kruger prior to safari

A friend and I and our wives are taking a safari in nimpopo province of the Republic of South Africa. Prior to going on the 10 day safari we want visit Kruger for 3 or 4 days. We will fly to J'burg one day spend the night, then get up the next day and travel overland to kruger. My question is: do we need 2 full days in kruger or would 1/2 day + 1 full day + 1/2 day be enough? Any help will be appreciated.

After doing a safari, we weren't too impresses with Kruger when we drove it ourselves without aa guide. We quickly figured out, you drive fast until you come upon a bunch of cars, then there is something to see. There are a lot of things to do in SA beside the animals, flights on kulula.com are cheap for getting around. Also very easy to drive around

I don't think I would want to do a do-it-yourself trip to Kruger without a guide. Ten years ago, we did Londolozi for a long weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Kruger can be Disney-ish that way since so many people do self tours. Not sure what you would want to see there if you are already doing a bush safari. The vastness is impressive but there are passenger cars, buses, trucks and vans everywhere.

Everyone does race to the sightings and they all pile up with cameras. To me it sometimes seems like nobody is there to take it all in. That's what you will experience with your guided safari, a chance to just be there in nature.

I am sure there are some guided tours that avoid the crowds in Kruger.

kruger is interesting...you may go on your own or even wwiht a guide and see almost nothing, then you may go and see thousands of animals.

Its not like a game park where they feed them in certain areas and 'control' their movements. It is completely worth it to go to kruger with a good guide and just relax...you will really be saying nature in action.

You definitely will not need more than 1/2 - 1 day at Kruger! If you get a chance, definitely stay at the Lodge there. VERY expensive, but it is an experience! Have fun!

Yes that's right Kruger National Park is one the major tourist attraction in Africa,it is the only place where you can see Big 5 in a single day.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

I don't actually think that is correct, as they have the Big 5 at Mombo. http://www.mombo.co.uk/

I would definitely recommend going with a guide instead of doing it on your own. The guides know the park well and will know where to look for game. I did the Kruger National Park 2 years ago and my guide was able to see an elephant on a hill that was over 3km away. Absolutely insane!
Also try and get up as early as you can. I was beginning safaris at 6am and its well worth getting up earlier as you see so much more. I didn't see all of the Big 5 though, which was really disappointing.