One of places that I had to visit in South Africa was Kruger National Park. It’s South Africa’s largest game reserve, and it’s located in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces in the northeastern part of the country. I’ve been to a safari before, but all of my friends who’ve been to Kruger have been raving about it so I had to check it out. There has to be a reason why it’s one of South Africa‘s top attractions. Luckily, it’s real easy to head there from Johannesburg.

Mbombela aka Nelspruit is the largest city that’s closest to the park, so it’s easiest to head there from Johannesburg if you’re planning on taking public transport. This is a popular route among locals, so there are several buses leaving daily. Depending on how early you purchase a ticket, a single journey costs 300-500 Rand (about USD 17-28). You can purchase tickets online so it’s real convenient. You can either go with Intercape or Greyhound / Citiliner. I went with Intercape because according to the locals I’ve spoken to, it’s the most reliable one. Take this with a grain of salt though. Cancellations do occur at the last minute— I’ve experienced this first hand. But apparently, cancellations happen more frequently on the other bus lines. I guess you have to be flexible if you decide to take public buses in South Africa. I’ve mentioned in my previous post that I’ve been told that long distance bus rides aren’t really safe. This trip only lasts for more or less 5 hours— that’s not exactly what I would call “long distance”. I’ve asked the locals I’ve met if it was safe to take a bus to Nelspruit from Johannesburg. At least on this particular leg of the journey, they assured me that it’s safe.

One more thing: if you’re taking a public bus from Johannesburg to Nelspruit, you have to be at the bus station early. You’d be taking the same bus that goes all the way to Mozambique, and there will surely be a lot of Mozambicans on the same bus. Passports are checked one by one, as well as all luggage— and a lot of Mozambicans had loads of luggage… baskets of fruit, huge boxes of God knows what, etc. There was only one person manning the counter, so it really took so long that I almost missed the bus. The bus only stops at Johannesburg station for a couple of minutes and they’re on a set schedule. These buses will not wait for you. A couple of passengers behind me did not make it, including this British dude that I was talking to.

Also, as I’ve mentioned on my previous post, the bus station in Johannesburg is not in a safe area. I took an Uber which dropped me a block away, because apparently they weren’t allowed to drop off passengers right outside the bus station. There were so many bystanders outside just hanging out and they were all staring at me— guess it’s understandable. I was carrying a huge backpack. Add the fact that I’m not black, I was sticking out like a sore thumb. I walked fast and I saw on my peripheral vision that some guys were following me. Then I passed by one dude who stood up as soon as I passed him and told me he’d walk with me to keep me safe. For a second I thought I was gonna get robbed, so I immediately breathed a sigh of relief… but maybe I spoke too soon, and this dude was still gonna rob me?😂 Thankfully, he didn’t. Right outside the entrance to the bus station, he asked for money cause he kept me safe. I didn’t think he kept me safe, but I didn’t want any trouble either. Who knows how this stranger would react if I refused. He seemed to be happy when I gave him 50 Rand. And it’s funny how as soon as the security personnel saw me approaching, they had this panicked look on their faces and told me to hurry, as if I’m being chased by some rabid dogs. When you see locals behaving that way, you better believe that the area isn’t safe. 🫢

If you’re not traveling on a tight budget, you could take a direct flight from O.R. Tambo Airport to Nelspruit instead. A flight only lasts about 50 minutes and these aren’t too expensive. A single journey ticket costs about 700- 1400 Rand (about USD 40-80) with no check in luggage. I’ve seen last minute flights going for 900 Rand (about USD 50), so you don’t really have to purchase tickets early— you could still score cheap flights last minute. Keep in mind that there are no public transport options from the airport to the center of Nelspruit. If you haven’t arranged a pick up service, there are many cabs waiting outside the airport. Expect to pay about 300-400 Rand for a 20 minute ride to the city center. Sadly, both Uber and Bolt do not work (apparently they do sometimes, but 99% of the time you won’t find any available drivers). People in Nelspruit call cab companies directly whenever they need a ride. Here’s the number of Ben Taxi, which was recommended by the hostel I stayed at. I contacted them via Whatsapp whenever I needed a ride.

+27 82 268 1687

If you’re closer to Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, sadly there are no direct flights to Nelspruit. I mean, you could fly from there but you’d have a layover in either Durban or Cape Town. This could take more than 8 hours, and it’s gonna be much more expensive. Just fly out from O.R. Tambo, it’s gonna be way cheaper and faster. If you’re coming from Cape Town, direct flights to Nelspruit cost about 4000- 4500 Rand (about USD 220- 250), though if you buy early enough you could score a ticket for around 1700 Rand (about USD 100). This flight lasts about 2 hours. From Durban, a direct flight to Nelspruit takes about an hour and costs about ZAR 2600 (USD 150).

If you want to be closer to the park, there are other options. There are several towns that are closer to Kruger National Park, a number of them just outside. If you take the Citiliner bus to Nelspruit, this same bus goes to Hazyview (7 1/2 hours from Johannesburg), Hoedspruit (9 hours from Johannesburg), and Phalaborwa (the last stop, which is 10 hours from Johannesburg). Hazyview and Hoedspruit are also good options because a lot of Kruger Park Tours are offered at these places, and tours are going to be cheaper obviously because these towns are closer to the national park. The downside? These are small towns. It may not be ideal to base yourself in these towns if you prefer to be close to a lot of restaurants, banks, grocery stores etc. Also, these aren’t high traffic areas for locals so public transport options are limited. If your bus trip gets cancelled, it may take a day or two for the next available bus. These bus companies cancel bus rides if they don’t get enough passengers on certain routes, and apparently this happens a lot. If you’re gonna base yourself in a town other than Nelspruit, it’s a whole lot easier to just rent a car if you can afford to.

You may have noticed that I keep saying Nelspruit, which is the old name of Mbombela. This place was founded by the Nel brothers who used the area for grazing and later bought the farm where the town was established. The word “spruit” means “stream” in Afrikaans, thus the name “Nelspruit” literally means “Nel’s stream“. The name of the city was changed to Mbombela in 2009. It’s a siSwati word that roughly translates to “a lot of people in a small space“. During that time, the South African government thought it would be best to replace the names of colonial sounding towns into names that better represent the country’s cultural heritage. So why do I keep referring to the town as Nelspruit? It’s because practically everyone in the city that I’ve interacted with still calls it Nelspruit. Young folks, old folks, black folks, white folks— age or race doesn’t matter. Everyone I’ve encountered still calls the city Nelspruit. Even when you try to purchase a flight or bus ticket on South African websites, or when you try to book accommodations, you won’t find Mbombela. I found this really confusing at first. Are there no flights to Mbombela? Are there no buses heading to Mbombela? Are all accommodations in Mbombela not listed on any booking website? Good thing I brought this up with my friend, who then told me I had to type in Nelspruit instead.

I don’t want to get involved in the politics of countries I don’t live in, but I find this obsession with changing the names of places really strange. Sure, I get it. It’s to instill a sense of nationalism. But is this worth the cost? Changing the name of a place doesn’t stop with a single proclamation of this name change. This entails updating numerous official documents, which always turns out to be an expensive endeavor for the government as well as private citizens. And as I have witnessed first hand in Mbombela (and on numerous websites)—- what is the point when everyone still calls the place Nelspruit! In Mbombela, I only saw the word Mbombela on signs and documents where I see the addresses of places. I never heard anyone say that word out loud, not even once. Look, if the name of a certain place is associated with a dark period in the country’s history, if the name of the place only brings back painful memories, then go ahead and change it. I believe you should. If the Nel Brothers were some evil white supremacists who abused, tortured, or murdered a lot of the local population, then the name “Nelspruit” should be erased from memory. Otherwise, the government should just leave the names of places alone. There are a lot of better uses of taxpayers’ money, especially in a developing country like South Africa. Changing the name of a place, especially when people still aren’t using the new name more than 15 years later, seems to be an awful waste of money.

I arrived in Nelspruit just before 1 PM. The other passengers who got off had family or friends picking them up. I didn’t know that Uber or Bolt wasn’t available in Nelspruit at that time. While trying to get an Uber I was looking around to see if any taxis were passing by. I didn’t see any. When i couldn’t find any ride I went inside the ticketing office and i asked if there were any public buses in the city. The lady laughed— guess that was pretty funny. She said there weren’t any buses, there weren’t any taxis driving around looking for passengers either. She told me if I needed a ride, I’d need to call a cab directly. She was kind enough to give me a number. I went outside and tried calling, then a funny thing happened.

Some white dude driving a truck stopped in front of me and shouted, what was I doing standing on the corner of the street. I said I was trying to call a taxi. He asked me, didn’t I know this was a dangerous area, and he said I shouldn’t be standing alone on that street carrying a huge backpack with my phone out. I looked around and I found that strange. It was 1 in the afternoon. The sun was shining brightly. We were actually in a pretty nice area. There was a nice looking mall just across. There were lots of people outside though it wasn’t crowded. There were families with young kids passing by, i wondered if this guy was high or something. Then he said hop in, I’ll drive you to your hotel. Who am I to turn down a free ride? 😝

On hindsight, it’s not really a good idea to be too trusting of strangers in South Africa. Sure there are still a lot of good people in this world, but there are a lot of sinister people too. Good thing that this dude turned out to be a pretty nice guy. We actually got along well and met up for a couple of drinks later that week. It would’ve been entirely possible that I could’ve gotten mugged though… or worse.

I stayed at Old Vic Traveller’s Inn and I can’t recommend it enough. The place was cozy, rustic, and should I say homey. it’s not at the city center, but rather in a quiet residential area. One of the safest areas in town, so I’ve been told. The area did seem safe, at least during the daytime. I was walking around a lot, and I never felt unsafe. I did notice that most of the houses had signs like this though:

I mean, if the area were truly safe, would there be any need for such security systems? 🤔

Anyway, you know the best thing about this place I stayed at? The owners. They made me feel right at home. In fact, I felt that they treated me like family. They also run their own tours, so it’s real convenient. The prices they charge are about the same at the prices you’d find elsewhere in town. But when I inquired, one problem popped up— one that I’m sure solo travelers encounter pretty often.

Majority of organized tours require at least two people. If you’re traveling solo and you can’t find a group to join, you’d have to pay for two people. This is understandable. Fuel is expensive in South Africa, and a lot of the places offered in these tours aren’t exactly nearby. Safaris in particular would entail a lot of driving around as you’re looking for animals. Tour operations would not break even if they won’t charge for at least two people. As I’ve said, I completely understand— still, it sucks for us solo travelers. Good thing the owners of the lodge found a group I could join two days later. It pays when you keep your plans flexible when you’re traveling alone. heh.

If you have your own transportation you can certainly visit Kruger National Park on your own. A lot of people do this. Just be mindful of wildlife. These are wild animals. Don’t go near those big cats obviously. Steer clear of herds of elephants. Just appreciate the beauty of these creatures from afar. If you plan on spending a few nights inside the park, you don’t need to book a tour. There are many accommodations available, you could book these on your own. It costs ZAR 535 (about USD 30) to enter the park for foreign adults (ZAR 267 for children). Take note that they do not accept cash payment. You need a credit or a debit card.

I spent one night in the park, and to me that’s enough. Animals are mainly out early in the morning and just before sunset. We hardly saw any in the middle of the day. I guess most animals prefer to rest in the shade during the daytime because of the heat. I imagine I’d be bored doing close to nothing for the most part of the day if i stayed longer. But each person is different. I’ve met people who’ve stayed there for an entire week and they loved every minute of it. I was pretty bummed that I didn’t see any big cats, but we were luck enough to see some rhinos which were apparently rare sightings these days. Those people who stayed inside the park for a week? They didn’t see any rhinos, but I did. 😁 That’s just how it is with safaris, these aren’t zoos. Nothing is guaranteed.

Besides the Kruger National Park, another must see attraction in this part of the country is the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. If you don’t have your own car, you’d have to book a tour because there’s no public transportation between the attractions in the nature reserve. These day trips are pretty pricey— expect to pay around 2000 Rand per person (about USD 110), but believe me when I say that it’s totally worth it. To say that these sights are breathtaking is an understatement. Some tours include a boat cruise, while some just take you through the numerous viewpoints along the so called “Panorama Route“. Several stops require payment to enter, which may or may not yet be included in the price of the tour you booked. All these stops accept credit cards, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t have much cash with you. Just save your cash for snacks, souvenirs, and tips.

The northeastern part of the country may not be as popular as the southern coast, but I’d say any trip to South Africa won’t be complete without visiting this region. It’s easily accessible so there’s no excuse to skip it unless you really don’t have much time. I admit, it’s not really cheap to visit the attractions here because you either need to book a tour or rent your own transportation. I believe that the stunning scenery makes it incredibly rewarding though. One may end up spending a lot of money here, but I’d say it’s worth every penny.