South Africa Safari Top Five National Parks and Game Reserves
A South Africa safari is the ideal wildlife trip to go on
because the infrastructure and accommodation is superb in all
the wildlife parks there and it is still highly affordable in
comparison to other African countries.
But given a choice some of the national parks and game reserves
are better than others.
Here is a top five list ranking them according to travel reports
received at the African Safari Journals website, my safari
experience of twenty plus years, industry forums, magazines and
the general consensus of the experts.
1. Kruger NP
The Kruger National Park has to rank as one of the best South
Africa safari destinations, only slightly behind the Masai Mara
and Serengeti when it comes to wildlife viewing because the
vegetation in Kruger can be dense and sometimes mars the ability
to see longer distances.
But the variety of animals, birds and ecosystems that you can
experience here are unparalleled anywhere else in Africa and the
accommodation, roads and facilities are top notch and all at a
very affordable price.
It's not unusual to see lion, leopard, cheetah, a pack of wild
dog, rhino, elephant, buffalo and a whole host of antelope,
crocodile and hippo in the course of a single trip including a
variety of insects and reptiles.
On the bird front you will be spoiled with a seemingly
never-ending supply of eagles, hawks, water birds and a host of
migratory and indigenous species to the tune of about 510
different varieties.
You can easily do a self drive safari here and still see a
decent amount of wildlife especially if you stick to the central
and southern portions of this massive park (larger than
Ireland). The north has fewer animals due to dryer conditions
but also less tourists which makes for a more isolated and
intimate wildlife experience.
If variety is the spice of life then a South Africa safari in
the Kruger National Park is a rich dish indeed.
2. Sabi Sands GR
Sharing a fenceless border on the western side of the Kruger
National Park is the Sabi Sands game reserve which has a number
of world famous private concessions like Mala Mala, Sabi Sabi
and Londelozi.
The removal of the fence between the two parks allows the
animals to move around freely and the game viewing experience is
just as in the Kruger National with one important difference.
Because this reserve is privately held, off road game tracking
is allowed which improves your chances of finding the elusive
big cats, elephant, rhino, buffalo and wild dog to a large
degree. They also make use of two way radios in each safari
vehicle so that if one finds something noteworthy the others can
be alerted.
The sand and sabi rivers which bisect the reserve provide the
focal point which attracts the wildlife to the area especially
in the dry season.
So viewing the big cats on a South Africa safari here is
virtually guaranteed and the accommodation is some of the best
in the world as illustrated by the Singita lodge which was the
first and only accommodation in the history of the Conde Nast
Gold List Reader Poll to get a perfect 100 score, an honour it
has held for three years. There are about thirty different top
class lodges situated in the reserve.
But this all comes at a price and unless you have reasonably
deep pockets this fantastic reserve will be out of reach which
is why it doesn't get the Nr one ranking for South Africa safari
national parks and reserves.
3. Hluhluwe Umfolozi NP
If you want to see the endangered black and white rhinos in the
wild then this is the park to head for because this is where the
inexorable tide to extinction for the white rhino in Southern
Africa was stemmed.
It now boasts the largest population of white rhino in the world
numbering over 1600 and also a slowly increasing population of
black rhino at just over 400.
On a South Africa safari here you will also be able to see lion,
leopard, buffalo, elephant and cheetah in this park and more
than 400 bird species have been recorded. Due to the large
number of resident elephants you might have some close
encounters with them on the roads as they cross in front of you.
You can go for a daily walk in the park in the company of an
armed ranger or you can do a several day extended hike in the
southern umfolozi portion.
4. Madikwe GR
This is a latter day Noah's ark story because most of the
wildlife contained in this park was relocated here from other
areas in 1991.
Twenty seven different species amounting to over 10 000 head of
game were re-introduced into this area where they once thrived
but had disappeared because of hunting and habitat destruction.
A huge advantage of taking a South Africa safari in this park is
that it is not situated in a malaria area so you don't have to
bother about taking malaria tablets as you do in most other
reserves.
All of the big five are on view here as well as cheetah and the
rare wild dog packs which are the stars of the show here being
regularly sighted patrolling their huge territories. Your
chances of seeing them seem to be better here than most other
parks.
Rare antelope like the eland, gemsbok and sable put in an
appearance here too and you will be able to enjoy your wildlife
viewing in relative peace and isolation because not many
tourists know about this excellent game reserve.
5. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The locals know that this is an excellent game park and it falls
into that "best kept secret" category that each country seems to
have where for some unknown reason a reserve doesn't get the
notice from tourists and safari companies that it deserves.
Maybe it's because this reserve is set in the Kalahari desert
and people don't normally associate deserts with lots of
wildlife but there are always exceptions to the rule and this
South Africa safari park qualifies.
You can see some pretty specialised and very interesting game
here such as the gemsbok antelope which can go for months
without water, springbok, blue wildebeest, eland and red
hartebeest.
And wherever there is a good supply of antelope, the predators
are never far away such as the black maned lions which this area
has a disproportionate supply off, leopard and cheetah which can
make full use of the wide open spaces to chase their prey at top
speed.
The meerkat (suricate) is also regularly seen here and bat eared
foxes contribute to the scavenging duties.
This South Africa park is famous for birds of prey such as the
pygmy falcon and the sociable weaver which builds nests which
are the bird equivalent of apartment blocks that are sometimes
so big they break the branches they rest on.