• home
• Explore
• The North

The northern expanse of mopaneveld north of Letaba to the Shingwedzi alluvial flood plains has fewer animals than most other parts of the Park. The carrying capacity of the veld is much lower than that of southern Kruger.

Northern Kruger Park Game Viewing Routes

About the North
Around Mopani
Around Shingwedzi
Mopani to Shingwedzi
Shingwedzi to Punda Maria

See Northern Kruger Park Self-drive Map

Habitat Pointers

• Mopane woodlands to the west of the Mopani-Shingwedzi main road
• Mopane shrubveld to the east of the Mopani-Shingwedzi main road
• Impressive riverine forests along the watercourses of the Shingwedzi flood plains
• Lebombo foothills around Shilowa
• Transition from sub-tropical to tropical vegetation begins north of the Tropic of Capricorn

Northern Kruger Park is a rewarding birding destination - there are sleep-over hides near Phalaborwa Gate and Mopani Rest Camp, and important vleis east of Mopani, while the Shingwedzi flood plains are one of the country's top summer birding destinations. Shingwedzi is renowned for its big tuskers - most of the legendary Magnificent Seven inhabited the Shingwedzi flood plains. The northern Lebombo can be accessed via the Tropic of Capricorn Loop (S143).

Best Drive in Northern Kruger Park

Shingwedzi flood plain drive (Nyawutsi bird hide to Babalala Picnic Site via the Mphongolo Loop): This drive takes one from the edge of the Lebombo into the Shingwedzi flood plain system. There is wonderful riverine forest and birding at Kanniedood Dam and along the Mphongolo Loop. Stop off for refreshments at Shingwedzi Rest Camp. Allow four-and-a-half hours including a stop.

Lion are often active in the area late in the day, preparing for their night-time hunt in the riverine bush. Buffalo and waterbuck are their most favoured prey in this part of Kruger.

Kruger's Giant
The elephant's trunk is more versatile than the limbs of any other animal - in the words of writer Richard Estes, it is an "all-in-one grasping, smelling, drinking, squirting, broadcasting tool" that is also used as a club if it attacks humans. Elephant trunks can be up to two metres in length, weigh as much as a rugby player and can hold up to 17 litres of water. Elephants can outpace humans - they are capable of charging at 40km/h for short distances. It is advisable not to go closer than 50m to an elephant in Kruger, and always be careful not to get between a mother and its offspring.

Elephant Teeth
An elephant's teeth are used for grinding vegetation. Over an elephant's lifetime, six sets of molars are developed, but are used only one at a time. Arising from the back of the jaw, the teeth move forward and push out molars that are worn out or broken. When the last molar moves forward, at the age of 40 to 45 years, it must last the rest of the elephant's life (elephants live up to 70 years). If the tooth wears down completely, the animal can no longer chew effectively and will starve.