Crocodile Bridge gate
The Kruger gate most Marloth Park guests use: how far it is, when it opens, what's at the gate and how to get through quickly on busy days.
Last checked 26 October 2026
Crocodile Bridge is the closest Kruger gate to Marloth Park: 14-17 km by road depending on where you're staying, or about 20 min. It keeps the same hours as every other Kruger gate, opening at 05:30 from October to March and 06:00 from April to September. See gate times for the closing time this month.
Getting there from Marloth Park
Crocodile Bridge is Kruger's most easterly gate, near Komatipoort and the Mozambique border. It's about 14-17 km east of Marloth Park, depending on where you start, and the drive takes about 20 minutes. If you leave in the dark, locals advise telling security at the Marloth Park boom gate, and your host, where you're going.
To reach the gate you cross the Crocodile River on a low-level bridge, and when the river floods, the gate can close: after the floods in January 2026, SANParks closed Crocodile Bridge to day visitors until 22 January. If the gate is shut, Malelane gate is the other way in, 35-39 km from Marloth.
Hours
Crocodile Bridge has no hours of its own. It follows the general Kruger times, which change with the seasons. In November, for example, it opens at 05:30 and closes at 18:30. The full table is on the gate times page, with a page for each month.
The gate's phone number is +27 13 735 6012.
Paying at the gate
You pay the daily conservation fee at the gate on each day you go in. From 1 November 2026 that's R140 for a South African adult; Kruger fees has the full list. Wild Card holders show the card and ID instead.
Crocodile Bridge has been a cash-free gate since December 2025, so bring a bank card.
What's at the gate
Crocodile Bridge rest camp is a short way from the gate. It has a small shop with essentials, takeaways and coffee, but no restaurant. SANParks sunrise, sunset and night drives leave from the camp, and you can book them online even if you're staying in Marloth.
The camp has a fuel station, but SANParks closed it for maintenance in October 2025 and we haven't been able to confirm that it has reopened. Fill up before you go.
The road to Lower Sabie
The usual drive is north from the gate to Lower Sabie camp on the Sabie River. The main route is the H4-2, a tar road of 34 km that passes the Gomondwane waterhole. It was the first road built in Kruger and is rated one of the park's best game-viewing drives.
The S28 (Nhlowa Road) is a gravel alternative that heads north-east across the grasslands below the Lebombo hills and joins the H4-2 further north. Heading west, the S25 (Crocodile River Road) follows the river towards Biyamiti and Malelane. Its first turn-off, the S27, goes to Hippo Pools, 8 km from the gate, where there are San rock paintings near the pool.
In July 2026 most of Kruger's gravel roads were still closed after the January floods. Ask at the gate which gravel roads are open before you plan a loop. For a full day out, see a Kruger day trip from Marloth.
Queues and quota days
Outside school holidays there's usually a short queue to fill in the paperwork and few delays. SANParks caps the number of day visitors each gate lets in, and the cap is mostly reached in school holidays and over long weekends. In school holidays Crocodile Bridge can reach its quota on most days, sometimes by 07:00, and getting in can take an hour.
In the 2025/26 festive season, day visitors could pre-book online for a non-refundable fee of R59 per adult and choose an arrival slot. Once the gate was full, only pre-booked visitors got in. The 2026/27 dates and fee hadn't been announced when we checked. Quotas and pre-booking explains how it works.
On busy days, be at the gate before it opens, have your ID or passport and Wild Card ready, and pre-book if SANParks has opened bookings.
Crocodile Bridge or Malelane
From Marloth Park, Crocodile Bridge is the shorter drive and the way to Lower Sabie and the south-east. If you want Berg-en-Dal or the H3 road to Skukuza in the south-west, Malelane gate puts you closer.