SOUTH AFRICA: Kruger National Park's Streamlines Access For Day Visitors

In an effort to enhance visitor access management and to avoid possible glitches this Festive Season, Kruger National Park (KNP) Management will be implementing a new system to streamline day visitor arrivals at the gates during busy periods.

Day Visitors will now be able to choose and book a time slot prior to their arrival from one of the following three time slots:
Time slot 1: Arrive 0 to 2 Hours after gate opening time. (Summer months 05:30 to 07:30)
Time slot 2: Arrive 2 to 4 Hours after gate opening time. (Summer months 07:30 to 09:30)
Time slot 3: Arrive 4+ Hours after gate opening time. (Summer months 09:30 onwards).
The Day Visitor Quota for the park is a management tool to maintain the carrying capacity of the park. Visitors will be able to book up to 80% of Day Visitor Quota per gate, via SANParks Reservations offices.
Pre-booked day visitors guest will get preference over non-booked day visitors at the gate.

For the coming Festive Season, we aim to better manage the volumes that we expect on busy days, and importantly also manage the expectations. These busy days are expected to be Saturday and Sunday and in particular 25, 26 and 27 December as well as 1, 2 and 3 January. By introducing the three different slots, we hope to improve the spread of vehicles and, as far as possible prevent unnecessary waiting periods at gates”, said the KNP Managing Executive, Glenn Phillips.

Pre-booked day visitors must ensure that they arrive within the time slots, as per their reservation. Arriving outside the booked time slot, will be regarded as non-booked and therefore not preferential. Visitors who made reservations prior to this new system have been allocated to Time slot 1. These bookings can be changed through SANParks Reservations offices http://www.sanparks.org/tourism/reservations/
Visitors should also take note of the following important information:

Day Visitor bookings are subject to a non-refundable booking fee of R36 per adult and R18 per child.
Day Visitors who have booked will still be required to pay Conservation Fees or use a valid Wild Card to enter the Park.
In order to expedite the admission process, on busy days in particular, Day Visitors are requested to pay for Conservation Fees in advance or ensure that they have valid Wild Card membership.
Guests planning to use Wild Cards are requested to ensure membership is valid before arrival and this can best be done online at www.sanparks.org/wild_new/.
The number and profile of persons (adults and children) on the reservation and actual persons arriving should correspond.
(All) guests may be required to identify themselves upon admission (SA driver’s license, identity document or passport).
Due to existing contractual arrangements with Open Safari Vehicles (OSVs), they are regarded as booked for all Day Visitor admissions. OSVs entering Phabeni Gate will be allowed entry 30 minutes before external gate opening time during the summer.
Gate Quotas will be applied and un-booked guests could be refused admission.
In order to make the wait in the queue at gates a bit more pleasurable, SANParks will be providing serviced toilets at strategic points on the side of the road during peak times. Further to this a community initiative has been set up that will see hot and cold beverages being available for sale to visitors who will be waiting for entry.
Guests are kindly requested to be patient and understanding of this new change. SANParks will be learning from this so please feel free to provide feedback through the customer feedback system.