Signature journey · Mpumalanga · Kruger National Park
Mpumalanga & Kruger Bush Golf Safari
Where the fairway ends and the bush begins
From the mist-shrouded highlands of Dullstroom down the Drakensberg Escarpment to the Crocodile River border of Kruger — four world-class courses, Big Five game drives and the Panorama Route in one descent.
- Duration
- 6 Days / 5 Nights
- Golf
- 4 rounds + optional extras
- Fly in / out
- Kruger Mpumalanga (MQP) or O.R. Tambo
- Safari
- 1–2 game drives included
- Route
- Dullstroom → Hazyview → Malelane
- Best season
- Apr – Oct (dry, cool)
- Stay
- Boutique lodges & bush retreats
- Group size
- 2 – 20 guests
Day by day
The itinerary
01
Day
Arrival & Dullstroom Highlands
The place where the mist lives
Your golf safari begins not in the hot Lowveld but in the cool, mist-shrouded highlands. Dullstroom sits at over 2,000 metres in the Steenkampsberg range and feels more Scottish Highlands than Africa. Arrive, breathe the crisp mountain air, and let Mpumalanga work its magic from the first evening.
- StayCritchley Hackle Lodge, Dullstroom
- OptionalFly-fishing on the estate's private trout dams
- EveningDinner by log fires in the lodge dining room
02
Day
Highland Gate — Ernie Els Signature
High altitude golf above the clouds
Eighteen kilometres from Dullstroom, Highland Gate winds through indigenous high-altitude grassland, stone koppies and natural trout dams. Ernie Els compared the site to Gleneagles. Then the dramatic Escarpment descent drops you into the warm, lush Lowveld.
- CourseHighland Gate Golf & Trout Estate — SA Top 100
- StayJatinga Country Lodge, White River (2 nights)
- MealsBreakfast & lunch included
03
Day
Panorama Route + White River CC
Canyon country & Lowveld parkland
The morning belongs to the Panorama Route along the Drakensberg Escarpment — God's Window, Blyde River Canyon, Bourke's Luck Potholes — before an afternoon round on the mature, tropical parkland of White River Country Club.
- Tee time13:00 – 14:00
- IncludedGreen fee, shared cart
- EveningDinner at Oliver's Restaurant
04
Day
Sabi River Sun + safari evening
Hippos, hornbills & the Sabie River
Fairways wind along the Sabie River and resident hippos inhabit the water hazards. The par-3 16th plays alongside a hippo dam where they surface metres from the tee. After golf, transfer into a private game reserve for your first Big Five drive and a boma dinner under the stars.
- CourseSabi River Sun Golf Club, Hazyview
- StayLeopard Hills, Sabi Sand
- MealsBreakfast, lunch & all lodge meals
05
Day
Dawn safari + Leopard Creek
Africa's greatest golf experience
The centrepiece. Leopard Creek sits on the southern border of Kruger, separated from one of the world's great wilderness areas only by the Crocodile River. Gary Player design, consistently ranked South Africa's number one course, and host of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
- CourseLeopard Creek Country Club — SA #1
- MorningDawn game drive before the round
- StayBuhala Lodge, Malelane
06
Day
Skukuza + farewell
Golf inside Kruger National Park
A round at Skukuza Golf Course, inside Kruger itself. Completely unfenced. Warthogs in the bunkers, hippos on the fairways, impala on the greens. Golf at its most elemental — and the perfect final chapter.
- DepartureSkukuza → MQP (90 min) or O.R. Tambo (4.5 hrs)
- MealsBreakfast included
Course spotlight
Bucket list — Leopard Creek
Listed in Golf Digest's World's 100 Greatest Courses. From the clubhouse terrace you can watch the 18th green while elephants cross the Crocodile River into Kruger. Golf Digest called it the golf world's greatest wildlife experience.
Included
- 5 nights in boutique lodges & bush camps
- 4 rounds of golf with green fees and carts where applicable
- Private air-conditioned transfers throughout
- Panorama Route guided excursion
- Big Five game drives with certified guides
- Daily breakfast, lunches on all golf days
- Welcome dinner and boma bush dinners
- Golf Africa Safaris representative & concierge support
Not included
- International / domestic flights
- Travel insurance (mandatory)
- Personal caddies (upgrade available)
- Kruger conservation fees (approx. R450 per person per day)
- Alcoholic beverages unless specified
- Additional dinners on Days 2, 3 & 5
- Gratuities and personal expenditure
- Helicopter transfers (available as upgrade)
Optional add-ons
Extra safari nights
Extend at Leopard Hills, Ulusaba or Sabi Sands — 2 or 3 night packages with further golf at Leopard Creek.
Helicopter transfers
Swap road time for escarpment and Lowveld flights between courses and lodges.
Fly-fishing guiding
Guided trout sessions on the Dullstroom highland dams with rods provided.
Beyond the fairway
Things to do on this route
WildlifeSunset game drive, Kruger
The Big Five hour, straight after your round
Open-vehicle drive out of Skukuza or a private concession as the heat drops. Lion move onto the roads, elephant come down to drink and the spotlight goes on for leopard and hyena on the way back. Sundowners in the bush are part of the deal.
3–4 hours
SceneryThe Panorama Route
Blyde River Canyon, God's Window and Bourke's Luck
The drive between Dullstroom and the Lowveld is one of the great scenic roads on the continent — the third-largest canyon on earth, waterfalls at Lisbon and Berlin Falls, and the potholes at Bourke's Luck carved out where two rivers meet.
Half to full day
WaterFly fishing in Dullstroom
Trout water at 2,000 metres, ten minutes from the first tee
Dullstroom is South Africa's trout capital and Highland Gate has still water on the estate. Guides, rods and flies are arranged; catch-and-release is the norm. Add a whisky tasting in the village afterwards.
2–4 hours
WaterSabie River & Hazyview
Hippo, crocodile and the river that runs through the golf
The Sabie River edges the Sabi River Sun fairways and carries on into Kruger. Walk the banks with a guide, or take a boat stretch where hippo pods sit up in the shallows and fish eagles work the channel.
2 hours
WildlifeGuided bush walk
Big Five country on foot, with armed rangers
Two rangers, six guests, no vehicle. Tracking is the point — dung, prints, alarm calls — and the encounters you do get, with rhino or buffalo at ground level, land completely differently to a drive.
3 hours
Make it yours
Group sizes, hotel grades, tee times, extra safari nights and course swaps — every element of this itinerary is customisable.