Game Drive Report: Kruger National Park

Date: [15/07/2025]
Location: Southern Kruger National Park

Today’s early morning game drive through Kruger National Park delivered one of those unforgettable moments that remind you why this place is so special. Just after sunrise, while the bushveld was still draped in golden light, we came across a huge male lion resting near the edge of the road.

At first, he seemed completely unbothered by our presence — sprawled out in the grass, eyes half closed, his mane catching the warm light. Then, without warning, he lifted his massive head and let out an enormous yawn, jaws stretching wide to reveal teeth that instantly reminded us who truly rules this wild kingdom.

It was a powerful moment of contrast: the king of the savanna in a vulnerable pose, yet every inch a symbol of strength. Moments later, he settled back down, flicked his tail, and drifted back into his regal doze — as if to say, “You may look, but this is my land.”

Other sightings on the drive included herds of impala, a dazzle of zebras, and plenty of playful vervet monkeys, but the yawning lion easily stole the show. Experiences like this are exactly why Kruger remains one of Africa’s most iconic wildlife destinations — you never know what you’ll find around the next bend.

Highlights:

• Huge male lion yawning right next to the vehicle
• Beautiful early morning light for photography
• Plenty of plains game and birdlife

If you’re planning a visit, remember: patience pays off, and nature always rewards those who wait.

WE ARE BACK!
Ama-Zing African Safaris is back and we are back with a bang!
We are re-entering the Safari industry, specialising in private safaris.
The way we enjoy our country and our very special natural resources is by experiencing it with the people we love and that is how we want our guests to also experience it!
WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING YOU AND GIVING YOU THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!

We have waited a long time, worked hard and prayed even harder and finally we are broadening our horizons so that we can now offer our services to a larger client base, cover a larger area of Kruger National Park and offer pickup and drop-off services in more locations.
With the extra game viewing vehicle and another premises to operate from we can now do collections from Marloth Park, Komatipoort, Hectorspruit, Malalane, Nelspruit, White River and Hazyview.
Thanks team for all you hard work and dedication and thank you to every single one of our guests who visited, enjoyed Kruger Park and wrote nice reviews!

It has been too long since the last time I wrote something! Things have just been too hectic to set aside a few minutes to put pen to paper. Or should I say fingers to keyboard?
The last time I sat down to write something on the blog was in August, and about a week after that we moved.
So, our time was consumed by packing and unpacking. And we are still not completely settled.
One of our recent Kruger National Park Safaris, for some reason, produced a lot of but shots. A fair amount of my photos and the photos my guests took, was of the animals’ behinds. It was like we kept ending up on the wrong side of most of our sightings.
On the last evening, like on most of my safaris, we went through all the photos we all took and decided the zebra had to be crowned the best but animal of Kruger.
Decide for yourself if you agree!

Again it has been some time since our last update, so instead of mentioning all the safaris to Kruger National Park and Pilanesberg National Park which took place over the past few months, I will instead write something about my highlight trip.

And that will have to be the 8 Day Chalet Safari I had with my family in Kruger National Park.

Apart from great sightings of the Big 5 and all the other magnificent animals this beautiful park has to offer, we had great weather and the chalet we stayed in was in the best imaginable position.

Overlooking the Crocodile river, our chalet was like having our own private hide. It is in such a good spot, that during the few days we spent there we viewed the entire Big 5 and many other species from our porch. The resident hippo pod ended each day with their amazing calls and each sunset was more beautiful than the previous one. 

We found these 2 young male lions close to our camp site in Pilanesberg National Park one morning of a 3 Day Chalet Pilanesberg Safari.

After hearing them early one morning while having our coffee and rusks, we had a good idea of where to search for them.
We were very lucky to get to them just as these 2 young males crossed the road on their way to meet the lionesses who were already resting in the shade of a tree nearby.

There were no other vehicles and the lions were very lazy and in no hurry.
You can also view the video of this sighting at: http://youtu.be/e67CSKxj5gk

On a one day safari to Pilanesberg National Park recently, we got trapped in a breeding herd of elephant.

Sometimes these very close-up sightings get the guests excited and sometimes they get anxious. This particular close-up sighting of elephant in Pilanesberg was described by one of my guests as “a life changing experience”.

One of the adult cows of the herd gave us some really good poses and kept them long enough for us to take good photos.