The Kruger National Park is one of South Africa's largest tourist attractions.
It provides a wonderful combination of scenic beauty, game, comfort and wildlife atmosphere. It was the first national park to be proclaimed in South Africa and is probably the best known park in the world. It is therefore very popular among local and international visitors. This unspoilt nature reserve covers an area of 21 497 km² and provides sanctuary to large numbers of game.

The park was named after President Paul Kruger who started the creation of wild life sanctuaries in South Africa in the 1890's. An area near the Pongolo River and an area near the present-day Shingwedzi camp were declared game reserves in 1889. In 1895 the Sabie Game Reserve was proclaimed; it can be seen as the forerunner of the Kruger National Park. Today the park is much larger. The park is approximately 100 km wide and stretches over 380 km from the Limpopo River in the north to the Crocodile River in the south. The park is situated in the north eastern corner of the country and forms part of the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.

Eventually the Kruger National Park will be part of a peace park known as the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) which will cover an area of 100 000 km². The GLTP will include Kruger as well as Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park and Mozambique's Limpopo National Park as well as internationally renowned private game reserves such as Timbavati, Sabie-Sand, Manyeleti and Klaserie. The removal of the fence on the western side of Kruger Park in 1994 ensured a flow of game between the park and the above mentioned adjoining private game reserves. The removal of the fence on the eastern side will again allow game to follow the traditional migrating routes.

The park can be entered through eight different gates: Paul Kruger Gate, Mbabeni, Malelane Gate and Crocodile Bridge are the gates in the southern part of the park. Orpen Gate and Phalaborwa serve the central part of the park. The northern part of the park can be reached via Punda Maria and Pafuri.

The altitude varies from 260m to 839m above sea level, the average height is 300m. The surface is fairly flat with occasional hills and lonely rocky outcrops. The Lebombo Mountains lie in the east and large hills can be found around Berg-en-Dal and Pretoriuskop rest camps. Hills also occur in the region of Olifants and Letaba rest camps while rocky hills (tors) occur in the vicinity of Punda Maria and Pafuri rest camps.

Several large rivers flow through the park, namely the Limpopo, Sand, Crocodile, Letaba, Olifants, Timbavati, Sabie, Shingwedzi, Luvuvhu and the Mbyamiti Rivers. Most of the rivers flow from west to east, which indicate the general slope of the area.

The climate of the park is subtropical – winters are mild and summer temperatures are often higher than 40°C. December and January are the warmest months, while the coldest temperatures are recorded during June and July. The average temperature of summer days is about 30°C and the average day temperature during winter is 18°C. Winter days are normally clear and sunny.

Summer rainfall occurs from September - the average annual rainfall varies from 375 mm in the north to 750 mm in the south. Sudden rainstorms often occur in the afternoons to relieve the suffocating daytime heat. Warm and dry cycles, 8 to 12 years each, have been recorded by meteorologists. Most visitors undertake early morning and late afternoon drives. Winter is the best time for game-viewing because the grass is short and does not obscure the view, but the lush vegetation of summer is also attractive to some. Many animals lamb or calve during summer when nature can provide for the young. Many migrating birds can be seen in the park during summer when food and water are abundant.

More than 23 000 plant species have been recorded within the Kruger Park. The vegetation is mainly bush veld and varies from grassland to bush. Predominant trees are acacias (south of the Olifants River), marula (in the dry northern region) lead wood (in the Satara region), bush willow (in the southwestern parts – around Skukuza), mopane (around Punda Maria) and baobab (in the Pafuri region). It has been calculated that 191 300 kg of grass is eaten daily by zebras and wildebeest in the park! Different grass types include Tamboekie grass (Hyperthelia dissolata), Rooigras (Themeda triandra) and Buffelgras (Panicum maximum).

Virtually all southern African antelope roam the park and often fall prey to predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and hyenas. Black and white rhinos can be found in the park as well as large numbers of elephants, hippos and giraffes. Baboons and monkeys and lots of other smaller animals can often be seen. 493 bird species, 114 reptile species and 49 fresh water fish species, 33 amphibian species and 227 species of butterfly have been recorded. The abundance of wild life is obvious: 100 000 impalas, 30 000 zebras, 16 000 buffaloes, 13 000 blue wildebeest, 8 000 elephants, 5 000 giraffes, 2 000 white rhinos, 2 000 lions, 1 000 leopards, 380 wild dogs, and 300 cheetahs have been recorded.

Lions are scattered through the park, but the highest concentration occurs in the central region and around Lower-Sabie and Crocodile Bridge rest camps. Leopards are seldom seen because of their shyness and habit to hunt at night. Cheetahs can be found on the open plains and are more often seen, because they are more active during the day. Wild dogs are nomadic and are abundant nowhere, but they prefer the flat areas close to Malelane. The howling sounds of jackals and hyena can be heard at night at most of the rest camps.

Ostriches, Martial eagles, Saddle-billed storks, Giant eagle-owls, and Koribustards are known as the Big 5 Birds of the Kruger National Park. The top 5 waterbirds are the African finfoot, the African spoonbill, the Goliath heron, the Open-billed stork and the Knob-billed duck. The top 5 raptors of the Kruger National Park comprises of the following: the Bateleur and the Martial eagle, the Tawny eagle, the African fish-eagle and the African hawk-eagle.

2302 km of tarred and gravel roads take visitors to waterholes, picnic spots and viewing points. 14 public rest camps complete with shops and restaurants are available for tourists. Five small camps and five remote bushveld camps provide private accommodation. Skukuza, Pretoriuskop, Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge, Jock-of-the Bushveld and Berg-en-Dal are the largest camps in the southern part of the park. In the central part of the park the large camps are Satara, Olifants, Nwanetsi, Orpen, Roodewal, Balule and Letaba. Shingwedzi, Boulders and Punda Maria provide accommodation in the northern region. Five small camps and five remote bushveld camps provide private accommodation. Seven wilderness trails and seven trail camps are available for hikers in the park. Private accommodation is also available for those undergoing a conservation course. Accommodation ranges from luxurious to basic and even includes camping and caravan facilities. The rondavels and bungalows fit in with the wilderness and contribute to the bushveld atmosphere.