For a few quid extra, this gets us lovely hot showers and a location right in the action where we have the chance to see animals like giraffes just beyond the fence. But we decide that Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, just a 15-minute drive inside the gate, is a better bargain. Plenty of campervanners choose to pitch up at one of the numerous and inexpensive campsites outside Kruger’s borders. “Never exit your vehicle,” a guard tells us at the barrier. Leaflets stuffed through our window tell us how to spot signs of bull elephants in musth - a term used to describe when their testosterone levels spike, causing them to secrete a pungent-smelling substance from their temples and become aggressive. We creep forward in the queue at Kruger’s Malelane Gate, one of many around the park and the easiest entry point, with trepidation. Going solo - without the comfort of a guide or more traditional 4WD - is new to us. It’s about as conspicuous as it gets: Tippex white and with an engine that sounds like a tractor. Our home is a slightly bruised, converted Mercedes Sprinter, which we pick up from Maui Motorhomes at Johannesburg airport.

What we lack in detailed facts from expert guides, meticulously prepped negronis and butter-soft cotton bed linen, we plan to replace with second-hand wildlife books, £1-a-can Castle lagers and a dining table that converts into a bed that isn’t quite long enough.

But there are far more affordable ways to immerse yourself, too - with a campervan and budget camps loved by South Africans, all for around R330 (£15) a pitch.įor 10 days, that’s our plan. In Kruger National Park, a night in the park’s northern tip at Singita lodge, a brand loved by Oprah Winfrey and Leonardo DiCaprio, will set you back close to £2,000 per night, per person. But here in South Africa, a safari is possible on a budget. And to some extent that’s true the words ‘affordable’ and ‘safari’ rarely sit alongside each other. The assumption is usually that to see elephants like this, you’d have to pay a hefty price for the privilege. We reverse - we know never to get between an elephant and her young - and there they stand, mother and baby, calmly taking us in while we stare back from behind the windscreen. The elephants’ bodies sway forward, huge feet silent as they cross the tarmac just in front of us. A tiny trunk emerges from the branches of the marula trees at the side of the road a much larger trunk and curved tusks follow. This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).

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