update (12 June 2023): SANParks has announced that the road between Lower Sabie and Skukuza (H4-1), which was washed away by floods earlier this year, has been reopened.
update (05 June 2023): An updated road register (01 June 2023) is now available.
update (12 May 2023): An updated road register (11 May 2023) is now available.
update (19 April 2023): An updated road register (as at 09:00 on 19 April 2023) is now available.
update (06 April 2023): An updated road register (04 April 2023) is now available.
update (29 March 2023): An updated road register (as at 09:30 on 29 March 2023) is now available.
update (29 March 2023): Sable Sleepover Hide in Kruger National Park, situated approximately 10km from of Phalaborwa Gate, is open to the public again.
update (22 March 2023): An updated road register (as at 09:00 on 22 March 2023) is now available.
update (21 March 2023): Kruger National Park Roads update: H2-2 Pretoriouskop, S118 and S110 gravel roads are now all open for guest use.
update (20 March 2023): The situation in Kruger National Park has not changed from 16 March 2023, with repair work still underway at roads previously closed due to damages from the floods experienced in February 2023. Click here for the roads update register.
update (14 March 2023): The following facilities at Letaba Rest Camp are currently under renovations until further notice:
- Camp swimming pool is temporarily closed - guests should utilise the Day Visitors’ pool until 18:00.
- Reception - All front office duties are carried out at the office next to the reception.
- Letaba Shop is being rebuilt - a temporary shop is available.
Road Closures as at 14 March 2023 > link!
Road S25 linking Malelane & Crocodile Bridge is now open. S42 to the golf club is also open for guest use.
update (11 March 2023): S36 from Satara and S145 to Talamati are both repaired. Access to Talamati has been restored.
update (10 March 2023): Road Closures as at 10 March 2023 > link!
update (09 March 2023): Roads S145 and S36 are currently closed as more repair work is being done to make the roads safe and easily accessible.
update (08 March 2023): One of the admins of the SANParks - Kruger National Park facebook group has released updates on Kruger National Park following the recent heavy rains & flooodings in February 2023.
- Talamati Bushveld Camp is open for guests. Access only on S140 from Orpen at this stage.
Biyamiti open from tody (08 March 2023). Access only from Malelane Gate on S114 then on S139. From Skukuza, access on H2-2 just after Afsaal, then on S114 and S139. - Sable Dam Hide is still not accessible due to high water level.
- Road Closures as at 08 March 2023 > link!
update (02 March 2023): Talamati is open and accessible from Orpen on the S140. S145 is still under repair work.
update (01 March 2023): Talamati, Biyamiti and Sable Hide:
Talamati roads S140 and S145 are not accessible as yet for guests. Roads department is busy working to repair the damaged structure. A decision will be taken on 02 March 2023 regarding the date of the reopening of Talamati.
Biyamiti: The Kruger National Park Disaster Management team will be working on fixing the fence and all other damaged structures in Biyamiti from Friday 04 March 2023. The reopening of this facility will be announced once all repair work is done.
Sable Dam: The reopening of the hide will be announced as soon as all the water has been successfully drained and repair work done on the structure.
update (28 February 2023): The Talamati Bush Camp will remain closed today (28 February 2023). The access road S140 is damaged and heavy machinery can't access to repair due to excessive wet conditions. More rain is expected today.
Sand river bridge remains closed. Sabie low level bridge is accessible for guest use.
All gravel roads around Pafuri remain closed with the persistent rains experienced over the last couple of days.
update (27 February 2023): Lower Sabie to Tshokwane road is currently (26 February 2023) closed on both ends. Lower Sabie is currently only accesible through Crocodile Bridge Gate. Water over the tar road is rising. Kruger National Park Disaster Management Team will continue to monitor the situation.
(26 February 2023) Malelane received 24.5 mm and Lower Sabie 32 mm of rain. Tshokwane received a further 65 mm. Rhino Walking Safaris received 115 mm and Nwatindlopfu is flowing. Gravel roads in the south will still be very wet. Kingfish received 54 mm and Crocodile Bridge 32 mm.
The following gravel roads have since been closed:
S140, S145, S36 and S39. Talamati guests can use S145 and S36 to access H7.
Crocodile Bridge water levels are stable, the bridge remains open.
Roads S40, S90,S100,S126,S127 have also been closed
The latest developments (25 February 2023) are as follows:
All Camps except Biyamiti Bush Camp are open (with Nyalaland Trails Camp, Sirheni, Shimuwini and Bateleur Bush Camps on alert)
The bridge at Lower Sabie is now open for travelling to Tshokwane/Satara
The Low water bridge over Sabie River at Skukuza is open for travelling to and from Skukuza Airport
Sand River low water bridge is not yet open but is being closely monitored
Gravel roads in the south remain closed
update (23 February 2023): The Sabie River Low water Bridge is now open, while the Sand River Bridge remains closed.
update (22 February 2023): H10 from Lower Sabie is now open!
update (21 February 2023): Kruger National Park Management is happy to announce that the following camps are now open:
- Talamati Bushveld Camp: Access is from Orpen on S140 or from Satara on S36 then S145 from the east.
- Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie: Both camps are open from today (21 February 2023) for guests.
- Please note that access and exit for Lower Sabie is only via Crocodile Bridge Gate. The main tar road H4-1 between Skukuza and Lower Sabie remains closed.
- Satara is NOT accessible from Lower Sabie until the bridge at Lower Sabie Rest Camp is cleared and safe.
- All gravel roads in the south of Kruger National Park are still closed, except for S3 between Numbi Gate and Phabeni Gate S1 and H1-1. The teams are busy with repairs on all gravel roads.
- Sable Hide remains closed until 06 March 2023
- Biyamiti Bushvel Camp remains closed until 27 March 2023.
- For all guests with confirmed bookings at Biyamiti Bushveld Camp and Sable Hide, please note that the following options remain available:
- Credit on Hold – Guests may request for their reservation amounts to be transferred to their credit on hold for usage at a later date.
- Booking amendments – Guests may amend their bookings for later dates at their convenience.
- Alternatively, guests can enquire about alternative accommodation at non-affected camps in the Kruger National Park for this period subject to availability.
update (20 February 2023): For all guests with confirmed reservations at Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge and Sable Hide, please note that the following options remain available until the facilities are open (estimated for Tuesday 21 February 2023 for the camps and 06 March 2023 for Sable Hide)
• Credit on Hold – Guests may request for their reservation amounts to be transferred to their credit on hold for usage at a later date.
• Booking amendments – Guests may amend their bookings for later dates at their convenience.
• Alternatively, guests can enquire about alternative accommodation at non-affected camps in the Kruger National Park for this period subject to availability.
Talamati Bushveld Camp open from today (20 February 2023) . Access via S36 and S145 from the east. The teams are still assessing damage on S140 from Orpen.
Sable Dam Hide: Still closed, at least until 6 March 2023.
Biyamiti Bushveld Camp: Still closed, at least until Monday 27 Feb 2023.
Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie: Still closed today (20 February 2023). The Sabie River is still flowing over the bridge at Lower Sabie. Access over the Crocodile Bridge will still be monitored today. SANParks hopes to open both camps to guests on Tuesday 21 February 2023.
All gravel roads in the south of the Kruger National Park are still closed, except for S3 between Numbi Gate and Phabeni Gate S1 and H1-1.
All Gravel roads in the south are still closed, except for S3 which is open between H1-1 & S1
- Outlook for today (19 February 2023), scattered showers in the afternoon and early evening
- Mid range forecast for the lowveld region to have a drying out phase over the next week
- Tropical Storm Freddy is currently in the central Indian Ocean and on course to impact central Madagascar on the 21 February, whereafter it will dissipate in intensity and present forecast it will track towards central Mozambique around the city of Beira and then head inland over northern Zimbabwe. The KNP makes use of the official forecast from Indian Ocean cyclone monitoring centre on La Reunion Island (http://www.meteo.fr/.../La.../webcmrs9.0/anglais/index.html) and relies on the localised impact based forecast from the South African Weather Service, which at this stage implies there will be limited affect on north-eastern South Africa. We monitor the updates closely as/when conditions change.
- In terms of river flows, the past week has seen continuous but patchy rain, with the most significant rains being in the headwaters of the Sabie River and Crocodile River, as a result this has maintained high summer flows down towards the Kruger National Park and as a result SANParks expects Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge access to guests to remain closed for the next 48 hours at least
- As a result of these significant rains the Inyaka Dam on the Sabie River now over 100%, the first time in 7 years and is now spilling, this is good news for it’s users for the upcoming winter season. All important dams upstream of Kruger National Park now spilling, namely, Blyde Dam on the Olifants, Tzaneen Dam on the Letaba, Nandoni Dam on the Luvuvhu
- The Olifants River remains in high flow conditions (>550 cumec), but high level bridge access to the north of Kruger National Park remains open, Balule low water bridge will remain inaccessible for the foreseeable
- Letaba River (>130 cumec) also have good summer flows but not in flood conditions at this stage
- Shingwedzi River in moderate flows at this stage
- Limpopo River is good summer flows (>600 cumec at Beitbridge) but not flood condition, and the Luvuvhu River is also having good summer flows, but not in flood – this is great replenishment conditions for the Makuleke Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance
- Kruger National Park notes the impacts these flows are now having downstream as counterparts in Mozambique have had to increase discharges significantly from Massingir Dam on the Olifants Rivers and the Corumana Dam on the Sabie River and applaud the authorities there for issuing early warnings to their stakeholders
- No significant ecological impacts have been noted at this stage, will wait for the waters to recede in order to monitor further
- Most dirt road access in southern Kruger National Park still remains closed as the smaller streams and crossings are still flowing quite strong
update (18 February 2023): SANParks has announced that all guests with confirmed reservations at Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge, Biyamiti, Talamati and Sable Hide should note that the camps and hide remain closed until 20 February 2023.
The following options are available:
- Credit on Hold – Guests may request for their reservation amounts to be transferred to their credit on hold for usage at a later date.
- Booking amendments – Guests may amend their bookings for later dates at their convenience.
- Alternatively, guests can enquire about alternative accommodation at non-affected camps in the Kruger National Park for this period subject to availability.
Hazyview had moderate rain last night. Sabie river is up again to the high levels we saw last week. We can thus expect river to rise again today at Skukuza. It is predicted that Lower Sabie bridge will be under water untill Monday at this stage.
update (17 February 2023): Lower Sabie, Crocodile Bridge, Biyamiti, Talamati are all closed and inaccessible to guests at least until Monday 20 Feb 2023.
Sable Dam Hide needs water to be pumped out of the facility and damage assessed. It is estimated that the hide will be closed for 2 weeks.
update (17 February 2023): South African National Parks (SANParks) has released an update of the current state of Kruger National Park following the heavy rains and floodings:
- Letaba Low Water Bridge is now open for guest use!
- The H1-1 road to Pretoriouskop and Malelane is now open for guest use. That’s the road in the south of Skukuza that was previously closed due to floods and collapse of road infrastructure.
- The Kruger National Park Disaster Management Team is expecting more rain today which will delay the process of assesing damage to the road infrastrucute and restrict movement for visitors.
- Indications are that gravel roads in the South of Kruger National Park will remain closed. Lower Sabie to Skukuza will still remain closed for repairs. Visitors should also be wary when going over low lying bridges.
- The rainfall forecast shows no more than moderate rain over very wet catchments already, the National Park may have some localised impacts.
update (16 February 2023): Update from SANParks' Technical Services Roads: the section of road that collapsed before De Laporte is under repair. SANParks is sourcing materials for the base of the road with work expected to be completed by tomorrow. Alternative route onto H3 is through S1 - S3 - H1/1
South African National Parks (SANParks) has released an comprehensive update of the current state of Kruger National Park following the heavy rains and floodings of the last couple of days since early February 2023. According to the update:
- Crocodile River remains in high flow, with sustained flows from upstream, but not excessive flood conditions. The gate is open for now but the rest camp is still not admitting overnight visitors as yet and the gate is for emergency access to replenish supplies and fuel.
- Sabie River remains in high flows, with sustained flows from upstream and access to Lower Sabie expected to remain closed for next 48 hours.
- Olifants River remains in high flows, Lepelle Northern Water used the flood conditions as opportunity to flush the Phalaborwa Barrage creating important storage capacity for future dry conditions.
- Access to the north of Kruger National Park remains open over the high-water bridge over Sabie and Olifants Rivers, although the Balule low water bridge remains closed and will remain for the foreseeable future.
- The Letaba River remains in high flows although only intermittent rain is expected. There is no access at the low water bridge connection between Phalaborwa and Mopani Rest Camp, high water bridge access to far north unaffected.
- Shingwedzi River remains in normal summer flow conditions.
- Luvuvhu River also remains in normal summer flow, as does the Limpopo River in the far north and access to Makuleke Contractual National Park/Pafuri Section remains open - Importantly during this flood process SANParks remains in constant communication with Dept of Water & Sanitation and Catchment Management Agencies, as well as our neighbouring water management authorities in Mozambique and the provincial disaster management centres in South Africa.
- Overall conditions from a river ecosystems perspective is that the flood conditions provide good natural flushing conditions for the rivers, groundwater recharge which is important for dry season flows and at this stage there is are no concerns from a conservation perspective.
- All gravel and management roads in southern Kruger National Park however sustained significant damage which will only be assessed over the next 14 days as conditions start drying out and technical staff are able to get to these roads.
- All dirt roads in the south (Marula Region) remain closed, as are the minority in the north (Nxanetseni) due to wet conditions.
- The majority of tar roads in the park remain fully accessible, expect in the south with no access from Skukuza to Lower Sabie due to washing away of the road at 3 locations
- Some damages to other smaller bridges but these have been assessed for safety and remain open
- SANParks strongly urges visitors to remain vigilant and under no circumstances to access roads where barricades have been placed
- There have unfortunately been a few occasions where tour operators in Open safari Vehicles have removed the barricades which might endanger the lives of their clients.
- All tar roads in Kruger National Park are open; except the main road between Skukuza and Lower Sabie.
- The Pretoriuskop- Skukuza main road remains closed.
- Talamati and Biyamiti Bush Camps are closed.
- Balule is now open. Access from the south, S89 and S90. The Olifants River low water bridge is still closed.
- Sable Hide closed.
- Shimuwini, Bateleur and Sirheni Bush Camps open.
- All Rest Camps are operational except Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie.
- All Entrance Gates except Crocodile Bridge are open.
- The restrooms at Tshokwane are currently out of order.
- Skukuza Airport is operating but advises passengers to contact their lodges to get information before flying to Skukuza. The airport is currently processing passengers to and from the airport via Shelati Bridge; and all transfer companies, lodge representatives, car hire should pick up and drop off in the Skukuza Day Visitors Site which is adjacent to the train/bridge because the Sabie low level bridge is currently flooded.
- At this stage the mid-term forecasts are for intermittent and localised rain along with a steady drying out conditions
- There are some forecasts for further wet conditions in 10 days or so, however SANParks relies on the official impact based rainfall forecasts generated by the South African Weather Services for forward planning. These new impact-based forecasts have really assisted SANParks to be proactive and pre-emptive in its planning.
