Kruger Park camping is an affordable option for a trip to the national park.Camp sites are available with or without power points and all have access to clean communal ablution blocks, although some of them may be in need of updating (Pretoriuskop was, the last time we were there).
Communal kitchen facilities are available too, if you want to cook on a stove instead of the BBQ place at your camp site. Some kitchens even have an urn with boiling water for everyone to use.
A camp site isn’t just for tents. You can set up your caravan or campervan on the sites too. As with any Kruger National Park accommodation though, you need to book it. See reservations for how to do so.
For particular details about camp sites available at each rest camp, view our caravan and camp sites page.
When you book your camp site, try to get one near the rest camp fence if you can. This way you can keep an eye out for game during the evening. We’ve seen a porcupine with its quills rattling against the fence before! We’ve even seen an elephant in the evening right up close to the fence.
If you stay at Balule Rest Camp, which only has camp sites and basic huts for accommodation, you might see the two local hyenas circling the camp fence in the evening.
Balule is a rustic camping place with no electricity points and only gas lighting in the ablution block. It’s a very nice experience nevertheless. In this quieter environment, you feel closer to nature and you can catch a beautiful glimpse of the stars at night. Their brightness is heightened by the lack of electric lights.
Monkeys can be about in rest camps and there’s no real method to keep them away. So, be sure you put your rubbish away in the monkey proof bins and keep your belongings closed up. Monkeys are very cute, but they can also steal your things! You need to keep an eye out for these little thieves, even if you leave your camp site for just a moment.
Summertime in Kruger National Park is very hot, so do as much as possible to keep your tent cool. Pitch your tent in the shade if you can. Maybe even move it to cooler ground, like under a tree if there’s one on your plot, if it’s been in the sun the whole day.
Camping in winter will be quite different as you’ll need to take warmer things. The average minimum temperature in June and July is below 10 degrees (50 degrees Fahrenheit).
If you have washing to do, some rest camps have laundries that you can use.
Go prepared with all your camping gear because the rest camp shops only have a limited supply of camping equipment. If you’re missing something, the chances are the shop doesn’t have it.
Make sure you take a torch because it’s very dark at night. Plus it’s nice to walk past the fences in the evening with a torch looking for animals.
If you enjoy camping Kruger National Park will leave you with many stories to tell!