Pafuri Gate (Kruger NP)

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-National Park
There are 11 gates into Kruger, allowing visitors some flexibility in their itineraries. You should plan to arrive at the gates with enough time to reach your overnight camp, as arriving after the camp gates close will incur a stiff penalty.

The "Pafuri Gate" is one of two gates that provides entrance to the western region of the northern area of the Kruger National Park (see also Punda Maria Gate) and leads to the Pafuri zone and the Punda Maria camp, further down south. Pafuri Gate is 600km from Johannesburg, Gauteng. Follow the N1 toll road north through Tshwane (Pretoria), Polokwane (Pietersburg) and Louis Trichardt. Continue 54 km north from Louis Trichardt and turn east onto the R525.

Pafuri Gate takes you along the H1-9 directly into the northern sandveld between Limpopo and Luvuvhu Rivers. This is one of the most ecologically diverse areas of the Park and is known as the 'northern biome'. The vegetation includes a diverse mixture of South African lowveld and tropical African woodlands. Here one finds rare plants and animals that can be found nowhere else in South Africa.

In the winter, hundreds of Elephant and Buffalo invade this area. Keep an eye out for the Sharpe's grysbok and the suni antelope which may be hidden in the thickets on the river banks. You will also be able to see rare birds like the Bohms Spinetails, the African finfoot and the white crowned plover.