Get to Know the Park

A living legacy: the history of the Park

Long before it became a world-renowned reserve, this ancient landscape was home to early human tribes, Stone Age hunter-gatherers, and thriving Iron Age trading settlements. Archaeological treasures - such as the 13th-century gold and trade goods unearthed at Thulamela in the far north, and the thousands of San rock art sites hidden across southern granite koppies - remind us that humanity and the lowveld have always been intertwined.

The modern conservation story began in the late 19th century. In 1898, President Paul Kruger recognised that unchecked hunting was decimating native game populations and proclaimed the Government Wildlife Park (later the Sabie Game Reserve). Under the relentless stewardship of its first warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton - affectionately called 'Skukuza' by locals, meaning "the man who turns everything upside down" - the reserve expanded.

In 1926, the Sabie and Shingwedzi Reserves were officially merged and together, this piece of paradise was christened the Kruger National Park. The park opened to public tourists the following year, forever securing this wild stretch of South Africa for future generations.

Flora, fauna & form: incredible biodiversity

The Park's sheer scale spans six distinct ecosystems, creating a breathtaking canvas of biodiversity that shifts as you travel from the granite hills of the south to the vast plains of the north.

Beyond the windscreen: things to do

While watching the bush unfold from the safety of your car is the heartbeat of a Kruger trip, the Park offers countless immersive ways to experience the wild.