Kruger National Park, National park in Mpumalanga and Limpopo, South Africa.

Kruger National Park stretches over approximately 19,485 square kilometers (about 7,523 square miles) and takes in grasslands, savannas, and woodland areas along several rivers. The landscape shifts between open plains, thick bushland, and green riverbanks that provide habitat for a wide range of mammals, birds, and reptiles.

The protected area was established in 1898 as the Sabi Game Reserve to curb poaching and safeguard threatened animal populations. In 1926 it gained national park status and was named after the president who had championed its creation.

The reserve takes its name from South African president Paul Kruger, who championed wildlife protection and set in motion a shift in how people thought about nature. Today visitors experience African wildlife in a space that brings together people from many backgrounds and demonstrates how conservation can work.

Several entrance gates provide access to the reserve, with some gates closer to certain landscape types than others. Self-drivers should plan to be on the road early in the morning or late in the afternoon when animals are more active and the heat eases.

Baobabs grow in the northern part of the park, not the south; the Sabi Game Reserve that preceded the park covered only the southern third of today's area. The park's first warden, James Stevenson-Hamilton, was appointed in 1902 and led the fight against poaching. In 1928 the head of the air force, Sir Pierre van Ryneveld, flew three trustees over the reserve to study how low-flying aircraft affected the game.