Surrounding the Greater Kruger National Park are a number of reserves and concessions that fall within the ‘greater’ park but are privately run. Accessible only to guests staying at one of the lodges or camps within its bounds, they’re not accessible to day visitors and so offer a lower-traffic option for those in search of nature’s wide open spaces.

The benefit of staying at one of these reserves is multi-fold – a lower volume of visitors means more privacy, far fewer other vehicles at sightings, and a generally more exclusive experience. Here is a crash course on three of the reserves we love that are right on Kruger’s doorstep.

Timbavati Private Nature Reserve – pristine and wild

The Timbavati Nature Reserve is on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park. It was established in 1956 when a group of landowners came together to form the Timbavati Association, with the aim of preserving the area – today it operates as a non-profit body committed to this goal.

Since then, the reserve has expanded to cover 53,396 hectares and includes 47 landowners. Since 1993, fences were dropped between Timbavati and the Kruger National Park as well as other privately owned concessions, effectively adding nearly 200,000 hectares to what is today referred to as the Greater Kruger National Park, allowing for further natural species migration.

The reserve works to protect the populations of endangered and vulnerable species – including black and white rhinos, pangolins, saddlebilled storks, southern ground hornbills and others. Home to a number of high-end safari lodges (17 all-inclusive and five self-catering) that range in style and size, it’s accessible by air or road travel. Guests may choose to fly into Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport or drive through the main Timbavati Enkhulu Gate.

Sabi Sand Game Reserve – game abounds

The original Sabie Reserve was proclaimed as far back as 1898 and was the forerunner of the Kruger National Park. Many of the original landowners had to leave the area when the National Parks Act was passed in 1926. They subsequently formed the Sabi Private Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park in 1934. In 1948 it formally became the Sabi Sands Reserve. Of these land owners, six families still own land in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve.

Sabi Sands Game Reserve is one of the premier safari experiences in South Africa. The landscape combined with the density of wildlife, means that game viewing possibilities here are limitless. As well as the ‘Big 5’, it is known for a significant leopard population (one of the densest in the world and certainly in Africa).

Within its bounds are a range of 24 superb lodges ranging in price and design – from traditional bush lodge style to very contemporary. Getting to Sabi Sands is easy – a number of airports serve the region and guests can fly in to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, Skukuza Airport or Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport (depending on where in Sabi Sands you’re staying).

Thornybush Game Reserve – part of the family

The 14,000-hectare Thornybush Nature Reserve was one of the original private nature reserves in the greater Kruger area with the first commercial lodge, Thornybush Game Lodge, opening its doors in 1961. Thornybush forms part of the Greater Kruger Park area and shares a 22-kilometre fenceless border with the Kruger National Park.

Thornybush is situated entirely in the Savanna Biome. The larger part of the reserve is classified as Granite Lowveld with a small area of the Phalaborwa-Timbavati Mopaneveld present in the north. From its inception, Thornybush Nature Reserve and its members have been involved in a range of conservation and community projects including the first ever translocation of a mixed group of adult and juvenile elephants that were relocated from other areas in South Africa to Thornybush.

The nine lodges in this reserve vary in size and offering, and span all-inclusive and sole-use options. The reserve is easily accessible by air with twice-daily flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town landing at the nearby Eastgate Airport. Transfers from Eastgate are less than an hour’s drive from the reserve.