Camper trip: Panorama Route, Krugerpark and eSwatini

Today you pick up your camper at the camper depot Johannesburg where you will receive explanations and instructions about your vehicle. Take plenty of time to get everything explained. Then you leave for your first overnight address.

If your flight arrives in the afternoon or in the evening, you can spend the first night in Johannesburg and pick up your motorhome early the next morning (between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM).

Two nights with your camper with Merry Pebbles in Sabie. There is a restaurant at this resort that is open daily. There are also various swimming pools, tennis court, table tennis, pool tables, playground, trampolines, mini-golf (putt-putt), hiking trails and more.

Today you have quiet time to drive the particularly beautiful Panorama Route. This route is a beautiful winding mountain path that delivers insanely beautiful pictures in clear weather. From Sabie you drive north to Graskop, a tourist village with nice restaurants and terraces. Here you find a glass elevator that allows you to descend into the gorge to view the Graskop Gorge from a different point of view. The first stop along the Panorama Route from Graskop is Pinnacle Rock and beyond God’s Window. In good weather you can look out over the low field to the Kruger Park.

Enjoying the view you will continue to Bourke’s Luck Potholes, a special natural phenomenon where you can also take beautiful pictures. A last place on the Panorama Route that is certainly not to be missed is the vantage point at the Three Rondavels. From your accommodation in Sabie to this point is a distance of approximately 90 kilometers.

You drive back to your accommodation and if time permits you can choose to stop at the Mac Mac Pools just before Sabie. A popular spot for a picnic or a refreshing dip in the water (you pay a small entry fee). You can also visit the old mining village of Pilgrims Rest from Graskop.

A holiday in South Africa in not completed without a safari. Today you are driving via Hazyview, where you can do some shopping for the coming days, to the Paul Kruger Gate (90 km). From the moment you drive through the gates, the search for wild animals can begin. It takes approximately 1.5 hours to drive from the park entrance to your overnight camp. On the way to the Lower Sabie Rest Camp you pass Skukuza Rest Camp where you can eat or drink something and enjoy the surroundings.

The Kruger National Park covers an area of almost 20,000 square kilometers and the best known residents are undoubtedly the Big Five: lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant and leopard. In the park, take into account a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour on the tar roads and leave your camper only in the camps and at the designated places. Always ensure that you keep a safe distance from the wild animals.

The next two nights you will stay at a campsite in the Lower Sabie Rest Camp. From here you can make game drives through the park with your camper or you can choose a game drive with a ranger in an open safari vehicle (morning, afternoon or evening game drive). It is also possible to make a bush walk with a ranger, a special experience to literally follow in the footsteps of African wildlife. Booking in advance for these activities is useful if you want to be assured of participation.

You leave the  Krugerpark in the south and drive via Malelane to the Jeppe’s Reef border post to enter  Swaziland (nowadays called eSwatini). Once across the border you will drive past Phophonyane Falls. In this nature reserve you can take a walk to the approximately 80 meter high waterfall. Another nice place to drive along the way is the village of Ngwenya and the glass factory located just outside the village. Here, glass is still blown in the traditional way and you can buy nice souvenirs.

Via the capital of eSwatini, Mbabane, you will drive to the Mlilwane Game Reserve where you can once again enjoy beautiful nature and wildlife (no Big Five area). You stay two nights within the park at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary on the campsite. It is also possible to book game drives, sunset / sunrise drives and bush walks here, and horse and mountain bike tours are also possible.

Don’t leave too late today, because it is a long drive of more than 250 kilometers. The first part you still drive through the Kruger Park (so limited speed), and the border crossing will also take some time.

Today, this tour through the north-east of South Africa and eSwatini is coming to an end. You can drive back to Johannesburg in various ways (approximately 375 kilometers). The fastest route will be via the Ngwenya-Oshoek border post. You are now driving past the previously mentioned Ngwenya glass factory where you can take a look. You can also choose to use the border post at Sandlane and in that case you will pass through the small village of Amsterdam in South Africa. Although this route is shorter in kilometers (365 km), it will take much more time because you drive on small roads.

Upon arrival in Johannesburg, you return the camper to the depot and you can leave for the flight home. Of course it is also possible to stay another night in Johannesburg or to extend your trip from Swaziland and visit the province of KwaZulu Natal.