Kruger on a shoestring

By Robyn Carter LPSNZ

My dream was always to go to Africa and see the wildlife. From a child, I read every single book about wildlife in Africa that I could get my hands on. As a solo parent, Africa was still my dream but seemed so out of reach. I drooled over fellow photographers’ images when they came back from their safaris.

It took me 58 years to fulfil my dream, but I did it. It wasn’t a luxury safari that many photographers enjoy. Instead, it was the Kruger National Park on a shoestring. For me, it was the most amazing experience. You don’t always need to travel on expensive safari trips to see incredible wildlife close-up.

Two years ago, a friend and I, weighed down with 17kg of camera gear, kindly permitted onboard by Qatar Airlines, flew to Johannesburg via Doha. It was a long flight, seventeen hours to Doha, followed by another nine-hour flight to Johannesburg. The cheapest airfare we could find. On arrival in South Africa, we picked up a rental car from Johannesburg.

We booked sixteen days in the park, staying at four different camps: Pretoriuskop, Skukuza, Satara and finally Lower Sabie.

Elephants on our first entry into the park. Each part of the park we stayed in was slightly different, offering varying types of wildlife. The rest camps are comfortable - we had lovely accommodation with personal bathroom and kitchen facilities, so we could cook each night to keep our costs down. Some camps have swimming pools to cool off after a hot day’s drive. They also have laundry facilities, shops, and some have restaurants. One camp has an open theatre to watch documentaries about the park in the evening.

As soon as we were through the park gates, we came across baboons and antelope. With great excitement, we stopped for photos. Next, we decided to head to the waterholes. Saddle-billed Stork and a whole herd of elephants awaited –

Rare battle-scarred White Rhino. Robyn Carter Canon DSLR and 150-600mm lens Elephants are having a ball in a puddle. Canon DSLR camera and Tamron 24-105mm lens

we were so ecstatic. I had been expecting to see the wildlife, of course, but not as quickly or as easily as this.

As photographers, we took turns driving each day. We both sat on the same side of the car, with the back passenger seated directly behind the driver. This way, we could both shoot the same event. When driving, we both ‘scanned’ our eyes in different directions, looking for wildlife. As we were New Zealanders and not accustomed to African Wildlife, we looked for shapes in the landscape rather than immediately identifying animals.

I took two cameras; a Canon 7DII DSLR and Tamron 150-600mm lens enabled me to photograph animals at a distance. I used a Canon 5DIII DSLR with a 24-105mm lens for animals that came closer to the car. Circumstances change very quickly in the bush, so you don’t want to be missing photo opportunities while changing lenses. We used bean bags on the car windows as makeshift ‘tripods’ to stabilise the cameras and also found them useful in the hides. We saw people in other vehicles using cut down pool noodles on car windows as ‘tripod’ substitutes.

A typical day would start at 5.00 am. The previous night we researched and decided a route using the park maps. We selected the roads around each campstay and tried not to duplicate, taking a different route each day. By 5.30 am, we had finished breakfast, loaded up the car with camera gear, lunch and snacks and were out as soon as the park gates opened.

Sometimes at an animal sighting, we would be competing for vehicle space. At other times we would be the only ones at the scene. On return to camp, we would cook dinner, then load our day’s images onto the computer.

Three sightings are most memorable for me. The first was of a lioness who had downed a Kudu. There were so many cars lined up to view this sighting we couldn’t get close enough to photograph. So we decided to just park in the shade, planning to move in once someone else had left. Two minutes later, the lioness had had enough, and to our delight, she dragged her full belly into the shade just five metres from our car.

Little Bee-Eaters at Sunset Dam. Canon DSLR camera and Tamron 150-600mm lens

Day-old elephant baby with mother on Sunset Drive. Robyn Carter - Canon DSLR, Tamron 150-600mm

Leopard looking back at us as we followed in our car. Canon DSLR camera and Tamron 150-600mm lens

...Kruger on a Shoestring

By Robyn Carter LPSNZ

It was the perfect window of opportunity to take as many photographs as we liked unimpeded by other tourists. A lovely close-up encounter of a lioness in the wild!

The second memorable sighting happened after rain the night before. We came across a puddle of mud where a herd of elephants took turns to have fun, roll, splash, and get dirty. They were hilarious to watch, especially the young ones.

The third memorable encounter happened when we drove into a small layby by a river. Someone pointed out a sleeping leopard in a tree. At first, we couldn’t get close due to other vehicles. As the leopard was sleeping and not doing anything exciting, the other cars gradually departed. Eventually, we were the only ones left watching. We decided to wait to see if the leopard woke up. Eventually it got up, stretched, yawned, and jumped down from the tree. We went into warp speed, taking photos and following it down the road. It looked back at us, went into the bush, and slowly moved away to the river. We drove back to a nearby bridge and took more photos as it disappeared into the bush. It was such a beautiful animal.

On some days, we saw very little. On other days our cameras could barely keep up. Our best sightings were usually near water - rivers, at waterholes, dams, and the hides. Our best bird sightings were at Lake Panic Hide and Sunset Dam. The African Fish Eagle, Green Heron, rare Black Heron, Pied Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher and Little Bee-Eaters were just some of the birds we managed to photograph.

The 16 days passed quickly, and towards the end, we were much more selective about which photographs we were shooting. Zebras and giraffes, and small elephants were passed by without a blink. We were on the hunt for rarer animals not yet seen. Would I do it again? Absolutely!

I didn’t get any cheetah images, so I have to go back just for that, and I’ve heard that Punda Maria in the far North is fantastic for birds, so that’s on the bucket list too. We just have to get past COVID, and I’m off again!

Rare Black Heron fishing by shading the water with its wings. Lake Panic Hide. Robyn Carter - Canon DSLR and 150-600mm lens

Lioness after her kill resting in the shade close to our car. DSLR camera and Tamron 150-600mm lens

Malachite Kingfisher – Chris Piper. Canon DSLR camera and 400mm lens with 2x Extender.

Costs and tips from our Kruger Park Safari

Were we on a Shoestring? Definitely.

Our airfares were $3000 each.

Accommodation cost $1200 in total for the 16 days in the park. We stayed in well-appointed cabins for this cost, often with four beds, a personal bathroom, a kitchen, and a fridge outside. Food had to be locked away to prevent baboons from getting into it - as happened to us one day!

The rental car for 16 days cost $1600.00 in total, plus an unwanted speeding fine on driving back to the airport!

Petrol only cost around $300 - we didn’t use all the petrol because we were only driving at 40km/hr in the park.

We bought our food in the supermarket for approximately $200. There were also facilities at each camp to stock up on fresh fruit and vegetables. Self-catering saved money, although restaurants are available in some camps.

All visitors need a Wildcard to enter the park. The cost is $400 for two people, and the card lasts one year.

In total, the trip cost us approximately $2000 each, for 16 days in the park plus $3000 airfare each. A significant saving on some $10,000 safaris (excluding airfare) on offer!

Other helpful tips

• If you plan this trip, you need to book at least a year in advance. Make sure you don’t book any dates that coincide with South African school or public holidays.

• Choose the time of year to see the most wildlife. We went end-October.

• Remember to turn your engine off while you are shooting images - this prevents vibration when taking photographs.

• Always take a bottle in the car - if you need to pee, you can’t get out of the car – it’s too dangerous!. There are rest areas where there are toilets, but not many!

• Be back at the camps on curfew, or there are fines to pay if you are late. The camps are closed overnight for your safety.