Stuck, confused, or holding a bug?
Start with the answers below. If your question isn't here, email us. A small team reads everything, and crashes get priority.
Email support
Include your device and what you were doing when it went sideways.
Getting started
Where do I get the app?
VeldGuide is in final preparation for the App Store and Google Play. If you want us to nudge you on launch day, email us.
What should I do before my trip?
Open Profile → Offline field guide and download the guide if you're on Explorer — that's the part that needs signal once and never again. Then check your gate's summer or winter closing time on the map: the drive planner works the leave-by time out for you.
Does it work outside Kruger?
VeldGuide is built specifically for Kruger National Park: its roads, camps, gates and species. The field guide is still broadly useful in the Lowveld, but the map and gate times are Kruger's own.
Offline and Explorer
How does the offline pack work?
It's an Explorer feature. One download puts the entire field guide on your phone, phone storage only, no signal required afterwards. Do it on home wifi before you fly, or over camp wifi; either works. You only need to download it once, though there's a fresh pack whenever the guide gets a meaningful update.
My pack seems out of date. How do I update it?
Open Profile → Offline field guide and download it again. It replaces the old copy. Sightings and weather need signal and always will; the guide is the part that travels with you.
What does Explorer include?
Two things: the offline field guide download, and community sightings 15 minutes after they're approved instead of 12 hours. Nothing else in the app is locked — browsing the guide, the map, gate times and the drive planner stay free.
How do I cancel Explorer?
Subscriptions are handled by the App Store or Google Play, not by us. Cancel in your store account settings; access runs to the end of the period you've already paid for. If a purchase or restore looks wrong, email us with the store receipt and we'll sort it out.
Accounts
Do I need an account?
Yes — a free account is what keeps your sightings, journal and life list with you. Nothing in the guide, map, gate times, routes or drive planner needs a subscription; Explorer is the only paid part.
What happens to my journal if I sign out?
It stays with your account. Sign back in and it's there — the journal and your life list belong to your profile, not the phone.
How do I delete my account and data?
In the app: Profile, then Delete Account at the bottom. Everything goes: your profile, your sightings, your journal, your uploaded photos. It can't be undone, and you'll be signed out on all devices. If you've lost access to the app, email us from your account address and we'll do it for you.
Driving and planning
How accurate are the travel times?
They come from SANParks' own distances and approximate travel times between camps and gates, at 25 km/h — a pace that allows for stopping. They're a planning aid, not a promise: road closures, a leopard in the road and elephants on the H4-1 all add time.
How does the drive planner work?
Add camps and gates as stops, choose how long you'll stay at each, and the planner adds up distance, driving time, stop time and the total. It compares your finish with the gate's closing time for the month and shows the time you need to leave. It's arithmetic on the phone over data that ships with the app, so it works offline.
Why does it say my drive won't fit?
With your stops and stop times, the drive arrives after the gate closes. Remove a stop, shorten the time at one, or start earlier — the plan recalculates as you edit. Winter gates close earlier than summer ones, which surprises people.
Sightings
Why isn't my sighting showing up yet?
Reports are reviewed before they appear publicly. That keeps the feed worth scrolling and keeps exact rhino locations out of circulation. Reviews are quick, but they happen when a human is awake — and Explorer shows approved sightings 15 minutes after approval rather than 12 hours later.
What makes a good sighting report?
A species, a sensible pin, and a photo if you managed one. Rough locations for sensitive animals (rhino especially) are welcome in the app where they stay within the conservation review, but please keep exact spots out of public posts anywhere.
Data and corrections
I found a wrong fact in the guide.
Please report it. Every species and camp page has a Report a correction button, and corrections from rangers, guides and visitors get fixed and shipped to everyone. If it's awkward to write in the app, email us with the page name.
Can I reuse the guide's photos or text?
Not without asking, no. The guide is VeldGuide's own work, including licensed contributions. Email us with what you want to use and where, and we'll talk.
Privacy, briefly
What do you collect?
As little as possible: an email if you make an account, the content you post, and basic technical data needed to run the service. The full detail lives in the privacy policy.
How do I ask a privacy question?
Email [email protected] with "Privacy" in the subject and it goes to the right person.