Estate Living Magazine Issue 30 Smart Environments June 2018 | Page 62

Kruger exclusive
The Kruger National Park is – rightly – South Africa’s biggest tourist drawcard,
and visiting Kruger is almost a right of passage for South Africans.
But then you’ll hear some people say they don’t want to go to
Kruger because ‘it’s too crowded’. And the reason they think
it’s crowded is because they never venture further than the
main road between Skukuza and Lower Sabie. And, if it’s just
animals you’re after, you don’t have to, because the animal
density is so high in that section you could stay there forever.
That’s because the park is very cleverly managed. Kruger is
huge – just on two million hectares – and SANParks only allows
in 7,375 people per day, which makes about three-and-a-half
people per square kilometre – not exactly claustrophobic. But,
while the animals have access to all two million hectares –
except for the actual fenced camps and lodges – visitors are
restricted to the camps and the roads. So, if the odd zebra or
lion doesn’t feel like seeing people, they can just stay away
from the roads. But a huge number of them don’t seem fazed
at all, so they sleep on the side of the road – or even in the road.
60 | www.estate-living.co.za