South Africa in safari mode: February/March 2026 (page 8 of 9)

The drive to Lower Sabie was long, but we had some interesting encounters along the way.





We got to see our elephant buddies again. A huge pachyderm had parked itself right in the middle of the road and wasn’t about to move. Sometimes it would step aside, but as soon as the car tried to move forward, it would block the road again.

The photo’s quality isn’t great, but you can still see the size of the beast!





We saw a little one run across the road in front of us—all alone. That’s not a good sign. And sure enough, a few moments later, we saw its mom charging toward us. Not a happy camper. Well, ma’am, it’s not our fault—you should keep a better eye on your kid. Luckily, she didn’t have time to give us a scolding and took off after the little one.

We also really loved the landscapes around Lower Sabie. It was often quite dense but very pretty.

There were lots of animals too, including some we were seeing for the first time or had rarely seen before, especially near the Sabie River.

A kingfisher



A bright green turtle



A crocodile lounging on the riverbank



A pair of African fish eagles, and we even caught a rare moment of intimacy between them. The mating was so quick that we didn’t have time to capture it.



We finally arrived at the Lower Sabie camp to sleep in the cheapest hut model available. It was a bit of a shock after our night in a private reserve. Verdict: it’s basic but good enough for one night. Besides, we slept really well. No awful smells like we’ve read about in other travel journals. It’s still amazing that you can sleep right in the heart of Kruger for just a few dozen euros.

Last day in South Africa:

Woke up at dawn this morning for one final safari morning. The road between Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge is well-known. You can spot cheetahs and all sorts of big cats there.

The area around Lower Sabie was hit hard by the floods. It's closed between Skukuza and Lower Sabie.

We keep our eyes peeled, even though it's getting really tough by the end of the trip. Safari—it wears you out.



We head south and discover a few open tracks. Suddenly, we see several guided safari vehicles stopped (suspense...). A big Toyota Hilux pulls up next to us. It's around 8 a.m., and the South African driver, completely slumped over her steering wheel in a, let's say, *very* advanced state of intoxication, asks us where we're from. France! She replies that she doesn’t know how many French people are left in France since they’re all in South Africa . Above our heads, a monkey won’t stop screaming. The South African woman explains that it’s warning of danger and that we should stay put. The tourists in the safari vehicles are all standing up, looking happy. We can’t see anything—our car’s too low.

Finally, we spot it—or at least its back. It’s a leopard!!! Joy and frustration all at once.



Gone, it’s over 🙁

All the vehicles leave except us and the South African woman. She rolls down her window and tells us to wait because it’ll come back. Well, she was drunk but she knew her stuff. A bush was partially blocking our view. I ask Christelle if she can reverse. We’re about to come face to face with it. It’s about twenty meters away. Just him and us. Magnificent 🙂



While the lion impresses with its strength and power, the leopard is a true mix of pure beauty and grace. It moves stealthily at an incredible speed. We’ll stay with him for a good ten minutes. At first, he was on guard, but he eventually realized he wasn’t in danger with us and let us admire and photograph him.

We arrive at Crocodile Camp, where the shop is in the dark due to a power outage. We take our turn adding to the observations board.





The trip ends on a high note 🙂

An American tells us he just spotted lions on the road, not far from the camp. But we’re out of time.

Our domestic flight leaves Nelspruit around 4 PM. This airport is small, but we really liked it—great for picking up a few souvenirs.



Goodbye, South Africa. I’ll post a conclusion and a financial recap in the next few days.

So cool to have this leopard as the last image 😎

Epilogue (which highlights my personal feelings about this trip of less than two weeks, so it’s inevitably very subjective)

Before leaving, I’d read reviews from travelers who were happy with their stay but had reservations that weren’t detailed. I hesitated to write this travel journal because we weren’t completely charmed by the destination. But in the end, I think it’s good to explain why.

We enjoyed our trip and are glad we did it. But my top three destinations weren’t shaken up (Hawaii, the U.S. West, and Iceland, which I still can’t rank). It took time—and writing this journal—to appreciate it at its true value.

Several things negatively impacted our stay:

- The welcome Most often cold, even borderline unpleasant. Over time, it started to become really draining. This is certainly explained by the country’s dramatic history, but experiencing it as a tourist—in shops, at the gates of Imfolozi and Kruger, for example—wasn’t the point of the trip, and psychologically, it affected our enjoyment of being there. We found the service in restaurants a bit oppressive, too present. Maybe we just had bad luck. We did meet some friendly people, of course.

- The fatigue We were usually wiped out. Doing safaris from dawn to closing time is pretty exhausting. We wanted to make the most of it given the short time there and don’t regret our itinerary. If you can, staying two days in the same camp in Kruger lets you take naps in the middle of the day.

- The illness Which might also explain the fatigue we felt there. The very evening I got back, a blister that turned into a sort of volcanic crater 😉 appeared on my forehead and quickly became infected. It was pretty stressful since the illness wasn’t identified. Maybe it was Rickettsiosis, which isn’t great (from an infected tick or mosquito). I was out of commission for a month with a double course of antibiotics for two weeks. We saw two ticks during our stay, so it’s possible. Christelle also had to see a doctor because a spot appeared on her leg.

- The landscapes Very beautiful, but no "wow" effect.

- Kruger We’d planned the trip to build up to peak enjoyment and emotion. Instead, the opposite happened. Sainte Lucia was our highlight—definitely worth doing, in our opinion. In Kruger, our days were often long. We had some great sightings, of course (African wild dogs, leopards, hyenas, etc.), but they were very unevenly distributed. We didn’t see any buffalo (the lions’ favorite meal) and only one rhino in 4 nights there. The south is really the most wildlife-rich area. The closure of the vast majority of trails led to more monotony. The camp schedules weren’t well adapted to this time of year: closing at 6 PM (vs. 7 PM in Sainte Lucia). The sun was still high, so no sunset at that hour, even though the wildlife is still very active. It was a bit frustrating.

- Shindzela We had bad luck, so we were disappointed. I would’ve liked to eat around the boma, but dinner was in the restaurant (due to uncertain weather).

Despite everything, it’s still a destination worth doing 🙂 It’s varied with lots of activities. The country lets you see wild animals in their natural habitat, and that’s priceless. If you set aside private reserves, it’s a unique opportunity to do safaris at a very reasonable price. We only saw a tiny part of it, and South Africa has plenty of other magical places. We regretted not visiting Cape Town, but at the same time, doing a classic Cape Town/Kruger combo would’ve made us miss Sainte Lucia.

Hello,

and THANK YOU for your entire travel journal.

I’m a bit surprised by some of your conclusions: When you go on a safari—no matter the destination—you have to accept that "Safari is UNPREDICTABLE!" That’s a basic premise. "Nature decides what it will show you." No one else...

Two vehicles following the same route just 20 minutes apart won’t have the same encounters. That’s just how it is.

You should also spend much more time in a chosen reserve to really enjoy it (and thus visit fewer reserves). Do LITTLE, but do it WELL, or BETTER...!! These are general principles, but they apply no matter the country.

If you ever want to repeat the safari experience in an even wilder setting, I recommend considering the reserves in southern Tanzania.... 😉

Hope you settle back into everyday life smoothly, and wishing you a speedy recovery from your health issues.

Thanks again. Best regards, Puma2A

...

When you end with a beautiful encounter with a leopard, you can't be disappointed! Thanks for this travel journal.

Thanks for this travel journal! 🙂

So lucky with the leopard.😎

For the landscapes, it’s really the rest of the country you need to explore: the Drakensberg, the Little and Great Karoo, the Northern Cape.

For Kruger, head toward Pretoriuskop.

I also move from one camp to another, usually staying just one night. To avoid spending the whole day in the car from 0600 to 1800, the key is to copy the rhythm of private reserves.😉

Skip breakfast and jump in the car with coffee and biscuits. Return around 0900, shower, rest, snack. Then head to the next camp in quick safari mode, aiming to arrive at the very first minute of check-in. Rest, then final safari around 1600.

I’m surprised by the welcome. What’s changed in recent years? I’ve rarely been disappointed in that regard—except maybe at Kruger, which is so touristy that some staff have become like you often see in places like that.

Thanks for the travel journal and thanks also for this honest and thorough summary.

Yes, thank you so much for this honest feedback, Pascale. I think we're all jealous of your one-on-one with the big stuffed animal... but way less so about the medical souvenir you brought back, yikes 😂.

The "atmosphere" in South Africa is definitely very special. It's not easy to make contact with the local population. The solution we found was to stay in guesthouses run by white people (not intentional) and to pick up female hitchhikers whose skin color I'll let you imagine. And really, as tourists, on either side, they were welcoming, and it was very interesting. But the gap between the two is still very disturbing to me.

I still hope to go back to see Santa Lucia, which we missed, and to return to Kruger, obviously—the only place in the world, I think, where little wallets can get so close to African wildlife in all its splendor... and in complete freedom 🤩.

See you soon for new adventures 😊

What’s really striking is how the divide among Black South Africans has become ultra problematic in South Africa.

How can a country that lived through apartheid end up being xenophobic?

According to this article, it’s the fault of the current leaders:

Political parties are ramping up the stigmatization of migrants (...), deflecting attention from corruption and mismanagement" that impoverish South Africa’s working class

This toxic atmosphere might explain why the welcome has unfortunately deteriorated, don’t you think?

Thanks Pascale for your travel journal 🙂

The trip is getting close (one month to go!) and for the Kruger part, I was thinking of doing what Agnès said (morning and late-afternoon safaris, resting in between). For those of you who drove all day, did you see a lot of animals in the middle of the day? Any noticeable difference compared to mornings and late afternoons?

Hi Muriel!

Agnès’s suggestion is ideal if your itinerary allows it. From my South African experience, early mornings are definitely the best time—from when the camp opens until about 9 AM. After that, there are far fewer sightings, even in the late afternoon.

Beautiful encounter with the leopard 🙂

Thanks and kudos for this travel journal and all these impressions. It’s always great to hear everyone’s feedback and feelings.

Hi Alain,

Thanks for the message. It was our first safari (for me, at least), and it was on the agenda as far back as 2020 (thanks, COVID), so we had plenty of time to hope for some amazing wildlife encounters. True, nature’s the one in charge. It’s a lottery! But like the lottery, we all know some folks will come back empty-handed, but we’re all hoping for that big win or a full house 😏

With pleasure! 🙂

Hi Agnès,

You're absolutely right. I don’t know if we could’ve applied it for ourselves since our camps were quite far apart, but if it’s possible, it’s ideal.

As for the welcome, it was the worst we’ve had since I started traveling—except maybe Budapest (which I still love despite everything). The worst was in Imfolozi, but also very often in Kruger. No complaints about St. Lucia (reserved but polite) or Eswatini (Hlane was great, and Mkhaya a bit less so). It surprised me because I hadn’t heard about it before. For example, the welcome in Etosha, Namibia, is often criticized in forums, but not in South Africa.

Thanks for reading my travel journal!

Thanks for following along! The financial recap is coming up :)

Hi Christelle,

While there, I didn’t notice any hostility toward Afrikaners. That said, we didn’t run into many—just the lodge owner in St Lucia (who was really nice) and a few in Shindzela. That’s about it. St Lucia is the kind of place where you just feel good, no fuss. And the hippos in town are awesome! 🙂

You’re right about the wallet—activities are also really reasonably priced.

Could we get a little travel journal on Sumatra? 🙂