cooking. It provides accommodation for only 15 people, so they are usually chosen by groups of tourists arriving in large groups.

Kruger National Park is perhaps the most famous and visited park in the country and one of the largest nature reserves, which exist in the world. The Kruger National Park is famous for its vast territory and the habitat of the famous "big five" animals: lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and buffalo. The length of the Kruger Park from north to south is about 350 km, its width is approximately 60 km, and general territory The park covers 2,000,000 hectares, which is approximately equal to the territory of Israel.

From the history of Kruger Park

The first Europeans to come to this territory were the Dutch, led by Francos de Cooper, who was heading to the East to explore India. The newcomers were not greeted warmly by the local population, but over time hundreds of Europeans flocked here, attracted by stories about gold, valuable furs and ivory.

The first two factors could not but affect the numbers in this region. Concerned about the current situation last president Transvaal P. Kruger convinced parliament to declare this area a National Park. Thus, in 1898 it was founded Kruger National Park. Paul Kruger considered his task to be the preservation of the flora and fauna that were located between the Sabie and Crocodile rivers. In the Kruger Park Charter, its creators proclaimed “The Park belongs to the people.” The national park was opened to the public only after more than 20 years.

Why Kruger National Park is interesting

Kruger Park is an excellent example of how one can and should live in good neighborly relations with nature. The park employs approximately 3,500 people on a permanent basis, whose responsibilities include caring for the well-being of the park's inhabitants and serving its visitors. And there are a lot of visitors to the Kruger National Park. For them, the park has campsites and parking lots of various levels of comfort, including 5*.

In addition, there are several private camps, some of which are among the best in the world. Perhaps the most convenient for tourists will be the Sabie-Sabie Game Reserve, which features three types of lodges: classic in the hunting style, colonial and ultra-modern, bunker-like made of steel and glass.

There is an airport, car rental, gas stations, hospital, post office, shops, restaurant and even a library. There are high-quality roads throughout the park, traveling along which you can enjoy the beautiful natural views, as well as see a huge number of representatives of the animal world.

The fauna of the Kruger National Park is extremely rich. There are 147 species of animals with a total number of about 250,000. The park is especially proud of the representatives of the “Big Five”: rhinoceroses (2,800), (8,000), (800), lions (2,000), buffalos (15,000). In addition, the park is home to many species of fish (50), amphibians (33), birds (507) and reptiles (114).

In addition to simply exploring the territory in the Kruger National Park, tourists will find interesting walking routes. In the Pilgrim's Rest area there is beautiful waterfalls In addition, the Blyde River Canyon, which is considered the third largest in the world, and the Robbers Pass are very interesting.

The park is also home to the ancient gold mining town of Pilgrim’s Rest. In the territory belonging to the Kruger National Park, numerous traces of ancient settlements have been discovered, as well as many Stone Age rock paintings that will appeal to lovers ancient history. The best time to visit Kruger National Park is from May to September, when there is no rain.

Who hasn't heard stories about Limpopo as a child? How childish spontaneity beckoned me to take a walk through this wonderful country, but these are not fairy tales, but a real province in the hot sands of the African continent.

African lands are one of the points on the Earth that have preserved part of the true nature of the pristine sample. This area is represented by the Kruger Park. This is where you can see the world around us the way the planet itself created it.

The park has no separate boundaries among the territories of the states on which it is located. All animals living in the reserve are free to move throughout the area.

Description of the reserve

Kruger National Park is the oldest protected area in the territory Republic of South Africa and one of the largest in the world. It is located in the northeast of South Africa, in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Total area protected area is 19 thousand square kilometers, from the north it stretches for three hundred and fifty kilometers, and from the east for sixty kilometers.

Compared to Pilanesberg and Table Mountain, Kruger National Park in Africa is considered the most visited among tourists. Together with similar parks, Gonarezu in Zimbabwe and Limpopo Park, which belongs to Mozambique, is included in the “Peace Park” - the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which has international status. It is this situation that erases political boundaries to move animals among the territories of all three reserves. Such a grand association total area, is about 100 thousand square kilometers. It is planned to join other protected zones of the countries listed above.

History of creation

The park was created at the end of the 19th century. The idea of creating such a zone was submitted to the authorities of the Boer Republic of Transvaal back in 1884, and three years later the proposal was approved by the President of the Republic, Paul Kruger. It was in honor of him that the Sabie Game Reserve was subsequently renamed, along with the unification of adjacent farm lands and the Shingwedzi reservation. In 1927, the park was finally formed.

Initially, the Kruger National Park had the function of protecting against the uncontrolled slaughter of animals that were subject to complete extinction. The very first caretaker was James Hamilton, he was nicknamed the father of animals, as he made a very large and valuable contribution to its development. All the years of work (from 1906 to 1946), James tirelessly monitored the implementation of all regulations for the protection of the flora and fauna of the designated area.

Climatic conditions

The region where the Kruger National Park is located has subtropical climate, this means that in summer time It's quite hot and humid here. Temperatures reach 38 degrees Celsius above zero.

In winter, the humidity partially disappears and the air becomes much drier, and weather conditions milder and temperatures rise to just 25 degrees Celsius. Plus, in winter it is more profitable to look out for animals, since the wild summer vegetation disappears, and the area for their walks becomes open, because in the mornings and evenings the animals always come to drink at local reservoirs.

Visiting program

The park program includes various ways on meeting a wild one African nature. It all depends on the travel plans and personal desires of the visitor. Some tourists like to come to the reserve in rented cars or SUVs and spend the whole day on a safari program, including lunch at a local restaurant, and then go along their own vacation route. Others prefer to stay overnight, offered among other visiting services.

Some people bring camping equipment with them, in which they can sit comfortably on a special site. In any case, the emotions and sensations from your stay in the Kruger National Park in South Africa will remain unforgettable.

You can also go on a real hike on foot. It usually lasts about three hours, and the group consists of no more than eight people. Throughout the entire journey, the guide will not only show you the most interesting places, where you can meet animals, but also talk about their life, history and give other important information.

Park rules

Any territory under state protection has its own regulations for visitors. There are several unbreakable rules in the Kruger National Park that should be adhered to unconditionally throughout your stay:

Unauthorized exit from the vehicle outside the hotel area is prohibited.
It is prohibited to move and travel around the park after sunset and in the dark.
Feeding animals is also strictly prohibited.
Pets are not allowed into the park.

In addition to the fauna, the protected area contains historical sites of global significance:

Traces of sites of people belonging to Homo Erectus (Homo erectus), the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens.
Rock drawings and painting.
Antique remains of the settlements of Thulamela and Masorini, dating back to the Iron Age.

Moreover, you can look into the Hamilton Memorial Library.

The most favorable period for getting to know African nature is the time period from the beginning of March to October. By the end of autumn the rainy season begins here. Moreover, the park administration allows only a certain number of cars, above limited limit they do not allow drive-ins, so it is better to book your safari tour in advance. Despite the above recommendations, the park is open year-round, according to its charter: “The park belongs to the people.”

You can enter the reserve through gates located in nine directions, but a guide is required. For unauthorized entry or for violating the rules, the visitor will be fined.

Flora and fauna of the "African treasury"

Looking at the photo of the Kruger National Park, you can be sure that there is something to go for! There is a wide variety of both animals and plants here. In the park you can see six ecosystems (ranging from savannah to forests near water bodies). The main attraction is the baobab tree, which is twenty-five meters thick and will require a dozen people to hug it. Here you can see about five hundred species of birds, more than a hundred species of reptiles and fifty varieties of fish.

Of course, the most interesting residents Kruger National Park are animals. Due to the presence of more than 250 thousand animals on the territory, the reserve is secretly called " Noah's Ark"The park is home to the "big five" mammals - buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion and rhinoceros. They are considered the strongest and most dangerous enemies of people who hunt.

You can observe the life of animals in the wild live or through video cameras. With the help of an excursion tour you can meet some representatives of the fauna in person. However, no one will allow you to move around the territories independently due to elementary danger. After all, almost all the animals living in the reserve are unaccustomed to being close to humans. Therefore, excursion groups are supervised by special rangers.

Services provided by the reserve

In addition to tours, the Kruger National Park offers its services in the largest local camp - Skukuza, where a visitor can not only have a snack in a cozy gazebo, but also refuel the car, buy necessary things and products for the trip, stay overnight in a hotel and even play golf . There is a hospital and an airport here. By the way, you can also rent a car without leaving the ticket office. More than three and a half thousand people support the work of the park.

Reservations must be made in advance. After all, this is a unique place where the originality of nature is preserved. Only thanks to the founding of the reserve can one see an elephant or an antelope not behind the fences and bars of a zoo, but in the conditions of their real wild life.

How to get there

To get to the Kruger National Park from Moscow, you need to purchase a plane ticket to the city of Johannesburg; transfers are usually made in London or Istanbul. From Johannesburg, using the services of local airlines, you need to fly to Kruger-Mpumalanga International Airport. Well, upon arrival, the easiest way is to rent a car in order to conveniently get to the protected area.

There are various package tours provided by tour operators, which include transfers and accommodation, most often these tours are individual and tailored to each customer.

To one of the first national parks in the world can be attributed to the Kruger National Park. The online magazine Factinteres will tell you more about this National Park.

Kruger National Park is located in South Africa. In the 17th century, “white” people began to move into South Africa and were surprised by the nature of these places. Then the “white” man saw many exotic animals and plants. True, in the 17th century the ranks of exotics thinned out very much.

Cause of disappearance large quantity The animals of these places began to be hunted uncontrollably. At that time, both local residents and visiting tourist hunters who were looking for adventure on the Dark Continent were engaged in hunting animals. For example, every British young man with money considered it his duty at least once to go to South Africa to hunt.

However, there is no need to “throw stones” at “white” people: at that time, African tribes destroyed no less fauna those places. The only difference is the weapon. The local tribal people did not have that abundance firearms, which tourists and visitors had. Plus, the black tribes did not hunt for fun, as tourists did. It was hunting that allowed such tribes to survive in that environment.

Observing the extermination of that huge diversity of wildlife, the then President of the Transvaal Republic, Paulus Kruger, decided to stop it. It is no secret that Paulus Kruger loved his homeland very much and understood what the current situation could lead to. In 1898, Kruger established a reserve on the border between his republic and Mozambique. Then the territory of the Sabie River and adjacent territories came under the protection of the state. Hence the name of the reserve - Sabi-Game.

Unfortunately, a year later the Anglo-Boer War began, which ended with the victory of the British, and ultimately the occupation of the Transvaal by the British. For obvious reasons, Paulus Kruger had to flee to Europe, where, by the way, he died 5 years later. Only the work started by Kruger did not die: the local English authorities preserved the reserve. Since that time, the territory of the reserve has never again lost its status as a protected area.

In 1926 The Sabi Game Nature Reserve was repurposed as a National Park. It was also decided to name the park after its creator, Paulus Kruger.

What is the difference between a National Park and a Nature Reserve?

The difference is that ordinary tourists cannot enter the reserve, which cannot be said about the National Park. This is what has made the Kruger National Park one of the most popular parks in the world.

To date, more than 20 visitor camps have been established in the Kruger National Park. Every year, more than a million people from the most different corners of our planet.

What interesting things are there in the Kruger National Park?

The entire flora of the national park is divided into 6 ecosystems. In total, there are more than 1,980 plant species in this park. As for the fauna, there are 527 species of birds and 147 species of other animals. Thanks to these indicators, we can safely conclude that the Kruger National Park is indeed the largest in Africa.

Even today, anyone can enter the Kruger National Park. Thanks to Paulus Kruger, this pearl of nature remained protected. Unfortunately, humanity's influence on nature is increasing every year. It is thanks to the many National Parks, as well as nature reserves around the world, that we can observe animals in their natural environment, and not in small zoo cages.

The oldest and most famous nature reserve in South Africa, one of the largest national parks in the world. Along with Pilanesberg and Table Mountain, it is the most visited national park in South Africa.

Located in the north-eastern part of South Africa, in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, the Kruger Park covers almost nineteen thousand square kilometers and extends 350 km from north to south and 60 km from east to west.

Kruger National Park, together with Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe and Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, one of the Peace parks. This means that there are no protected borders between states in the territory of this park; nothing interferes with the free movement of animals. It is planned that the total area of Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which is currently at the formation stage, will be about one hundred thousand square kilometers.

A proposal to create a reserve, which would later become the Kruger National Park, was submitted to the government of the Boer Republic of the Transvaal in 1895. In 1898, a positive decision was made and Transvaal President Paul Kruger, after whom the park would later be named, announced the creation of a new reserve called Sabie Game Reserve.

The park was originally created to control hunting and protect animals from extinction. The first caretaker of the reserve was James Stevenson Hamilton in 1902, who was the head of the reserve until 1946, did a lot for its development and is deservedly considered the father of the Kruger National Park.

In 1926, the Sabie Game Reserve, the adjacent Shingwedzi Game Reserve and a number of farm lands were combined to form the Kruger National Park. The new park opened to visitors in 1927.

The climate in the Kruger National Park area is subtropical. Summer is humid and hot, with temperatures rising to 38°C. Dry winter season is the ideal time to visit the park. The weather is much milder, temperatures usually do not exceed 25°C. It is more convenient to view animals, since the vegetation is not as lush as in summer. In addition, animals come to water bodies every morning and evening to drink.

About two thousand species of plants grow on the territory of the Kruger National Park, characteristic of both the veld steppes and river valleys, foothills and savannas.

Here you can see about five hundred species of birds, over a hundred species of reptiles (including about three thousand crocodiles), but, of course, the most interesting “exhibits” in the Kruger National Park are the animals.

The Kruger National Park has about one hundred and fifty species of mammals, more than any other African reserve. Of course, there are all the "Big Five" animals here, which are considered the most dangerous species for the hunter - lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, buffalos and leopards.

In 1989, hunting for elephants was stopped in the Kruger Park, as a result, by 2004 the number of these animals increased to almost twelve thousand individuals, and in 2006 it was about thirteen and a half thousand. This poses a problem, since the park allows only about eight thousand elephants to live normally. Perhaps increasing the territory of the reserve will help solve this issue.

Now in the Kruger National Park live about twenty-seven thousand African buffalos, three hundred and fifty black and ten thousand white rhinoceroses, over five thousand giraffes, about eighteen thousand zebras, three thousand hippopotamuses, about five hundred cheetahs, one and a half thousand lions, one thousand leopards, about one hundred thousand various antelopes and many other animals.

You can enter the park from different directions through nine gates, the distance from Johannesburg to the nearest of them - Numbi gate - is 411 kilometers, to the farthest - Parfuri - 600 kilometers.

There are more than twenty campsites located in the Kruger National Park different levels- from the simplest, tented, to luxurious, with bathrooms, swimming pools, libraries, restaurants, cafes, gas stations, a supermarket and a golf course.

Book your seats Can
by phone - +27 12 428-91-11
by fax - +27 12 343-09-05
By email - [email protected]

Please note that the park is open only during the day and being on its territory at night without a guide is, firstly, dangerous, and secondly, fraught with a large fine.