Safari gateway · OriginJohannesburg
Explore this stop →Begin at the long-distance Highveld gateway.
Safari Circuit
Kruger & Lowveld Safari Circuit
5 ordered stops4 route legsSouth Africa
Travel east from the Highveld into Mpumalanga's Lowveld, climb the western escarpment to Blyde River Canyon, descend through Graskop and Hazyview, and enter Kruger at Skukuza. A visit to Sabi Sand can be added as a nearby extension.
Wildlife highlights
Elephant
Signature
Rhino
Signature
Lion
Signature
Leopard
Signature
Buffalo
Signature
Giraffe
Common
Zebra
Common
Hyena
Common
Follow the Circuit on the mapThe map keeps road and track stages distinct, with gateway towns and Safari Places clearly marked.
Road / trackSafari PlaceGateway Home Base
The Circuit, stop by stop
Open each park or gateway for its wildlife, seasonality, access, and nearby Safari geography.
Safari gateway · Service stopMbombela
Explore this stop →Pause at the Lowveld regional gateway after the N4 journey.
Safari Place · Place / visitBlyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
Explore this stop →Use the Three Rondavels area as the northern geographic anchor for the canyon stage.
Safari gateway · Service stopHazyview
Explore this stop →Descend through the Panorama Route to the public-park and private-reserve gateway.
Safari Place · DestinationKruger National Park
Explore this stop →End the mapped access progression at Skukuza without fabricating an internal park circuit.
How the route joins up
Travel times and access inside protected areas vary with weather, water, park rules, and track conditions. Confirm current guidance locally.
Johannesburg → Mbombela
A long-distance road leg that can be driven independently or made by an arranged transfer or tour vehicle.
Mbombela → Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
Use the western escarpment approach via Mashishing and Ohrigstad; this avoids retracing the Panorama Route used on the next leg.
Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve → Hazyview
Follow the Panorama corridor past Bourke's Luck Potholes and Graskop, allowing extra time for viewpoints and weather.
Hazyview → Kruger National Park
A public access road into Kruger that can be used by self-drive visitors, guided tours, or arranged transfers. Gate times and entry requirements must be checked.
Related Safari Circuits
Compare this route with other distinct Safari geographies in South Africa.
Addo & Eastern Cape Safari Circuit
Travel from Gqeberha through Paterson to Addo Main Camp, cross the main game area on the park's visitor road, and finish at Matyholweni beside Colchester and the lower Sundays River.
Follow this Safari Circuit →Elephant Coast Safari Circuit
Travel north from Durban into the Elephant Coast, moving from St Lucia's estuary and iSimangaliso wetlands to Hluhluwe-iMfolozi's rhino country, Sodwana Bay's coral coast, Tembe's sand forest, and the linked lakes of Kosi Bay.
Follow this Safari Circuit →Great Limpopo Transfrontier Safari Circuit
Follow the real Great Limpopo geography from Phalaborwa and Kruger's Letaba region through Giriyondo to Limpopo National Park and Massingir, then make the long external-road transfer through Mozambique to Sango and Gonarezhou's Mabalauta sector.
Follow this Safari Circuit →Kgalagadi Transfrontier Safari Circuit
Travel from Upington to the shared Twee Rivieren/Two Rivers entrance, follow the dry Nossob valley north, and use the documented four-wheel-drive route through Bosobogolo to Mabuasehube before exiting toward Tsabong.
Follow this Safari Circuit →Safari landscape and people
Conservation, communities, land use, and history matter here when they directly explain the wildlife landscape and the journey through it.
The Panorama Route passes through working towns, forest country, historical mining landscapes, and communities whose lives are part of the escarpment.
Explore this Safari Place →Kruger's rivers, archaeological record, neighboring communities, labor histories, and regional conservation relationships widen the story beyond wildlife sightings.
Explore this Safari Place →