Book early — really early
SANParks rest camps in Kruger open bookings roughly 11 months out, and the best camps — Skukuza, Lower Sabie, Satara — sell out for school holidays and July within days. If you want a specific camp in peak, set a calendar reminder the day bookings open. Eleven months sounds absurd until you've tried to get a Lower Sabie riverside bungalow in August.
What you're booking
In Kruger, you're booking a hut, safari tent, or bungalow inside the park plus a daily conservation fee. Self-catering is standard; bring or buy groceries at the camp shops. Private reserves are a different product entirely — all-inclusive, game drives included, often R3,000–15,000+ per person per night.
The two booking windows
SANParks: opens ~11 months ahead, online, first-come. Private lodges: book 6–12 months ahead for July/August and Christmas; last-minute deals exist in the green summer season, but you're trading the dry, easy-viewing months for rain and thick bush.
Don't book this way
Don't book a single night anywhere — you lose a game drive to packing and driving. Two nights minimum in a rest camp, three if it's your only safari. And don't book Kruger camps in two far-apart regions on a short trip; the park is the size of Israel, and "doing both ends" costs you two days of driving inside it.