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I’ve been going to the KNP since I was 3months old and have had a lot of stories and sightings relayed to me throughout the years…
The first special sighting that comes to mind (when I asked my mom about it she was taken aback that I actually remembered!) was a caracal that was sitting in a rock crevasse with his silhouette clearly visible.
Don't know where in the park but I must have been 3 or 4 at that stage.
I was wondering what was the earliest sightings at a young age that other forumites can remember...

The one early memory for me was when I was probably around 4/5 years old and we were staying in Letaba when an elephant wandered into the camp one night.

Obviously lots of excitement and chaos as the elephant was herded out by staff.

I was around 7 years old when I first visited the park.
We stayed at Skukuza,
I remember visiting the hyenas on the fence line every night..
I was stupid enough to quickly touch the nose of one of them poking through the fence and stuck the end of my torch through the fence and had it severely bent by those powerful jaws.
That is just about the only animal I remember seeing on my 1st trip.

I have a video of when I was only 3 years old, showing a pack of wild dogs in the road in front of us. I had a little animal card that showed all the animals to help a little kid like me ID them. I was convinced that they were a pack of hyaenas

I think my earliest memory of KNP is swimming at the Shingwedzi pool with a big bull elephant feeding right next to the fence (on the other side of course)

There's one sighting that still lays fresh in my memory. I was about 7 or 8 years old and remembered seeing a big Leopard crossing the road. That's one sighting that will remain with me forever and also the sighting that got me hooked to KNP!

Cheetah with I think 4 cubs eating an impala dont know where when or how old I was.Might be pics in my dads collection will have a look if their is I will scan them and post them

My very first sighting, not counting mozzies and such, was a rhino, less than 100 meters into Kruger, at Malelane gate.
Zero photos made, it was a little too far away to my liking, and I was going to see more of them anyway. Or so I assumed. (I was right.)

I remember my first sighting vividly...
it was in 2005 (on my first visit to the park -
Dad had regaled us with stories for years and we were sooo excited about seeing game ourselves).
We were just crossing the low water bridge at Crocodile Bridge, literally seconds into the park, and I looked to me right and was utterly amazed to see a big bull elephant standing maybe 20 metres away in the dry river bed.
I cannot repeat on this forum the words that escaped involuntarily from my lips -
it was just awesome to see the size of an African ellie so close up!!

What a great introduction to the park and it's never disappointed me ever since!!

I have another 'first' sighting worth mentioning:
For several reasons, I didn't go to Kruger for about 12 years (I was regularly going to other places though).
I eventually made it back in July 2007, the first time without my parents.
I was in a bit of a funk mentally (due to some woman trouble) and really needed a break.

Anyway, upon arriving at Paul Kruger Gate, driving across the bridge there was a bull elephant feeding next to the river and a Bateleur soaring overhead.
This was before we drove through the gate.
Was very refreshing for the soul

My first Kruger sighting I remember were lions walking next to our car on the tar road outside Berg-en-Dal, and 2 mating leopards along the Sabie river... must be somewhere around 1996

A huge Ellie chasing us I was 6 and crying like I was 1.
and then I didn't go for 20 years and the first time back. Impala

Strange nobody mentioning that. 'But after the impala (starting to think that is the only animals) a Tsessebe.
On the Voortrekker road.

1st and last sighting of this stunning animal.

While we were working in South Africa in the late 70's we took two overseas visitors for a weekend.
It was the time of petrol restrictions but with a few extra litres in a spare tank we were able to spend a night in Skukuza.
Shortly after arriving one of our visitors shouted "Stop!!! There's a thingy on the wotsit...!!!"
He had only spotted a wild dog on a rock by the road side.
As we waited and watched I think we counted about 10.
It was the one and only time we have seen wild dogs in the KNP proper.

My first ever camp I stayed in was Crocodile bridge and that camp always has a special memory for me, especially when the first animal I saw had to be a croc when crossing the bridge. Strange but true, when I think of it, the last animal I saw was also a croc when leaving through Malelane gate!
If this may be considered to be just outside the park, then I would have to say that my first sighting within the park had to be Impala.

I have been privileged to have been going to Kruger since birth.
My folks just love the place!
I think I was about 3 or 4 year old, playing with my brother in the sand around the rondavels in Letaba/Satara.
A man walked up to us and took photo's:
guess what - we made the cover of the Custos Magazine!!
Yeah, if you can get the copy you can pretty much figure out how old I am