Locations: Kruger National Park
Ages: 12+
Distances: 1375km, 8-12 days
Pick up your safari-equipped campervan in Johannesburg and drive to Malelane. Stay just outside Kruger, perfectly positioned for a morning tee time at Leopard Creek.
🚐~4.5 hours from Johannesburg
Enjoy an early morning round at Leopard Creek Country Club, a world-famous Gary Player design combining immaculate conditioning, elevated tees, and challenging holes hugging the Crocodile River—where you may see hippos or elephants while you play. After golf, enter Kruger via Malelane Gate and drive through mixed woodland and riverine forests. Lookout points like Matjulu and Renosterkoppies provide perfect stops to spot rhino and giraffes. Continue toward Lower Sabie, watching for elephants crossing the road and herds of buffalo grazing along the river.
🚐~2 hours inside the park
Morning game drive as you head along the Sabie River, renowned for its concentrations of wildlife, including leopards resting in trees, elephants in the shallows, and hippos basking on sandbanks. Arrive at Skukuza for check-in and an optional round on the bushveld 9-hole Skukuza Golf Course, a gently undulating course lined with indigenous trees and small, challenging greens. The experience of playing here is special because of the chance encounters with impala and warthog wandering across your fairway, and the atmosphere of golfing in the wild.
🚐~45 minutes
Early morning golf at Skukuza before driving through savanna landscapes rich with giraffe, kudu, and zebra. Pause at Nkuhlu Picnic Site to take in views of the Sabie River and possibly spot crocodiles and hippos. Continue to Lion Sands River Lodge to enjoy a luxury stay and sunset guided drives in Big Five country. Option for a sunset guided game drive or to simply relax in the tranquility of this magnificent lodge.
🚐~2 hours
Dawn game drive in an open jeep hosted by your safari guide, taking you close to the Big Five and offering exceptional photographic opportunities. Spend the afternoon relaxing by the pool or enjoying fine dining overlooking the river. You may also choose additional activities such as guided bush walks, birdwatching, or a sunset drive to see nocturnal predators becoming active.
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Depart Lion Sands and re-enter Kruger through Orpen Gate, heading north through open savanna and mopane woodland. This part of Kruger is known for large elephant bulls and expansive views across the Olifants River valley. Arrive at Olifants Rest Camp, perched high above the river where you can watch herds gathering below.
🚐~4 hours
Enjoy your last wildlife sightings as you exit Kruger and travel to Ba-Phalaborwa Golf Course. This course is renowned for broad kikuyu fairways, raised greens framed by bushveld trees, and water hazards that hippos and crocodiles often share. Every hole offers a blend of golfing challenge and safari atmosphere.
🚐~1 hour
🚐Play a morning round at Ba-Phalaborwa Golf Course before setting out on the Panorama Route. Along this route, expect breathtaking vistas of rugged cliffs, cascading waterfalls, and forested ravines. Highlights include God’s Window, where you can gaze across an endless sweep of green Lowveld plains. ~2.5 hours
Begin your day with sunrise views over Blyde River Canyon, one of Africa’s most impressive landscapes, before driving back to Johannesburg to return your campervan.
🚐~5 hours
