Kruger National Park was proclaimed in 1898 and became a National Park in 1921. It is 7,523 square miles, or roughly the size of Israel.
Shishangeni Lodge is a private reserve with 39 thousand acres in the southeast corner of the park. The location is a 2 hour drive from Kruger airport or a 4.5 hour drive from Johannesburg.
There are three separate properties: Shishangeni Private Lodge, Camp Shonga and Camp Shawu. Each has its own perks but The Private Lodge has the most amenities and a main building with a reception, lounge area, small gift shop and a couple different dining areas. The 22 private chalets are accessible along an elevated boardwalk. The lodge is fenced off, though impalas and monkeys often hang out inside.
Animals sightings are possible from the private balconies or edges of the property. The rooms are spacious with beds, a dressing area, sitting area, full bath, and best of all, an outdoor shower overlooking the bush.
The lodge provides toiletries and bug spray, as well as an iron and hair dryer if requested. Turndown service includes netting around the bed, a chocolate on the pillow and a nightly copy of an African bush tale that has been passed down for generations.
Guests are well fed with rusks (muffins/bread) and coffee pre-safari drive, a full breakfast after the drive, lunch, tea service, happy hour and dinner. The food is very South African and the chefs take pride in the dishes they serve. The drinks (water, wine, beer) are not included in the total price. But the happy hour drinks are!
Early morning and late afternoon/evening drives are offered, usually 3-3.5 hours a drive. The safari vehicles are covered with three elevated rows of seats behind the driver, fitting 3-4 a row.
Even on warm days, it can get cold in the early mornings and after the sun sets. Shishangeni Lodge provides blankets on chilly mornings and nights in their safari jeeps. So if you can’t decide whether to bring a jacket, you’ll be covered either way.
The animals do not have “homes” in the park and are always moving around, therefore all guides communicate with each other so if there is an exciting sighting they will alert the others.
There are hundreds of paths that guides could take – ranging from paved roads to barely marked paths surrounded by fully grown tall grass. Sometimes they will save certain animals for certain drives to mix things up. Let the guide know if there’s a “must see” on the list. No guarantee but they go out of their way to make guests happy.
Since Shishangeni is a private reserve, they are able to go off-roading and offer closer views to the animals.
Personally, I found that 48 hours and 2 morning and 2 evening drives were the perfect amount. Though we didn’t see the ‘Big Five’ (missed the leopard and buffalo) I feel like the safari experience would have felt oversaturated had we stayed longer. Instead I was happy to leave the park still excited to see elephants and giraffes.
Animals that we spotted:
- Elephants
- Giraffes
- Rhinos
- Hippos
- Wilderbeests
- Lions
- Zebras
- Impalas
- Jackals
- Kudus
- Warthogs
- Hyenas
- Wild Dogs
- Baboons
- Vervet monkeys
- Crocodiles
- Turtles
- Mongoose
- Guineafowl
- Hare
- Lots of Birds (Secretary Bird, Lilac-Breasted Roller, Vulture, Eagle)
- Puffer Snake
Click here for the entire South Africa itinerary!
