Pabeni Gate Kruger National Park

Pabeni Gate Kruger National Park

Pabeni Gate Kruger National Park
4
Points of Interest & Landmarks
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
6:00 AM - 5:30 PM
About
Duration: More than 3 hours
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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles125 reviews
Excellent
63
Very good
38
Average
15
Poor
2
Terrible
7

Bazmon66
Hazyview, South Africa1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022
I am appalled by the service received from SANPARKS and Phabeni gate in particular.

I’ve been trying for two weeks to book a night drive at Phabeni gate.
I was told that they need at least four people to book before the drive will take place.
I informed the gate that we will book for four guests. I was even prepared to pay for all the seats on the vehicle and told them that!
After numerous phone calls I was told on the day that they had no bookings!
When I said that they did have a booking for four guests, I was told that they had no guide available!! It was almost as if they changed the reason not to do the drive.

The gate staff's attitude is that they do customers a favour every time they answer the phone or respond to a query.
They keep telling you that they will call back, never to do so. When one calls them again the last person you spoke to has gone for the day!

I am not surprised that the park is in the sorry state it is in. We constantly have to hear that there is no funding, but when people try to book and pay for activities it is made impossible by their staff.
Written 26 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KARUNA DAY SPA
Limpopo National Park, Mozambique4 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Family
We are regular visitors to the knp and often enter through open gate which is an absolute pleasure.

However on the 28th august we entered through Phabeni gate and we were completely disappointed with the lack of organization at this beautiful entry gate. Staff are completely incompetent. The gate was extremely busy..However there was no staff directing visitors or explaining the check in procedures.. which left guests confused and irritated. To further add to this..there was only one cashier.

2hours later we eventually entered the park after a very frustrating wait. Will definitely avoid this gate in future and will stick to orpen!!!!
Written 29 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Fastidi0us
Cape Town Central, South Africa148 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
The gate itself is not the attraction (hence only a 4 star rating and not 5 as it would have been for the Park itself) but it is a convenient gate through which to enter the Kruger National Park. It is close to the town of Hazyview which is also convenient if you are staying in the Park as you may stock up with provisions there before entering. The road to this gate, though not great, is better than some other entrances (e.g. Numbi gate). The staff are generally pleasant but be patient as at peak times (early mornings and in season) it can be very busy.
Written 2 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

KDVienna
vienna74 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2024 • Family
We have been through this gate twice this week, very fast and efficient. The staff are friendly and there is bathrooms to use. We were given a map of the park and will definitely be coming back.

We arrived the first morning at 5.15 am and the second day after 7.30 am. Very little cars and was most pleasant.
Written 31 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brad
Hong Kong, China177,459 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
We recently visited Kruger National Park for a week, exiting on our last day out the Phabeni Gate just east of Hazyview. The exit process was smooth and quick just like the handful of days we exiting out of Crocodile Bridge Gate when returning to the resort earlier in the week.

There is a small carpark just before the gate where you find public toilets, information centre, wildlife sightings board as well as a small gift shop/kiosk. There are a handful of picnic tables here as well.

Just inside the gate, there is an interesting Albasini Ruins heritage stop as well, this is worth a few minutes of your time as well, perhaps at the end of your morning game drive before exiting the park.
Written 23 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Henry T
Stow, MA159 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019
Kruger National Park in South Africa is typically rated as the best national park in Africa. There the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo) still wander freely. Beyond that, other equally wondrous mammals and birds abound there making it a budding naturalist’s dream come true.

We entered via the Pabeni Gate entry point. Though subsequent entries for our self-drive experience went through Numbi Gate.

At the gate entry point our vehicle was checked for weapons and traps by the park guards. We were being checked for anything that could debilitate or kill a larger mammal. Why? Poaching is big business and, in particular, the rhino is in peril. Some 1,028 rhinos were illegally killed in 2017 for their horns which allegedly are considered medicinal in some Asian countries.

Park visitors are issued a variety of warnings upon entry. The biggest precaution is to not leave your vehicle. Otherwise, you could end up being dinner for a lioness. You can, however, leave your vehicle at the various designated rest stops and concessionaires.

Immediately upon entry, we saw an eland who had a friendly Oxpecker bird pecking and cleaning his client. Then herd after herd of impala (the antelope not the Chevy). And who knew there were so many varieties of antelope? It is an art to distinguish the fine line differences of say a Nyala versus a Kudu.

As we drove through the park at about 15 mph, we looked for waterholes where you can see herds of Cape buffalo. If you are patient and have binoculars, you inevitably will see hippos in the waterholes enjoying the cool of the water.

The terrain of the park is varied but largely rolling plains of grasses, intersecting streams and watering holes, stone outcroppings and stands of trees. Seeing acres of wildebeest, zebra, impala and giraffe herding, grazing and sometimes just relaxing, is a stunning sight.

The giraffes peer out from over bushes and smaller trees. Their grace, beauty and size are a miracle of adaptation. If you’re quiet and approach very slowly, you can get close enough to smell them and pick out distinctions in their markings and faces.

Thankfully, routes through the park are well marked and easy-to-use maps are available at the gate area. We charted a route by the Sabie River where we saw herd after herd of African elephant wandering, bathing and feeding.

On that day we also encountered a number of elephants either slow walking at the roadside or causing a traffic jam full of awe inspired tourists.

My favorite sightings came at the end of our second self drive excursion. We approached a Marula tree that had two cars parked next to it. We could barely make out the outline of an African leopard. He then stood up from his restful pose and dropped about 10 feet to the ground and walked among the vehicles. We were all breathless with excitement at that point.

The other much appreciated sighting, which was simply fun to observe, was a pair of Wild Dogs lounging on the road along with their entourage of tourists. They were so comfortable as all the various tourists clicked away at their tranquil nonchalance. They were clearly lounging in the late heat of the day. They squeezed out a couple of yawns, occasionally scratched, but for the most part remained relaxed and unperturbed.

There were so many more sightings and joyful moments full of wonder that I could present but one must stop somewhere. Rather I’ll conclude by saying that most top of the food chain animals are under serious assault. Rhinos are poached for their horns as a supposed aphrodisiac in some Asian nations. Giraffes are hunted for their meat and, sadly, are an animal that can be hunted for trophies in some African nations. Elephants continue to be slaughtered for their tusks… and on and on.
Because of the immense poverty in many African nations, the lure of quick and significant cash obtained by poaching is seemingly irresistible. The situation is exacerbated by climate change which inevitably either brings flooding or droughts.
There are so many non-profits that are hoping to ameliorate the situation. World Wildlife Fund, Save the Elephants, International Rhino Fund are just a few of the charities/non-profit groups that are hoping to preserve many of the species that are under assault.

Let’s hope that our children and their children will continue to see the miracles of creation that so many of our animals of the land, sea and sky present.
Written 7 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

karen c
Mpumalanga, South Africa81 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2019
this has been my tenth time into the park via this gate, but the first time I was so annoyed, I'm not sure why I had to que to going to the office and complete forms when i had booked in advance, what was the purpose of online booking.

the animals were majestic , lovely beautiful peaceful surroundings. The big five is there you just need to spot them.

the restaurant at the main camp skukuza has limited option for vegetarian, don't expect much, cheese and tomoto is all you will get, not sure why they don't cater for all kinds of people seeing that the park has thousands of visitors all year round.

overall a good visit but not the best one due to manpower at the front gate and their administrative issues.
Written 4 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

PaulK46A
Cape Town, South Africa15 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2017 • Family
Pabeni is one of the newer gates, closest to Hazyview and a popular day visitor entry point to the Kruger Park. In winter the gates open at 06:00 (05:30 in summer months), but if you arrive around that time in peak season, you could easily wait in queue for up to two hours (thanks to SANParks' antiquated, manual entry procedure). If you want to enter early, make sure that you are in the queue really early! Also keep in mind that , in peak season, Pabeni Gate (and Numbi Gate) typically reach their day visitor quota by mid-morning, so either book ahead to secure your entry (google "SANParks Advanced Bookings for Day Visitors" to get the detail), or consider one of the other gates that normally carry less entry traffic (e.g. Kruger Gate, 46km from Pabeni).
Written 24 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Violetvz
East London, South Africa711 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2020
We stayed outside the park and were at the gate every morning at 6am... One morning the staff had not arrived and we all had to que at the office and it took 45 minutes! I understand staff problems with transport etc... but the guy at the entrance with the forms could easily have said : Sorry - we have a problem the staff transport is late .... He said : go to the office! I said but we have a green card ... he just sent us to the long line of disgruntled people... Please remember that this does not build tourism.
Written 18 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chris P
Cape Town11 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Family
We set off from our accommodation in Hazyview at 5:00am. and arrived at the Gate at 5:30. There were already 20-30 vehicles in the queue. When we reached the front of the queue, security was strict and professional. I would highly recommend purchasing a SAN Parks Wildcard which allows free access to Kruger and many other Parks..
Written 30 October 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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