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Miami to South Africa: Johannesburg and Kruger National Park

Miami → Johannesburg → Kruger National Park

Johannesburg
"Johannesburg_skyline_2017.jpg" by Mark Hillary, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence
Johannesburg skyline 2017 (Johannesburg)
Photo: Mark Hillary, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Big Five safari Best season (general guide): May–Sep

Kruger is one of Africa's largest and best-organised national parks, and it can be visited on a self-drive trip as well as with a guide. This route connects it with Johannesburg, the usual gateway for long-haul flights. From Miami you'll typically connect in Europe, the Gulf or another US hub before landing at O.R. Tambo.

How to pace it: Spend days one and two in Johannesburg: day one, rest; day two, Apartheid Museum and Soweto. Then spend days three to seven at Kruger National Park: day three, drive to the Lowveld via the Panorama Route; day four, dawn and afternoon game drives; day five, game drives in the south; day six, move camps, then drives; day seven, final drives.

A couple of nights in Johannesburg give you time to recover and to understand the country better. The Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and a guided visit to Soweto, including the Mandela House, are the main stops. The drive east to Kruger crosses the Highveld and drops down the escarpment into the Lowveld, and the Panorama Route with its viewpoints and canyon is a scenic detour on the way. Inside the park, days start early with game drives at dawn, a rest in the heat of the day, and another drive in the late afternoon before the camp gates close.

SANParks describes the dry winter months, from about April to September, as traditionally the best time for game viewing. Vegetation thins and animals gather around rivers and waterholes. Days are mild but nights and early mornings can be cold, so bring warm layers for open-vehicle drives. The summer rains from around October bring lush green bush and migratory birds, but animals are harder to spot.

Rest camps operate fixed gate times, so plan driving days carefully. Kruger lies in a malaria area, so ask a travel health professional for advice before you go.

Self-drivers stay in the national park's rest camps, which have cottages, campsites, shops and fuel. Private lodges in the reserves along the western boundary, such as Sabi Sand, offer guided drives in open vehicles, off-road tracking and their own night drives; inside the national park, night drives are run by SANParks.

Suggested outline

  1. Miami

    Start

  2. Johannesburg

    By air · 2 nights suggested

    South Africa's largest city. The Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill explain the country's recent history.

  3. Kruger National Park

    Overland · 5 nights suggested

    Reached by road (or a short flight to a nearby airport). Stay in national park rest camps or private lodges in the neighbouring reserves.

    Kruger National Park
    "Kruger_Zebra.JPG" by Nithin bolar k, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons· licence

Day by day

  1. Day 1 · Johannesburg — Arrive; rest· Miami → Johannesburg (by air) — long-haul; may arrive the next calendar day
  2. Day 2 · Johannesburg — Apartheid Museum and Soweto
  3. Day 3 · Kruger National Park — Drive to the Lowveld via the Panorama Route· Johannesburg → Kruger National Park (overland)
  4. Day 4 · Kruger National Park — Dawn and afternoon game drives
  5. Day 5 · Kruger National Park — Game drives in the south
  6. Day 6 · Kruger National Park — Move camps; drives
  7. Day 7 · Kruger National Park — Final drives
  8. Day 8 · Kruger National Park — Travel home from Kruger National Park· Kruger National Park → Johannesburg (overland), then Johannesburg → Miami (by air)

A suggested pace only; expedition days are set by the operator.

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Johannesburg

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Kruger National Park

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