TRIP REPORT: Spotting the Big Five in Kruger National Park!

South Africa

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By Ryan Gargiulo

Big 5 Safari in Kruger Narional Park

After returning from my first ever South African Safari, I’m proud to report that I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of each and every animal considered to be a part of what big game hunters refer to as the “Big 5”.

Not only did I get to see the Big Five in the wild, but I also got to experience a luxury style South African safari in Kruger National Park, one of the largest game reserves in Africa and one of the most incredible national parks in the world.

To say that I’m blessed would be an understatement.

If you don’t know much about safaris, you’re probably asking yourself one of the following questions.

What is the Big 5?

The Big Five was a phrase coined by big game hunters and it refers to the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot. Here are the big five:

  • Lion
  • Leopard
  • African Elephant
  • Cape Buffalo
  • Rhinoceros

Is it uncommon to spot the Big Five on a safari?

According to our ranger, we were extremely fortunate to have been able to see all of the Big Five while on safari.

I confirmed this by speaking to both professionals and visitors and when I told them that I had witnessed the Big Five in Kruger National Park they were in awe.

A few travelers I spoke to had been on multiple safaris and had never witnessed all five of the Big 5 in one trip.

Our ranger, Brian, told us that the leopard is usually one of the hardest animals to spot because they are such elusive creatures.

Supposedly there are people that have been cruising around Kruger National Park over the course of the last 10-20 years and have yet to see a leopard in the wild.

To say I feel lucky would be an understatement.

Singita Game Drives

During our stay at Singita Lebombo, we were scheduled to go on four game drives.

For those who are not familiar with the terminology, a game drive is another word for a trip into the bush.

Game drives can last anywhere from 2 to 4 hours, sometimes longer.

Of course, since we’re being hosted by South Africa Tourism, we had our own private vehicle for all four of our game drives.

Since it gets so hot during midday at Kruger, the animals usually get out from underneath the blistering sun and hide out in the shade for most of the afternoon. 

Our game drives were strategically scheduled for the early morning, and late evening in order to maximize our chances to spot the most amount of wildlife.

Meet Our Personal Ranger and Game Tracker

After meeting our ranger, Brian,  for the first time, we felt as if he was one of us.

Each time we hit the road for a game drive we knew we were in good hands.

This guy was as professional as you can get and he was known to be one of the best in Kruger.

Exon, Brian and I - Kruger National Park
Myself, Exon and Brian

Exon, our tracker,  is very well known in South Africa.

Brian told us that Exon is one of the best animal trackers in the country and possibly the entire continent of Africa.

He was recently sent to a trackers conference in the U.S. to teach fellow trackers how to track mountain lions in dry climates.

Exon showed off his tracking skills on numerous occasions throughout our trip and we got the opportunity to see a lot of animals we probably wouldn’t have if we hadn’t been cruising around with him. He was a true professional.

Kruger National Park Safari Highlights

Since we took four different game drives over the course of three days, I’m simply going to give you a game drive wrap up of sorts rather than explain each and every drive.

Here are some of the best highlights from my first South African safari.

Kruger National Park
Getting ready for our first game drive!

Although we were feeling a little tired from traveling, we were all running on pure adrenaline after landing in our chartered plane on Singita’s dirt airstrip in the middle of the bush.

By the time we checked into Singita Lebombo and dropped our bags it was already time for our first game drive of the trip.

This was also the first ever safari I had ever been on so I was beyond excited.

Within the first ten minutes or so we came across some impala and zebra in the road ahead of us.

Zebra and Impala - Kruger National Park

Hippos, Rhinos and African Elephants

About an hour into our first game drive we came across some Hippos bathing in a pond,  some White Rhino and a herd of African Elephants grazing in the plains.

Hippopotamus - Kruger National Park
Hungry Hungry Hippos!

Hippopotamus

It’s tough to catch these big guys out of the water on a hot day in Kruger.

We never actually saw a hippo roaming around on land due to the heat and the times of day that we spotted them.

On our final game drive we got to see what Brian called a “hippo yawn”.

Of course, it’s not a yawn, it’s actually the hippo reminding you that he won’t hesitate to use those big old teeth on you.

Hippos - Kruger National Park

Fun Fact: Hippos can hold their breath for 5-7 minutes at a time.

They also secrete their own version of sunscreen which gives their skin that pinkish color.

African Elephants

Next up we spotted some African Elephants! As you know, I love elephants so it was really cool to see a herd of elephants grazing in a field just twenty five feet away from our truck.

African Elephants - Kruger National Park
African Elephants - Kruger National Park
Baby African Elephant

Fun Fact: Elephants can be right or left handed and they will favor one tusk or another.

White Rhino

Seeing a White Rhino in the wild for the first time was really cool.

I didn’t realize how humongous these beasts were until I saw one up close and personal.

Can you believe poachers kill these beautiful animals for their horn?

White Rhino - Kruger National Park
White Rhino

Leopard

Hands down, the most incredible part of our first game drive was when our crew spotted a leopard up in a tree that hung over a river bed.

Leopard - Kruger National Park

We pulled our jeep up as far as we could to the edge of the river bed so that we could get a closer look.

Once we got close we realized that the leopard had just killed a baby waterbuck and dragged it up into the tree with him. It was time for a feast!

This photo of the leopard shown above is one of the only photos I was able to shoot of him that wasn’t extremely graphic.

I won’t be showing you the graphic photos of the leopard tearing the face off of a waterbuck in this post but if you’d like, you can check the graphic photos out here.

Cape Buffalo

Exon spotted a whole bunch of cape buffalo in the brush ahead of us and insisted that we head their way.

Brian took our jeep off road and brought us straight to the hungry buffalo.

Cape Buffalo - Kruger National Park
Curious Cape Buffalo

This photo was taken from about 20 feet away.

These angry looking animals always seem to be so calm and relaxed even though they can be the exact opposite when necessary.

Fun Fact: A buffalo has four times the strength of an ox.

Lion

The only reason we were able to see lions during our trip to Kruger was due to the insane tracking skills of Exon. 

Exon was sitting on the front of the vehicle scanning the ground ahead looking for lion paw prints.

At one point he told Brian to stop the vehicle while he tried to follow the tracks of the lions into the bush.

Exon the animal tracker - Kruger National Park
Exon doing what he does best… track animals!

We spun off and left Exon there to do his dirty work and within 15 minutes he was on the radio calling for Brian to come back.

Exon had found the pride of lions. Nine of them to be exact!

Lions - Kruger National Park
Lions - Kruger National Park

According to Brian, the lions had eaten about three days prior so they were due to eat again sometime within the next 24 hours.

The photo below shows one of the lions yawning although, it’s quite a scary yawn!

Fun Fact: When lions yawn repeatedly, it usually means that they are just about ready to wake up and start preparing to spend the evening hunting.

Lions - Kruger National Park
Scary looking yawn!

Later on in the evening we swung back by to see what the lions were up to and if they had started to wake up and prepare for their hunt.

By the time we arrived a few of the lions were up and walking around.

Lions - Kruger National Park
Time to eat!

Once they gathered their pride they headed straight into the thick bush.

Brian really wanted to follow them so that we could potentially see them hunt but they went in a direction where our vehicle just couldn’t go.

We called it a night and everyone was more than satisfied with our day considering we had officially witnessed all of the Big Five in one day!

Rhino Poaching

During our drive, Brian gave us a whole lot of insight and facts about all the animals found in Kruger National Park. 

He also informed us about the rapidly growing issue of Rhino poaching and what they’re doing to fight it.

White Rhino - Kruger National Park

Unfortunately, poachers have been increasingly targeting rhinos for their horns.

As a matter of fact, at the time of writing this (2/26/12) approximately 55 rhino have been killed since the first of the year. That’s nearly one rhino per day.

Why are poachers targeting and killing the rhinos?

For the horns. Rhino horns are used widely as an aphrodisiac in the east.

They are also used to treat breast cancer in Thailand.

Because of this, the demand for the horns of Rhinos is through the roof.

Rhino horn has never been proven to cure cancer or work as an aphrodisiac although people in the east still believe in it.

How lucrative is the rhino horn trade? 

Poachers receive about $65,000 USD per 2.2lbs (1 kg) of Rhino horn.

The average weight of a Rhino horn is around 7.71 lbs.

Do the math and you’ll realize that these poachers are pulling in over $200,000 USD per horn.

The sad part about the whole rhino poaching situation is that they don’t need to be killed to have the horn removed but amateur poachers kill them because they don’t know how to remove the horn without hacking the head off the rhino.

At the end of the day it’s easier for them to kill the rhino than to tranquilize them and remove it in a safe manner. They go in fast, and get out fast. All for that cash money.

Note: Removing the horn from a rhino does not hurt them. The horns actually grow back over time. The fact that the poachers kill the animals before chopping their horns just makes it that much more of an atrocity.

The government of South Africa is currently trying to figure out a solution to the poaching but it’s incredibly hard to police as Kruger National Park is about the same size as the state of New Jersey. That is one seriously big national park!

A Special Surprise from Singita Lebombo

During our last evening game drive, the sun was just about to set and Brian mentioned that we should make a pit stop to grab some water and watch the sunset from this viewpoint that was just around the corner.

When we arrived we found a beautiful vista overlooking rolling plains surrounded by mountains in the distance.

We not only found the sunset, but we also found a few of the Singita staff members awaiting us with a variety of appetizers, refreshments and even a celebratory glass of champagne to thank us for staying at Singita Lebombo.

Champagne Toast at Sunset - Kruger National Park

The last thing I thought I would experience out in the wilderness of Kruger National Park was some of our favorite staff members of Singita and this beautiful little spread of food and drinks.

What a great way to cap off yet another unbelievable day at the Singita reserve.

To Brian and Exon, thank you. The time that I was able to spend with you guys on the game drives was something special and something that I’ll never forget. Keep up the good work, and I hope to ride along with you guys again in the future. – Ryan

For more information on Singita Lebombo and the packages they offer, be sure to check out their website.

Article last updated: 8/30/2016

20 thoughts on “TRIP REPORT: Spotting the Big Five in Kruger National Park!”

    • Thanks man. What an incredible tine we had. I’m going to love looking back on this post in a while from now just to refresh my memory…

      Reply
  1. Wow, that really is impressive you were able to see ALL five! My husband grew up in South Africa and went on safaris in Kruger quite a bit — I know he’s seen all five, but not all at once! And, I think he was the only one in his family to spot the Leopard.

    Reply
    • So I’ve heard! Yeah most people that see all of the Big 5 usually don’t see them in one day, that’s for sure. The leopard is definitely one of the hardest to spot but our guide/trackers were so good that he just couldn’t hide from us!

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Your Questions About The Big 5 Kruger National Park | Kruger Park safari from Johannesburg
  3. WOW!!! You got amazing shots of the leopard. We were fortunate enough to see the Big 5 while we were on safari through the Serengeti, but our leopard pictures sucked big time. He was so far up in a tree and we didn’t have the zoom lens we needed. Yours are definitely priceless.

    Reply
    • Thanks Tawny. Having a zoom lens was key on the safari. I wouldn’t do another safari without a zoom. I was using a 55-250mm and it seemed to work perfectly for the situations that we were in.

      Reply
  4. The Leopard shots you got – incredible (your other post too)! Hopefully we’ll be so lucky to get some good shots and see all of the Big 5 when we’re at Kruger in September :)

    Reply
  5. Awesome Pictures! What time of year did you go? I’m looking to plan a trip to South Africa in February 2013 but was just reading online the best time to see the BIG 5 is June-September.
    Thanks!
    Jaimie

    Reply
    • Hi Jaimie,

      I visited South Africa from Feb 16th through March 1st of this year. I’m not sure if there is a specific time frame to see the Big 5. I would say your more likely to see the Big 5 in certain parks more than anything. If you have any other questions, feel free to send them on over. Also, be sure to follow along with me on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pausethemoment

      Reply
  6. I was at the Park yesterday. I was also very lucky to spot all the BIG5 in one day. I actually spotted a Lion and a Leopard as I was driving to the exit gate. I was such a spectacular sight!!!

    Reply

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