Four Kruger Park 4x4 Adventure Trails You Should Try

© Elephant herd at the river, near Palaborwa Gate.

Enjoy a great one-day adventure exploring African wildlife and bush landscape on one of these Kruger Park 4x4 Trails.

Self-drive safaris for the 4x4 off-road enthusiast made easy. Any of these 4x4 safaris can be undertaken by a group of friends or family groups, so pack up your food hampers and water, and head off into the bush.

But do read the Safety Measures at the end of this page. Things can be fun if you know what to watch out for.

Booking: These 4x4 Adventure Trails can only be booked at the rest camps stipulated, and not from this web-site.
They are bookable on an ad-hoc basis only. The trail can be reserved the night before (weather sensitive), or on the morning you wish to travel it.

Accessibility: On occasion you may not be able to drive out on the trail. It may be closed to allow for recuperation.

Accuracy: The trail maps provided on this web site serve only as a reference. The trail may actually vary in parts as access is rotated between using one path of the trail or another to reduce degradation and allow recovery.
On the actual day you may be provided with a slightly altered version depending on which parts of the trail may be detoured to allow for environmental recovery following vehicle usage over the ground.

Availability: Going out on the trail will be dependent on there being a safari guide vehicle to accompany you, and lead the way.

Spend an exciting day on a 4x4 adventure trail in Kruger

Madlabantu 4 x 4 Trail - (Man-eater)
Pretoriuskop area; 42km through terminalia woodland and along the Nsikazi River into Big Five and rhino territory.

This trip is booked at, and starts from Pretoriuskop Rest Camp

Mananga 4 x 4 Trail - (Wilderness)
Starts near Satara; 48km through knob-thorn, marula savanna in the central grasslands; many grazers; Big Five sightings, especially cheetah.

This trip is booked at, and starts from Satara Rest Camp

Nonokani 4 x 4 Trail - (Drive Slowly)

Starts close to Phalaborwa Gate; 46km from Masorini Picnic Site south through mopane and bushwillow woodlands to Reenvoël Dam and then along the Olifants River back to Sable Dam.

This trip is booked at and starts from Phalaborwa Gate.

Phone: (013) 735 6509
Do it on your way to Letaba Rest Camp

Northern Plains 4 x 4 Trail
Between Shingwedzi and Pafuri; 49km; begins at Babalala picnic site and goes east through mopane shrubveld and then into the baobabs of the sandveld.

This trip can be booked at, and start from Shingwedzi or Punda Maria Rest camps.

The weather will decide whether you go or not

These 4 Adventure Trails are weather sensitive, and are closed after rains, hence no advance bookings can be made.

Things You Should Know

For your own safety a minimum of two vehicles per group is advisable in case of breakdowns or other emergency.

Access is limited to six vehicles per day and Conditions on the trails are sometimes challenging and, in extremely wet weather, they may be closed down altogether.

Permits are obtainable at the nearest camp or gate to the trail.

Pre-booking is not required.

Vehicles must be self-sufficient for the day as there are no ablution or other facilities available on any of the trails.

Starting time: before 11h00

Safety Measures

We strongly recommend that each vehicle have

  • At least five litres of drinking water per person
  • Enough food for three decent meals
  • A GPS device such as Garmin
  • Your cellphone
  • Comprehensive first-aid kit
  • Fire extinguisher
  • Rubbish bag/s
  • Toilet paper

Read the Self-Drive Safari Guide

How about a 5 day 4x4 Eco-Trail?

Here is a Guided Self-Drive 4x4 safari along the Lebombo mountain range that runs for 5 days (4 nights), which you can book.

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