Krueger (national park): photo, description

Kruger National Park is a picturesque area in South Africa. To this day, it has preserved the pristine fauna and flora. For more than a hundred years the park has attracted tourists the opportunity to watch the life of lions and leopards, rhinoceroses and elephants, buffaloes and giraffes in their natural environment.

The picturesque Mount Lebombo, the amazing rivers Crocodile and Limpopo, large lakes, magnificent vegetation can all be seen in this world-famous park. Kruger National Park is located on the territory of the Republic of South Africa (South Africa). It occupies a plot of more than two million hectares. In such territory, for example, Israel can accommodate.

The park is divided into 14 zones. Each of them is distinguished by different representatives of fauna and flora. Admittedly, Kruger National Park (South Africa) owes its huge popularity to the Big Five: lions, rhinoceroses, elephants, buffaloes and leopards. Experts argue that the north of the park is much more distinctive and spectacular, however, its southern part is the most popular and mastered by tourists.

From the history of the park

Kruger (national park), a photo of which you can see in this article, was founded in 1898. The idea of its creation belongs to the ex-president of the Transvaal Paul Kruger. He planned to create a reserve to protect endangered and rare species of animals and preserve the environment.

However, the first tourists the park took many years later (1927). In the spring of 2002 the Transnational Park Great Limpopo appeared. It includes Kruger Park (South Africa), Mangini-Pan, Gonareggio, Malipati (Zimbabwe), Limpopo (Mozambique) parks. All these territories were reserved, therefore hunting was limited here (to preserve the number of rare animals). The status of the National Park he received in 1926, after the accession of nearby farms and the reserve Shingwedzi. The official opening of the park, named after Kruger, took place in a year (1927).

Today, the largest in the world is Kruger. The Big Limpopo National Park has no state borders, so tourists have the opportunity to visit it on a single visa. Today the park stretches for 400 kilometers from south to north and 70 kilometers from west to east. In the east, the border reaches Mozambique, and in the north - to Gonarezha, the National Park in Zimbabwe.

This territory is considered part of the Peace Park project. It provides for free migration of animals across borders and creates one of the largest wildlife preserves in the world.

Infrastructure

For the long history of the park, an excellent tourist infrastructure has been created here. This is a network of excellent great roads, and several equipped parking lots, and car rental, and fine restaurants, and comfortable campsites and hotels. There is even an airport here.

In this huge park employs more than 3,500 people, most of whom are engaged in serving visitors. For all who want to watch the life of animals in the wild, it organizes guided tours on cars accompanied by a caretaker. It is quite natural that independent walking is prohibited. Moreover, they can be very dangerous, since the Kruger National Park, a description of which can be found in all the advertising brochures of travel agencies working in this direction, still remains an islet of wild nature.

Recently, tourists increasingly prefer to watch wild animals, using a hidden camera. This way of "hunting" in recent years is famous for Kruger. The National Park allows its guests to make amazing shots. For example, you can see the battles in the herd of buffalo, photograph how the lions behave in the pride, fix the movement of the huge alligators.

Today Kruger (National Park) is very popular - more than a million tourists from all over the world come here every year. The ideas of Paulus Kruger are venerated in our day. The main principles of the unique complex are hospitality, openness, love of wild nature. The inhabitants of South Africa are very proud of this reserve, considering it a vivid example of the harmony of man and nature.

Kruger National Park: description

This amazing reserve is rich in flora and fauna. More than two thousand plants grow in different climatic conditions:

• Steppes of the veld;
• River valleys;
• Savanna;
• Foothills.

Travelers are always particularly interested in the huge baobabs, which are absolutely familiar to locals.

World of birds

Kruger is a national park, on the territory of which more than five hundred species of birds are quite comfortable. Among them there are many very rare and endangered species. If you have the opportunity, pay attention to:

• A rhinoceros bird;
• Buffalo weaver;
• Neck;
• An eagle owl;
• Bustard;
• Eagle;
• Storks.

Other Inhabitants

In the park there are many interesting fauna representatives. Among them:

• 50 species of fish;
• More than 100 species of reptiles;
• 33 species of amphibians.

Kruger National Park: animals

It's no secret that the mammals of the reserve are especially attracted by tourists. About 150 species live on this vast territory. The total number of animals reaches a huge figure - more than 250 thousand. In some areas, the concentration of wild animals is the largest in the world.

We have already talked about the fact that representatives of the "Big Five" reside in the park. Their number is impressive:

• Rhinoceroses - 300 black and 2500 white;
• 8,000 elephants;
• 2 000 lions;
• 15,000 buffalo;
• 900 leopards.

In addition, on these lands are herds of antelope impala (102 thousand), blue antelopes (14 thousand) and zebras (32 thousand). Rhinoceroses prefer to sleep during the day. You can see them active at night or at dusk. It is interesting that this huge and seemingly slow-moving animal can reach speeds of up to forty-five kilometers per hour.

Elephants

Many tourists are attracted by the huge representatives of the proboscis squadron - elephants. For one day, such a giant consumes more than 300 kg of grass and leaves. As a rule, elephants move rather slowly (2-6 km / h), but for a short time they can reach speeds of up to 40 km / h.

Where can I see animals?

Many rare, and sometimes endangered animals can be seen on the territory of the Kruger Nature Reserve. The national park is fairly evenly distributed throughout the territory. The likelihood of seeing them largely depends on the state of the vegetation cover and the terrain.

In the south, the highest density of fauna is observed. Near the creeks and rivers, near the camps Skukuza Pretoriuskop, Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie, you can find elephants, hippos, crocodiles, small families of giraffes, buffalo. The central parts of the park are inhabited by large herds of zebras and antelopes, which attract predators - lions and cheetahs. The northern regions were chosen by the huge herds of elephants and buffalo, leopards and antelopes of Nyala.

sights

In addition to the magnificent nature and numerous animals, it is possible to get acquainted with the culture of African countries on the territory of the reserve. Here there are ethnographic settlements, monuments and other attractions, to which include:

• 254 archaeological monuments;
• Finds of archeologists relating to the stone and iron centuries;
• Albasini Ruins - a trading station (XIX century);
• Museum of Elephants;
• Memorial Library Stevens Hamilton.

Where to stay?

Tourists here have a huge choice of accommodation - from modest houses that are in the park, to the magnificent hotels around it (private areas). Here you completely forget that you are in the wild. Think about it only when an elephant passes by.

Private hotels (lodges) are located in very picturesque places, which are convenient for watching animals. But this is not their only virtue. In such hotels, as a rule, everything is included: accommodation, meals, non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, trips to the park and other services. Often such mini-hotels offer their guests fairly low prices on weekdays and in the off-season. But before settling ask, do they accept lodgers with children. The fact is that the vast majority of such institutions accept young visitors over 12 years of age. Some lodges are rented for no less than 2-3 days, in any case, guests must pay this time.

In the park there are 18 camps (state) for recreation. They differ in both size and equipment. In the largest on the territory there are excellent restaurants and supermarkets, in addition, it is possible to prepare meals independently, in the open air.

In the five smallest camps - Mopani, Boulders, N`wanetsi, Roodewaal, Jock of the Bushveld - cooking will have to be done on their own. It provides accommodation of only 15 people, so usually they are chosen by groups of tourists coming by large companies.