Landscape – Natural Elements and Divisions

Natural elements make up the Kruger National Park landscape. For example, the game reserve is bounded by the Crocodile River in the south, the Limpopo River in the north and the Lebombo Mountains in the east. Of course, there are many other watercourses and geographical features in the park.

These features simply exist.

Kruger Park waterway

Then, there are other denoted areas which divide up the park. People have given these areas names to make referring to a particular spot easy.

Let’s first have a brief overview of some of the natural aspects which shape the park, which ultimately impact the wildlife that live there.

Click on any of the links in the following text for detailed information about these elements.

The variety and number of animals you’ll discover in the park depends on the six park ecosystems and how they all fit together.

There are many things that shape ecosystems, such as dams, lakes and rivers, like the:

Of course, all the ecosystems and the animals and plants that live in them are closely monitored by the research of the South African National Parks’ Scientific Services team.

The main denoted divisions in Kruger National Park are the north, central and southern regions.

Most people travel around central and southern Kruger because most of the park entrance gates are in these two regions. If you’ve got time to go further, don’t forget about the northern region!

Kruger National Park ecosystemThe park is big and the speed limit is slow. It’s just 50km per hour (31 miles per hour) on sealed roads and down to 40km per hour (25 miles) on dirt roads. This is another reason people don’t make it up to northern Kruger as often. Your aim is to spot animals and watch them, rather than to go racing around the game reserve!

Pafuri Triangle is an interesting division of northern Kruger. It’s a tropical section of land which nestles between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers. Although the land is administered by Kruger Park, it’s owned by the local Makuleke people.

When you go on your very own Kruger National Park safari, you’ll get a first hand look at nature’s diverse range of natural elements in the game reserve!