The Best South African National Parks and Kruger’s New Gate:

There’s a new gate opening in Kruger National Park in South Africa, and it’s set to really enhance tourism at one of Africa’s top spots for seeing the Big Five on safari. The Shangoni Gate project, which will roll out in two phases, is expected to really benefit the region by boosting the local economy and improving the experience at Kruger National Park. Right now, there are nine public access gates in Kruger.

R25 million investment in Shongani Gate

Started back in 2016, this project got a boost from South Africa’s Department of Tourism with an R25 million investment. However, it’s run into some significant delays because of where the gate’s entrance is situated. They only figured out the entrance at the start of March because the nearby communities wanted to make sure they could take advantage of the economic benefits the gate would bring.

Kruger’s new Shongani gate is set to welcome visitors to the northern part of the park, right at Muyexe village. This location was chosen instead of a proposed entrance at Mtititi village, according to Cedrick Baloyi, who heads Local Economic Development (LED) in the Greater Giyani Municipality (GGM).

Improved Safari Experience for Visitors in Kruger’s North

The essential infrastructure in the park is all set and wrapped up for the first phase. You’ll find a reception area, shops, public restrooms, visitor parking, and even spots for camping and picnicking, all set up to make your safari experience even better. Visitors love entering through Kruger’s southern gates because they tend to see the Big Five more often than anywhere else in the park.

Tasneem Carrim, the Chief Director of the Department of Tourism, mentioned that SANParks is looking to boost tourist traffic to the northern part of the Kruger National Park to create economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

“The next phase will involve the access road from the entrance to the main road that goes to Shingwedzi and Mopani Camp.” “The Road Agency Limpopo is going to cover the costs for the access road from Giyani to the gate,” Carrim mentioned. “The initial investment from the public sector is meant to encourage more private sector investment by continuing to develop the hub beyond the gate.”

Building a Handy Gateway to Attract More Visitors

Nadav Ossendryver, the CEO of Latest Sightings, which is all about crowd-sourcing wildlife tracking in Kruger, mentioned that the new Kruger gate should really serve a purpose to help the community. SANparks should really think about building some infrastructure that allows visitors to catch more sightings up north, he mentioned.

“If you’re coming from Johannesburg, the southern part of the park is your best bet, just a four-hour drive away.” “Satara Rest Camp is right here; it’s quite a bustling spot, and there’s a good reason for that,” Ossendryver mentioned. “It’s located in a fantastic spot for game viewing, with the bush being pretty open and lots of animals around.” Orpen Gate is the nearest gate to Satara.

“You won’t believe it, but down south, the animals are just everywhere!” The bush is much thinner now, and the kind of grass here really draws in more antelopes, along with a whole lot more predators. Even if you’re driving with your eyes shut, you’ll spot a lion down south.

Just north of Letaba, the thicker bush makes it a bit trickier to spot the animals. “You know, they’re all still around.” “You can spot lions and leopards, but it’s really tough to actually see them,” Ossendryver said. He mentioned that the new northern gate in Kruger makes it easier to get to the wildlife-rich Shingwedzi Rest Camp.

“If I were heading to Shingwedzi, I’d definitely go for it since it’s likely the simplest option.” You’ll find quite a few lions and leopards in that area. Typically, it’s a trip that takes about two days. <text”You can either head to Punda Maria and then drive through half the park to the south, or you can enter at Phalabora and drive through half the park to the north.”

It’s really important to give back to the community.

He mentioned that having infrastructure to attract visitors and enhance wildlife sightings would be beneficial and could also support the local communities financially. “In Skukuza, you’ve got 20 different routes to choose from each day, but up north in Kruger, there just aren’t as many options.” The animals aren’t out on the roads, so you can’t really go exploring as much. All these different factors really do matter.

“You know, the whole deal with community is that it’s always a big deal,” Ossendryver said. “When you check out the shops that have popped up around the other gates, you can really see how the community gains from it.” There are plenty of restaurants, and you’ll find even the petrol stations on the way to the gates. People are always stopping by to grab some food. SANParks really needs to set up a gate that’s actually helpful for people, not just another spot for selling things on the roadside.

Recovering Visitor Numbers at Kruger Park

Last year, Kruger National Park was the second most popular national park in the country, right after Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park. Rey Thakhuli, the spokesperson for SANParks, shared that a little over 1.6 million tourists made their way to Kruger from March 2023 to mid-March 2024.

The number of visitors to the Kruger is down by 13% compared to the levels we saw back in 2019, before the pandemic hit. SANParks will be capping its total visitor numbers by the end of March. Thakhuli mentioned that Kruger is anticipating a complete recovery in the upcoming financial year. “Looks like we’re going to end up about 8-9% short of the pre-covid numbers by the end of this financial year.” Summer has really stepped up its game this year! “The other months of the year have been doing pretty well too.”

Check out the best national parks to explore in South Africa!

Each of SANParks’ national parks brings its own special touch to your african safari">South African safari plans. There’s so much to explore, from the dusty stretches of the Karoo to the vibrant biodiversity found in the coastal parks.

In 2023, nearly five million travelers explored South Africa’s 19 national parks. That’s about 22% less than the 6.3 million visitors we saw back in 2019. Check out these parks that have seen the most visitors bounce back in 2023 compared to 2019:

Augrabies National Park in the Northern Cape, Kgalagadi National Park also in the Northern Cape, Golden Gate Highlands National Park located in the Free State, Karoo National Park in the Western Cape, Camdeboo National Park, which is also in the Western Cape, Namaqua National Park found in the Northern Cape, Mountain Zebra National Park in the Eastern Cape, Kruger National Park spanning Limpopo and Mpumalanga, Tankwa Karoo National Park in Limpopo, and Marakele National Park, also in Limpopo.

We’re really looking forward to seeing what’s new on the safari circuit in South Africa! These investments really solidify the country’s reputation as one of the top safari spots in Africa.