Kruger Self-Drive: Second Edition: Routes, Roads & Ratings - Softcover

Van Den Berg, Philip And Ingrid; Van Den Berg, Heinrich

Softcover

ISBN 10: 177632322X ISBN 13: 9781776323227

Publisher: HPH Publishing, 2022

Synopsis

Kruger Self-Drive, Routes, Roads and Ratings is not only the first comprehensive guide to all roads in Kruger National Park, but also suggests routes to drive from every camp. The book rates every single road in Kruger according to the probability of predator and antelope sightings, scenic beauty and birding opportunities. The road descriptions feature a write-up of the vegetation, game viewing opportunities and history where applicable, as well as images taken on that specific road. The final section features the most common mammals, reptiles, birds and trees found in the Park. In addition, the book boasts detailed maps featuring the roads and routes of the Kruger National Park.

The revised and updated second edition features brand new maps, all new photographs and updated text.

About this title

About the Authors

Husband and wife award-winning photographers Philip and Ingrid van den Berg share a love of Africa and all its facets. It is their passion to capture unique moments in nature and share these with readers, through the pages of their wildlife books. Now retired from careers in environmental education and biological sciences, Philip and Ingrid have transformed a love of photography into a full-time "hobby", with several acclaimed wildlife books to their credit. With their extensive knowledge of the natural world coupled with their scientific backgrounds, they are an integral part of the HPH team.

Heinrich van den Berg is an international award-winning wildlife photographer, and is also an accomplished writer and publisher. Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, Van den Berg is well known for pushing the boundaries of photography to create explosive images that are as beautiful as they are emotive. Van den Berg heads his own publishing company, HPH Publishing, and has successfully published over 40 full-colour wildlife titles since 2001. His books are highly acclaimed for both their quality and content. Heinrich and his wife Dana travel extensively in search of unique images.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Kruger National Park is not only a national asset for South Africa but is part of a dwindling global treasure and the collective natural heritage of all mankind. It embodies the spirit of wild Africa and offers a glimpse of what this part of the world looked like before human intervention. Although it is primarily a haven for the diverse indigenous fauna and flora and aims to conserve and preserve as much as possible of this pristine natural heritage, it is also there for the benefit and enjoyment of both local and international visitors.
Situated in the South African Lowveld between the northern Drakensberg and Mozambique, the largest national park in South Africa stretches almost 365 km from north to south and 60 km from west to east. Roughly the size of Israel (20 000 square kilometres), it is among the 20 biggest national parks in the world.
It all started in 1899 when the erstwhile president of the Trans­vaal Republic, Paul Kruger, proclaimed the Sabie Game Reserve. The Shingwedzi Reserve followed. These two reserves were merged in 1926 and land in between was purchased by the state to form the core of the Kruger National Park. Today the park forms part of the Great Limpopo Trans­frontier Park (35 000 square kilometres), a cross-border initiative of the Peace Parks Foundation.
The first ranger and warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, dedicated his life to creating a national park that would be sustained by tourism. Now, a century later, the park caters for more than 1.5 million visitors annually. While the surrounding communities are closely involved with the park and have formed partnerships with the conservation authorities, several private companies also operate in conservancies within the park.
The challenge facing national parks and nature conservation is how to maintain the natural and pristine state of an area such as the Kruger National Park while facilitating tourism and its associated environmental disturbances. To achieve this the park is zoned according to three categories – parts of the park are zoned for development and general tourist activities offering accommodation, an extensive network of tourist roads, picnic sites and educational centres. Then there are sections set aside to remain pristine wilderness areas where any human disturbances are limited. Between the pristine areas and the more developed parts, huge natural zones act as a buffer.

Edition details

• Publisher: HPH Publishing
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 177632322X
• ISBN 13: 9781776323227
• Binding: Flexibound
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 288