4 Days Exploring Kruger National Park with Viva Safaris

What to Pack for Johannesburg, South Africa?

As you may already know, I am an advocate of light traveling, and indeed, packing light for a journey like this is a unique art form. Here are some packing tips for your upcoming trip to Kruger National Park, South Africa:

• Walking/Hiking Shoes: With all the walking and possible hiking during your travel, a comfortable pair of shoes is a must. I recommend the Timberland 3-Eye Classic Boat Shoes that are my go-to pair for long strolls and hikes.
• Breathable Shirts: Given the potential for hot weather, pack a few breathable shirts for your outdoor adventures.
• Shorts/Jeans: Anticipate lots of walking during your travels? Be sure to pack some breathable shorts and a pair of Levi's jeans for when the weather cools. For women, leggings are excellent for both hot and cold climates, so consider packing some as well.
• Fleece Jacket: For colder weather, layering is the key, and a fleece jacket makes an excellent insulating layer. I recommend the Columbia Steens Mountain Fleece (for women).
• Outer Shell Jacket: An outer shell jacket is great for windy or rainy conditions. I highly recommend the Columbia Watertight Jacket (for women). It's lightweight, breathable, and even comes in a cool orange color.
• Microfiber Towel: A Microfiber towel is the ideal backpacker's towel due to its lightness, quick drying, and compressibility.
• Camera: You should also pack a good camera for your trip so that you can capture all the beautiful experiences you might have. I recommend the Sony a7R V camera together with the Sony 24-70mm f2.8 GM II lens, which is probably the highest-performance camera and lens combination you can get right now.
• Power Bank: Keep your electronics charged on the go with a 20,000+ mAh Power Bank.
• Water Bottle: The Hydro Flask Trail Water Bottle is a great insulated water bottle to have with you in cities or on hiking trails. It is lightweight and can keep your water cold or warm for more than 12 hours. It's a total game-changer.
• Universal Adapter: You'll need just one universal adapter to plug in your electronics in any country you visit.
• Packing Cubes: Packing Cubes will help you save space in your backpack and keep all your belongings organized.
• Daypack: The Langly Alpha Globetrotter is my go-to everyday camera backpack. It's large enough to carry all my travel gear, and it comes with plenty of slots and pouches. Plus, it's stylish as hell!
• Large Backpack: You will need a large backpack to carry all of your stuff. I recommend the Osprey Atmos AG 65L backpack. With excellent weight distribution and a lifetime guarantee, you can't go wrong with Osprey.

For more information on what I pack in my backpack for this trip, check out: My Packing List: 60 Travel Essentials.

Viva Safari Tour for Kruger National Park

Prior to coming to South Africa, I booked a 4-day Kruger National Park tour with Viva Safaris that includes:

• 3-hour sunset drive on Balule Big 5 Game Reserve.
• Dinner in the bush with Braai at the Marula Tree Boma.
• 4-hour Big 5 bush walk with armed rangers.
• 2-hour afternoon game drive on Balule.
• Full Day in Kruger on an open game viewer jeep.
• Blyde Canyon Highlights

Kruger National Park Tour Cost Breakdown

All at the cost of ZAR 6495. Viva Safaris is a great tour operator that has been running its business since 1991. Out of all the safari companies I have searched through, Viva Safaris provides everything I needed (they provide arranged transportation from Jo'Burg to Kruger National Park and back, and the itinerary includes a bush walk), and at a price I can afford (others are way out of my budget). Since I was traveling alone and the maximum number of people on the tour is 12, a few cool companions were a welcome change to my solo travels. You can book the tour with the link below:

Book Kruger National Park Safari Tour

Viva Safari Review

Their services were top notch, and I was quite happy with my decision in choosing Viva Safaris. Not to mention, I met a lot of awesome friends because of the tour. If you are soloing and looking for a budget tour to Kruger National Park without the hassle of driving there yourself, they are for you. You can see their product listing here: Viva Safaris Pricing.

Now that I have provided all the information for you, let's lay back a bit and enjoy the photo essay of my 4 days in Kruger National Park with Viva Safaris.

Kruger National Park Itinerary

Day 1: Exploring Balule Private Game Reserve at Night

The best part about traveling solo is meeting new awesome people while on the road, and I did just that on our first stop halfway from Jo'Burg to Kruger National Park. I met a very cool Australian group, an amazing German couple, and the wonderful ladies from Bern, Switzerland.

After a 5-hour drive, we arrived at the Tremisana Lodge, which is located inside the Balule private game reserve. Minutes after checking in, we had to leave for a night game drive.

Our first giraffe sighting was right outside the lodge! Man, I remember how ridiculously excited I was when I first saw it, and how the feeling went away and was replaced with boredom after like 5 sightings. "I wanna see the leopard!"

My first safari drive ever! I can't remember a time when I used my eyesight (without staring at the screen all day) as much as tracking down animals at night. :)

Our driver spotted a group of elephants out and about. We shut down the engine and watched them eat. This is how animals should be observed, not behind a cage.

Day 1 (cont): Dinner in the South African Bush

After a few zebra and giraffe sightings, the guide took us to a dinner in the bush that they had prepared. I was surprised by how exquisite the dinner was. Great food (braai) under moonlight, right in the middle of the bush. No dinner can beat that!

Our guide is grilling our dinner.

How do I know that we really were in the bush? This. We even have to be escorted if we want to pee. How awesome is that!?

Enjoying my first night in the bush before waking up super early in the morning (4:45 AM) for a highly anticipated 3-hour morning bush walk.

Day 2: Morning Bush Walk in Balule Nature Reserve

I was asked to wear natural clothing, which my bright blue fleece jacket did not qualify for. As a result, I ended up freezing my ass off while they drove through the chilling African wind.

Ladies first? Haha. They were both quite adventurous, so I let them lead.

One thing for the ladies, do tie your hair because your hair will get tangled by all sorts of trees and bushes like what happened to my Swiss friends here. I had to help them untangle a couple of times.

Don't expect a nice paved way for you to walk through. When they said a walk in the bush, it really means we walk IN the bush. Sometimes even through them. My pants were a mess after the walk.

We walked out into the open field, heading to the riverbank, hoping to see a few wild animals out for a drink.

It was a beautiful morning, as is every morning in Africa.

Meet our Australian group, Anthony, his son, and Leroy. They were hilarious the whole time! Great knowing all of you! :)

We found a lion's track! It looks like it was here 2 hours earlier, hunting for some food at dawn.

As we walked along the river bank, we heard a cracking sound from the bushes on our left. The guide thought it was an elephant, so he went in and observed. Turns out, it was this Hippo charging out of the bush right at us towards the river. The guides were panicking and asked us to stick together (I didn't even have time to take a photo of when it was charging). Fortunately, it continued down to the river without looking back. That was the first time I felt a rush of the African safari. The danger is very real.

Day 2 (cont): An Afternoon Game Drive in Balule Nature Reserve

After a 3-hour bush walk, we went back to the lodge to wash up, had lunch, and headed out for an afternoon game drive with our guide, Chris, who looks somewhat like Orlando Bloom from the Pirates of the Caribbean. The Swiss girls didn't think so. :D

A giraffe greeted us with its long neck, towering over all the trees that surrounded it.

Zazu is a character from The Lion King!

For the first time in my life, I saw a living, walking but old-as-hell wildebeest.

The impala, not knowing that we were observing from our jeep.

As we drove by, Sabrina (from a German couple I met) saw a lone water buffalo, one of the big five. We tried our best to get closer to get a picture of this lone water buffalo, but the engine sound scared it away. We thought all hope was lost until we accidentally stumbled upon a whole herd of buffalos nearby. That awesome feeling when you spend a whole day tracking down an animal, and you find a whole herd of it, is fascinating.

After an awesome afternoon drive, we grab our things from the Tremisana Lodge, said goodbye to these monkeys, and departed to our treehouse near the Kruger National Park entrance.

Welcome to Marc's Treehouse Lodge, the incredible way to sleep in the bush.

As the sun set, we gathered around an old-school campfire, enjoying our dinner and exchanging stories of our lives back home. Nothing beats the good old storytelling around a campfire like this.

Day 3: Tracking Down the Big 5 in Kruger National Park

It was a great morning as always until a problem struck. There were 2 German couples, the one I befriended with (Sabrina and Thomas) was awesome, but there's this other uptight couple who insisted that they sit together.

Since I was the only one traveling alone on this tour, I was asked to move to another truck. Of course, I was upset, but at that time, I didn't know that the German couple was the root cause. So, I complied as I didn't want to delay any more of our time.

As I walked, pissed and all, the Swiss ladies (Katarina and Stephanie) were also kicked out because, even when my seat was available, the German was unable to be seated together. So, the guide made a crappy decision to kick three of us to another car, whereas forcing the German couple to move to the other car would have solved everything. We combined forces and complained to the guide that they are the ones that should move, not us three. In the end, the German couple realized we were complaining, so they were forced to move instead. Thank God it didn't turn out in their favor.

Right inside the gate, we spotted our first rhino from across the river. This was the moment I wished I had that crazy zoom camera (the one that looks like a Canon).

To celebrate our victory, the Swiss ladies and I exchanged a couple of shots with the elephants. It's good to have friends to help take photos of you when you've been traveling alone for so long.

Like one big family.

Either it's their mother or father watching out for the children.

Meet Stephanie and Katarina, two of my favorite people I met during the African trip.

Our first stop, after the fight with the bad German couple. They didn't look happy at all, but I decided to just enjoy the place. After all, it wasn't our fault.

Baobab, or the Adansonia, is the largest tree in Africa.

Zebras in their habitat.

A Kudu, an antelope that can jump higher than the jeep or the fences that protect them from the road. One giant magnificent animal, if you ask me.

Bathing myself with the African sun, enjoying everything the bushes have to offer.

As it's getting darker and darker, and we have only seen 3 out of the Big Five, I thought all hope was lost. However, we spotted a whole herd of female lions sharpening their claws, readying for a night hunt. Mission accomplished!

Seeing the lions. That's all I came here for. We went back to the treehouse, enjoying Castle beers around a campfire while exchanging more stories. I can never get enough of this. Imagine, instead of people going clubbing all the time, they set up a campfire and enjoy each other's company. :)

Day 4: A Morning Bush Walk and Visiting Blyde River Canyon

Our last day in the bush, we began with a 1-hour morning bush walk around the lodge (the lodge is inside a private reserve).

The golden orb spiders spread across this region.

The sunlight and the spiders make awesome photo opportunities.

After a morning bush walk, we headed back to our rooms, packed, and departed for the Blyde River Canyon. We will continue our journey in the next entry of our Solo's Traveler's Journal #8, so stay tuned for some doozy, mind-blowing, living-on-the-edge kind of photos. Trust me, the photo I took at the Blyde River Canyon will blow your mind. It is one of my best, and I fear it might be the best for a long time to come. Stay tuned.

Continue to the next part:Visiting Blyde River Canyon, South Africa

Now that we have all the information we need, it's time to start planning your trip! Here are some resources to help you get going:

Flights: Skyscanner and Expedia are the best places to start looking for cheap flights and great deals from your home country.

Accommodation: Hostelworld, Booking.com, and Agoda.com are the ultimate go-to platforms to search for amazing hostels and hotels at affordable prices.

Travel Insurance: Heymondo covers theft, medical emergencies, cancellations, and more during your travels. Get a 5% discount if you sign up today.

Transportation: For buses, I always go with Omio when traveling in Kruger National Park, South Africa while for trains, Omio is my go-to place to book all my train travels in advance.

Car Rental: DiscoverCars.com is a great and reliable platform to find rental cars.

Internet: Airalo is the best way to get a sim card and has reliable internet access for your trip. All you need is an esim compatible smartphone, install it on your phone prior to your trip, and you are all set.

VPN: To stay connected with people at home, I always make sure to have ProtonVPN, installed before traveling. It's FREE, and I can gain access to services that may be blocked in certain countries.

Safari Tours: SafariBookings is hands down, the best website to look for safari tours in Africa. You can compare prices and find the perfect tour operator for your African adventure.

Day Trips & Tours: Viator, GetYourGuide and TripAdvisor are great platforms to search for trips and tours to join.

Tickets & Deals: Klook is always my go-to website when I want to find cheaper deals for entrance tickets to tourist attractions.

Are you planning to travel independently? Be sure to check out my guide on How To Plan A Backpacking Trip here.

Further Reading for South Africa

If you are looking for more articles about South Africa, here are a few articles that might help you plan your trip:

• Looking for a complete Cape Town itinerary? Check out: 4 Days in Cape Town: A Backpacking Itinerary.
• Cape Town is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you're visiting South Africa, missing out on Cape Town would be a real shame. Check out this comprehensive travel guide: Discover Cape Town: 14 Incredible Things to Do and See.
• For the best hike in Cape Town, you can’t go wrong with Lion's Head Peak. Check out A Complete Hiking Guide to Lion's Head for all the details.
• Thinking of visiting Blyde River Canyon? You absolutely should! Here's what my experience was like: Visiting Blyde River Canyon, South Africa.
• Curious about what biking around a township in Jo'Burg is like? Check out: Exploring Soweto on a Bike.
• To see all articles about South Africa, be sure to check out our South Africa travel guide page.
• Looking for more travel guides for Africa? You will find more over at our Africa page.
• For more of my travel guides, visit my Destinations page.