It's official—I've got our flight tickets for next October!
Two weeks with my 16-year-old son, aiming to see plenty of big animals and birds.
Thanks to all of you for the wealth of information on this site.
After going through a good chunk of the forum and travel journals about South Africa, I think my itinerary is ready...
I’ve planned 2 days with long drives to minimize time spent outside the parks.
These are Sunday the 18th: Johannesburg Airport to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve,
and Friday the 23rd: St. Lucia to Nelspruit (staying in South Africa) or as close as possible to visit the Canyon the next day.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the itinerary, especially these 2 days—are they doable or not? Should I book in advance, or will there be places to sleep along the way if we don’t make it to our planned destination?
What’s the crowd level in South Africa in October?
As for Kruger, I’ve chosen campsites with camping facilities, prioritizing the "satellite" camps, at least in the northern part!! I’ve planned to change camps almost every day to combine travel and wildlife spotting, but is this the right choice?
The itinerary:
Sunday 18th
Arrival at 8:50 AM in Johannesburg
Drive to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve
530 km, 7h20
1 night (18th–19th) at the northern gate
Monday 19th
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve
1h30, 50 km
2nd night (19th–20th) southeast of the reserve
Tuesday 20th
Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve
3rd night (20th–21st) southeast of the reserve
or Mpila
Wednesday 21st
Reserve and drive to St. Lucia
Drive to St. Lucia: 1h, 50 km
Crocodile and hippo boat tour at 3 PM
4th night (21st–22nd) in St. Lucia
Sugarloaf Campsites
Thursday 22nd
Whale-watching tour 7–9 AM (or the next day)
Cap Vidal, day trip: 70 km round trip
5th night (22nd–23rd) in St. Lucia
Sugarloaf Campsites
Friday 23rd
Drive to Nelspruit
541 km, 7h
Night in Nelspruit
6th night (23rd–24th) in Graskop
Saturday 24th
Blyde River Canyon
150 km, 2h + stops
7th night (24th–25th) at Blyde Canyon Forever Resort
Sunday 25th (Kruger Day 1)
Leopard Trail hike: 3h
Drive to Kruger, Phalaborwa Gate
136 km, 2h to the park entrance
75 km, 3h to Mopani - Tzende
8th night (25th–26th) Kruger 1: Tsendze
Monday 26th (Kruger Day 2)
Drive to Balule: 84 km, 3h20
9th night (26th–27th) Kruger 2: Balule
Tuesday 27th (Kruger Day 3)
Drive to Satara: 160 km, 6h25
10th night (27th–28th) Kruger 3: Satara
Wednesday 28th (Kruger Day 4)
Kruger
11th night (28th–29th) Kruger 4: Satara
Thursday 29th (Kruger Day 5)
Kruger
12th night (29th–30th) Kruger 5: Skukuza
Friday 30th (Kruger Day 6)
Kruger
13th night (30th–31st) Kruger 6: Lower Sabi
Saturday 31st (Kruger Day 7)
Kruger
14th night (31st–1st) Kruger 7: Berg-en-Dal
Sunday 31st
Departure: flight at 9:15 PM (must be at the airport by 6 PM max)
Morning in Kruger, then drive
400 km, 5h30—departure by 11 AM max
Sunday 18th
Arrival 8:50 AM Johannesburg
Drive to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve
530 km and 7h20
1 night 18-19 at the northern gate
That’s way too many kilometers for the first day. Will the flight be on time? Will you have the energy to drive that far after a flight? The final stretch will be at night, which isn’t recommended.
Friday 23rd
Drive to Nelspruit
541 km, 7h
Night in Nelspruit
That’s long too (more like 8/9 hours on a busy road), but at least you can choose your departure time. So why not, even if personally, I wouldn’t do it.
---/---
Alternative idea:
Night 18-19 near Newcastle (on the way to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park)
Nights 19-21 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (2 nights)
Nights 21-23 St Lucia (2 nights)
Night 23-24 Swaziland (Mlilwane)
Nights 24-30 Kruger (6 nights)
Nights 30-1 Blyde Canyon (2 nights)
Sunday 1st: Departure from airport, flight at 9:15 PM = arrive at airport by 6 PM max
Should we book in advance, or will there be places to sleep along the way if we don’t make it to our planned destination?
It’s much better to book in advance if you have a specific camp in mind, especially if you want a particular type of accommodation.
Outside the parks, it’s also better to book in isolated spots (so the host is there!).
I planned to change camps almost every day to combine travel and sightseeing, but is that the right choice?
Some prefer staying at least 2 nights in each place, others don’t.
Personally, I do a bit of both...
Balule
Great idea
Un si beau paysage : concours de photos amical de juin 2026
Rubrique Jeux Voyages
C'est le moment de voter!
Good evening Attila, and thank you for your reply and suggestion.
As I suspected, these road days are long.
I wanted to push through on these trips to spend more time in the parks.
But it's better to arrive at the destination without any incidents.
I’ll look into a stop between the airport and the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve.
The shortest route seems to be via the N2—unless Newcastle has something special to offer?
For St Lucia to the canyon, my rental company doesn’t allow leaving South Africa.
Thanks again—I’ll look into this more closely.
Have a good evening
Like dear Attila, I also think the first day of driving is a bit ambitious. 🤪
Instead of staying overnight in Newcastle, which isn’t very interesting, I’d suggest driving toward Clarens and Golden Gate Highlands National Park. It’s about a 4-hour drive (330 km) from Joburg airport.
That way, you can enjoy the stunning scenery starting around 2:30 PM: two nice loops to drive and some easy short hikes. A great way to ease into the trip, with beautiful landscapes and (likely) some wildlife to spot. 🙂
The next day, you can continue to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, where two nights should be enough—especially since you’ll spend a lot of time in Kruger afterward.
P.S. The second day of driving seems fine to me: an early start is doable, and there’s no jet lag from a long flight the day before.
True, a long drive after 20 hours of travel and flying is pretty ambitious.
That Golden Gate Highlands National Park looks amazing.
For these two long driving days, I was thinking it might be better to decide on accommodation once we're there, depending on how tired we are, rather than booking in advance.
But is it possible that everything could be fully booked on a Sunday and a Friday night in October if I don’t reserve ahead?
Thanks again for your suggestion—I’ll definitely look into it.
Hi there,
You’ve booked your flight tickets for October—we’re also heading to South Africa in October. Did you find any good deals?
Thanks for your reply
Hi Gallup,
I did book my flight tickets.
No, the tickets I got aren’t cheap (Paris-JO for under 600 € in April-May 2025 with Iberia), but I filtered by departure and arrival times—early morning arrival in JO and evening departure.
Plus, after checking reviews, I avoided smaller airlines like Ethiopian, EgyptAir, and RwandAir. In short, almost 900 € with Virgin... for good schedules and an airline I hope is "decent," even if it’s not Iberia or Qatar Airways.
Outside of All Saints' Day holidays, it might be cheaper, and weekday departures can also lower prices.
True, I took a great Namibia-Cape Town trip last spring and I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed with the wildlife.
Gorgeous vibes in Victoria Falls, Caprivi, and Etosha, but nothing compares to what Kruger or even the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve seems to offer.
So, my goal is the Big Five, birds, and nature over 15 days—which is short and requires optimization.
But I get that between what Google Maps says and the actual terrain, there’s 20 or 30% more travel time. At the same time, you’ve got to book in advance.
Anyway, thanks to all of you—I’ll give myself more buffer on the drives, even if it means cutting a day from Kruger.
I’d also thought about a stop in the Drakensberg, but it adds quite a few kilometers just for one night.
I think you’d need to drop a night somewhere else and spend 2 nights in the Drakensberg.
But this trip seems really focused on animals, not landscapes. So?
Well, it adds 180 km, but what’s 180 kilometers in southern Africa for a nice stop? 😉
That said, I’d also stay an extra night in that area, even if it means one less night in Kruger (or Hluhluwe-Umfolozi, a reserve that didn’t excite me as much as others).
Like you said, it all comes down to where you want to strike the balance between landscapes and animals.
Just throwing in my two cents!
The drive on the first day seems too long and tiring (personal opinion), especially since you have a time limit to enter Hluhluwe.
If you enter from the north, you take the R17 then the N2.
I don’t know any stops along that route... but you should be able to find one in Piet Retief.
(Actually, I’d do the route in the opposite direction...)
Arrive in Joburg, head toward Kruger with a stop in Dullstroom (Crichtley Hackle Lodge), then take the Panorama Route and enter Kruger via Phalaborwa, exiting through the south.
On the way back, leave Hluhluwe early—the drive will be long, but you’ll be more comfortable with the traffic, and you’ll sleep on the plane...
Three nights in Hluhluwe, yes (Nselweni!), and since the park is quite small, stay there for the whole stay.
I love St Lucia and iSimangaliso, so the longer you stay...
It surprises me that the rental company won’t allow a crossing through Eswatini (Swaziland)... many do.
Too bad, because a night stop in Hlane with its rhino walks would’ve been amazing...
You can find a better stop than Nelspruit.
Heading toward the Drakensberg, especially for just 1 or 2 nights, doesn’t seem worth it to me, even though Golden Gate is great and not too far from Joburg.
Finally... I always try to stay 2 or 3 nights in the same Kruger camp to avoid packing and unpacking... and to get familiar with the place and its spots.
Regarding Etosha, I was there at the end of April 2025, and as it seems there had been a lot more rain, the grass was high, making wildlife observations difficult. But the colors were beautiful, and the lagoon was full—really stunning.
For the first day, I’m planning to stop in Piet Retief. It’s not too far from the airport and will let me reach the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Reserve by late morning or early afternoon.
I’m skipping the night in Skukuza and staying 2 nights at Lower Sabie instead. The camps seem smaller, I’ll have one less "move," and it’s close to Lower Sabie.
I chose this route to gradually build up the wildlife viewing. I’m worried that after Kruger, Hluhluwe-Umfolozi and Isimangaliso might feel a step down. That’s also why I want to start in central Kruger and head south, which is supposedly richer in wildlife and gets us closer to Johannesburg for the last day.
On the other hand, we’ll be in southern Kruger over the weekend, so it might be crowded...
Thanks again for your comments and suggestions. For now, I’m sticking with one week in Kruger, which limits the chance to visit other parks—but that’ll be for next time...
I love iSimangaliso, but I also think it's better to finish with Kruger.
In any case, it sounds like a great trip ahead! 🙂
P.S. You confirmed that conditions weren’t really ideal at Etosha for good wildlife sightings. We’ll have to go back. 😉 For me, it’ll be this summer (for the third time), and I’m especially excited.
Hi Bof
My disappointment mainly comes from a too-short stay of 2.5 days and a non-naturalist group. So, short stops, no time to soak it in or spot the animals.
Etosha was still an amazing experience for me, with an impressive number of animals, often very close. I also really loved the Caprivi Strip—greener, with more water.
Hope you have a great trip and thanks again for your tips
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