The Wonders of the Kruger National Park

Origin of the Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park which is found in the northeastern part of South Africa is counted among large game reserves in the world. It was established as a national park on 31st May 1926. It has all kind of geographical features such as mountains, tropical forests and bush plains all covering an area of 19,485 Km2.

The National Park has a high density of animals having a home in the park including the popular big five that are also found in the Serengeti, Masai Mara, Mikumi, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro National Park and Manyara in East Africa. Moreover, there are also different species of birds ranging from eagles to vultures.

Cultural and Historical Significance of the Kruger National Park

The Kruger National Park has great cultural heritage sites and historical significance not only to the South African community but to the whole human race community as people other cultures may visit the part to learn from.

In the park, there are more than 250 known cultural heritage sites, there are nearly 130 rock art sites, including some rare rock engravings. There are many San art found throughout the national park, revealing the past of this community.

Moreover, there are more than 300 archeological sites of the stone age considered to be of 100,000 to 20,000 years ago, and iron age sites dating back to around 1,500 years ago. Furthermore, within the park there are archeological ruins of considerable importance near Thulamela and Masorini.

Touristic attractions

The Kruger National Park attracts a significant number of tourists each year. The tourists are attracted to a variety of attractions including various wildlife, conservation program, and historical cultural sites within the park.

Wildlife in the park

The national park accommodates a wide range of animals found in most tropical areas; the animals include elephants, rhino, buffalo, leopards, lions and many types of birds. The tourists can see the animals and birds through walking safaris organized by experienced guides and on game drives.

Historical cultural sites

The park houses a considerable number of archeological sites of great importance for education purposes and also discovery of the level of progress that the local communities around the region had attained. There are archeological sites of the stone and iron age which are available for tourists to visit. The San arts are not short of attractive features for visitors to admire and learn from them.

Conservation program

South Africa has a relative better economy in Africa, and thus this facilitates the conservation program in the national park. Kruger National Park is involved in the environmental management and in conservation tourism. In the program, the park prioritizes on sustainable travel and education to facilitate continuity. Tourists too are encouraged to partake in the park’s mission so as to protect its natural environment and resources.

Services to tourists

The park offers a number of services to tourists which include banking, tour guides, accommodation, photography safaris, activities at the lodges.

On accommodation and lodge activities

At the national park there is a range of accommodation options which include safari lodges, private lodges, camping sites and rest camps. A visitor chooses some thing of their choice depending on their budget and availability of the facilities.

When visitors are at a lodge there could be some activities that one may engage in the activities carried out over there including wine tasting, cooking lessons, star gazing, photography courses, and archery (shooting with a bow and arrows).

Guided Tours

Tourists visit the national park for seeing animals but this demands for safety, thus the tours to the park are guided by experienced guides who know well the park. The activities include walking safaris, game drives, and 4×4 adventure trails.

Photography Safaris and Banking

When tourists visit the national park they do need to have memories captured by their cameras for future memories and references. To take nice photos, one needs to have a good position and that requires safety, thus to ensure all that guides show the best locations and routes that are safe for photography. Moreover, the banks and Bureaux de Changes in the park exchange foreign currency.

Economic benefits to the local population

Kruger National Park contributes greatly to the local and national economy generally in many ways including tourism, job creation opportunities, research and conservation. This is the largest national park in South Africa, and its contribution to the national economy through the Gross Domestic Product is significant.

Tourism

Kruger National Park pulls a large number of both local and international tourists who visit the park for various activities in the national park.  The activities include wildlife viewing, Safari walks, game visits, and much more. Visits and services to the national park are payable and thus this facilitates collection of revenues that counts in the GDP.

Creation of job opportunities

Moreover, the many activities in the national park means lots of jobs opportunities are created for the young South Africans from across the country. There are job opportunities are produced through services provided in the park, here are only some of them: trained guides, trained drivers, well trained cooks, hoteliers,  trainers of archery, experts in star gazing, environment experts. Indeed the national park could be likened with an industry that produces job opportunities and hires lots of young people.

Historical and archeological sites

Additionally, in the national park there are many cultural and historical sites which attract scholars, researchers and people with interests on historical sites and facts. These archeological sites are of great importance in the discipline of archeology and history. These sites compel us to learn more from the life of our ancestors and forge our future. These site attract investment through facilities that are needed to carry out research.

Conclusion on the Kruger National Park

Our article has demonstrated that Kruger National Park is a great heritage to the human race. We have seen that in the national park, there are wild animals, birds, different geographical features such as tropical forests, mountains, rivers, bushes and more. Moreover, there are extra ordinary artifacts such as rock arts, and hundreds of archeological sites.

All these resources are open for you and everybody else who is interested to visit. You are very much welcome as South Africans are very friendly people to visitors. The national park is well secured and indeed safe.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Kruger National Park is one of those interesting sites that pull large number of admirers from around the globe. The site is also one of the large national parks where you can have an extraordinary safari in South Africa. There are many readers that ask a number of questions on line through the search engines. Here we bring you some of those questions which may also guide you to reaching your interests too.

1. Is the Kruger National Park Map revised yearly?
2. How comfortable are the Kruger National Park accommodations?
3. What Kruger National Park size comparison to other parks in Africa?
4. How affordable is Kruger National Park entrance fee to holiday makers?
5. What is the Kruger National Park history?
6. Pilanesberg National Park?
7. Kruger National Park safari all inclusive packages?
8. Where in the Kruger National Park photos are the best?
9. What touristic services are there at Kruger National Park?
10. How safe is the Kruger National Park to visitors?