Probably my best bird sighting ever was one that, only much later, I realised how amazing it was: a crowned eagle swooping down to snatch a vervet monkey from the top of one of large Natal mahoganies at Hippo Pools near Pretoriuskop. For a 10-year-old saturated with adventure books, this appeared to be an everyday thing. I've never had a bird sighting quite so dramatic since.

Other memorable sightings have been a huge flock of eastern red-footed kestrels picking migrating grasshoppers off the road near Babalala picnic site, which I was lucky enough to share with my own bird-mad son; a purple roller doing battle with an enormous hairy spider on the Voortrekker Road; my first painted snipe at the Pafuri picnic site; a group of several gigantic saddle-bill storks probing the shallows of the Levuvhu River. There's a list of around 480 to keep you busy when the game is all off somewhere in the bush sleeping.

The first rondavels were built in the early 1930s and they reflected the isolated and Spartan conditions in which the biltong-tough rangers lived: wattle, mud and thatch, with one door and no windows. Over the years they did become more comfortable, but the first modern camp built was Berg-en-Dal, in 1984. If the camp and gardens haven't won an architectural or landscape gardening award, someone slipped up.

It's one of only six rest camps that has a swimming pool. The buildings are all angular, dark clinker brick and there is also a camp site on the 'far' side. The focus of camp is the Rhino Trail that meanders under spreading riverine trees along a dam. It has resident crocodiles, fish eagles nest above and, depending on the season, is used by many more animals.

The park was opened to visitors in 1927. A few cars visited that year and they all headed for Numbi Gate and Pretoriuskop, the first rest camp. Black-and-white prints in the reception give you an idea what a trip to the park used to be like: no luxuries, shops or petrol stations; in fact not much but cold water tanks and camp sites. Today you'll get a smile and free glass of chilled fruit juice at reception.

It was mid-May when we chose to research the Southern Kruger National Park, generally a very quite time, being early winter and between major holidays, as well as after the overseas tourism season, or so we had presumed. First stop in the south was supposed to be Lower Sabie: it's supposed to be the best, together with Satara, for game viewing in the whole park.

Long ago, already, the Kruger National Park's faithful dubbed the Southern Kruger Park "The Circus" for all the people and animals, the Central Kruger Park were "The Zoo" for all the predators and prey, and the Northern Kruger Park was "The Wilderness" for its relative lack of both. David Bistrow first visited the south as a child some 40 years ago, and returned with his children to see if the magic was still there.

If you asked the park regulars to identify the single, very best place to see game, chances are they'd say the H4 between Lower Sabie and Skukuza.

There's nothing quite like the thrill of the first leopard sighting. Nocturnal, secretive and with a distaste for humans, leopards are the megatick encounter in Kruger. Mine was a big male snoozing on an outstretched limb of a large leadwood on the S28 just near Nhlambanyathi Hide. It was picture perfect but seemed disinclined to move. I watched and waited. Other drivers got bored and left. Then sky behind it darkened and the first spatters of rain hit the windscreen. The leopard sat up, clearly irritated, its ears flat. Then it picked its way along the branch and leapt down the tree. I just kept my camera shutter clicking.

It's a toss up between the stairway to the pub through the arms of a jackal-berry tree or the tradition of the famous Jock of the Bushveld and statue of the plucky dog arguing with a sable that makes Jock Safari Camp so special. It's the oldest of the private concessions and has got the balance between smart service and bush comfort just right. All the rooms have a river view (but it's often dry) and round about the 6000-hectare concession are beautiful granite koppies, some of which have rock art. Sundowners on a koppie - yes, it's part of the deal. There's a standalone lodge nearby named Little Jock with three luxury suites. The staff is friendly and there's a special kids' program.

It may be odd to single out one rondavel in the whole of southern Kruger as the best, but Number 9 at Crocodile Bridge is worthy of praise. It's in the corner of the rest camp facing the Crocodile River and, sitting on the stoep, you have no sense that there's anyone else around. Hippos graze just beyond the fence, hyenas patrol the perimeter just metres from where you sit and buffaloes wallow in the cool river water. You crack a beer, put your feet up and just know that you're in one of the most extraordinary places on the planet.

After riding Kruger's road network for a while and staring sideways into the bush looking for beasties, a desire starts growing to get out there into the wilderness. Near Pretoriuskop, there's a 4x4 trail that does just that. The Madlabantu (Man-eater) Trail circles the camp, using a combination of visitor roads and off-road paths, beginning at the Fayi Loop. For me, the highlights were the huge bushveld trees and looming granite whalebacks that seemed to attract kudus, buffaloes and perky klipspringers. The trail can be booked at Pretoriuskop reception.

In the old days before the park had a reputation, the railway line used to run through Skukuza from Delgoa Bay to Hoed-spruit over the Sabie River bridge. To get publicity for the new park, its first warden, Stevenson-Hamilton, got the railways to agree to stop on the bridge for a picnic. This alerted thousands of people to the potential for game sightings. Today the line runs around the park and the only remnant is the Skukuza Station which has been turned into a restaurant, complete with coffee-pot engine and coaches.

Lake Panic bird hide near Skukuza provides secret views of a hippo- and croc-filled dam which is a magnet for birds of all stripes. Big raptors, herons, jacanas, thick-knees, kingfishers, ducks and many more inhabit the convenient dead leadwoods and thick surrounding bush, or dart around on the lily pads. Best sightings are early morning or sunset. One story is that Lake Panic got its name from a year in which the river feeding it flooded and threatened to break the wall. If it had, that would have been the end of the golf course and staff village. There are other versions — it depends on who's telling the story.

The H2-2 connects Pretoriuskop to Afsaal and was the road taken by wagons from the coast through Komatipoort to Graskop and Hoedspruit. It skirts Ship Mountain, which was a popular camping spot for transport riders in the 1800s, and along the way is a plaque at the spot where Percy Fitzpatrick's famous dog, Jock, was born. It's a great route for sightings of leopards, wild dogs, lions, white rhinos, elephants and kudus.

In the 1870s, there was a trading store along the Voortrekker road run by Thomas Hart. Between wagons, he got so lonely he tamed a variety of creatures, including a cheetah, honey badger, jackal, monkeys, parrots and snakes.

This is almost a Kruger secret, the sort of place booked by old hands who know. It's a small, beautifully situated camp different from the main ones and tucked away along a sandy river lined with jackal-berries. There are 15 bungalows and a bird hide overlooking the Biyamiti River. It's a good spot to see orange-breasted and grey-headed bush shrikes, striped and Diderick cuckoos, scarlet-chested sunbirds, woodland kingfishers and fiery-necked nightjars. There are morning walks and dawn and sunset drives where you're bound to see exciting game. I ended up so close to lazing lions I could have leaned down and stroked them. The camp is close to a fortified settlement built several hundred years ago by Shangaan settlers
moving east from Mozambique.

Lower Sabie's absolute gem is its wide deck around the restaurant complex which overlooks the Sabie River. You can watch hippos, elephants, rhinos or other great beasts while you dine or sip sundowners to the iconic cry of a fish eagle. There are 22 self-catering luxury tents and a lodge, which provide comfort and all you'll need in the kitchen. There's a good chance of seeing the Big Five near Lower Sabie. Try Duke's Water Hole on the S137 where a lion pride often hangs out. There are also sightings of cheetah and wild dog.

Skukuza is the 'capital' of the park and buzzes with action. There are two restaurants - one in the old station - a museum and research library with lots of history. The food at the main restaurant was good. Accommodation is in typical, air-conditioned Kruger rondavels with a kitchen on the veranda, two single beds with bathroom en suite. Unless it's too hot or cold, the veranda is where you'll spend your evenings. It's austere but perfectly adequate as you perch beneath thatch, leaning against a leadwood pillar, beer in hand watching the stars appear.

At nearby Lake Panic is Skukuza golf course, one of the very few on earth which comes with a predator warning: when a lion or leopard is spotted, a siren wails, clearing the fairways. There are plenty of croc-inhabited water traps and you have to be careful not to drop an impala with a good drive.
The clubhouse is a magnificent place to take a sundowner and watch wild animals and tame humans in mutual avoidance manoeuvres.