Think of the sound of your heartbeat echoing through the vast lands as you slowly approach a lion in their natural habitat…The sound of your foot crunching through the grass as you get closer to an elephant eating…The trickles of sweat on your forehead as you connect and become one with nature…
Exploring natural reserves and parks is a truly transformative experience, it is exploration in its utmost purest form, a raw connection with the wild. You’ve probably encountered wildlife before, seen a lion or two at a zoo, maybe even visited a national park, but I guarantee you, South Africa is the epitome of unparalleled experiences.
Being in South Africa is bound to heighten your sense of primitiveness and your pleasure. It’s a chance for you to leave the world behind and move at the pace of nature. Watch a herd of elephants go on their way, a leopard preying on an animal, and a cheetah calling for its mates.
Go back to your lodge and talk about your life-changing experience around the warm flickers of a fire, and sleep amidst the nature under star-crammed skies.
South Africa’s nature reserve and national parks have long been topping the lists of the best in the world. With incredible scenery, great activities and unparalleled game viewing, there is no doubt that South Africa holds a great experience for you.
From the snow-capped mountains, to the deserts and forests, the terrain in South Africa is highly versatile. It is no doubt that in South Africa you will experience the magic of wildlife encounters that touch the soul, natural beauty and breath-taking landscapes.
It is after all, a world in one country, and there are over 20 national parks. That might be quite an overwhelming piece of information, but in this article I’ve listed the top 5 national parks and game reserves you can visit for the wildlife break.
Kruger National Park
This is the kind of place you visit that puts you in your place and fills you with feelings of pure, utter awe. One “wow!” moment after the other, you’ll find yourself dumbfounded by the splendor of this national park.
It’s the oldest and largest area of undisturbed national bush in all of South Africa, the king of all game parks there. Without a doubt, this is the place you go to for the best game-viewing experience in all of Africa.
You’ll find your safari fantasies fulfilled as you go through the granite hills that surround the savannah and experience the majesty of the wildlife. I’m telling you, it’ll be hard not to feel like you’ve just fallen into a National Geographic documentary.
With over 2 million hectares, the Kruger scenes are straight out of a movie, with wild untouched landscapes, and a large number of wild animals. The animals in the park are allowed to follow ancient migration routes adding to the sense of adventure.
You’ll find all types of animals – the Big Five, giraffes, leopards, and over 147 mammals, 2000 plants, 118 reptiles and 517 birds. While this might sound overwhelming, it really is a life-changing experience.
Succumb to the wilderness, explore the diverse range of habitats that live there, and enjoy the largest variety of game animals in all of South Africa.
Tips: Try going from June to October, since this offers a better game viewing experience. This is due to the fact that water is mostly concentrated in a few places at those times.
Also, do not expect to be on your own in the park, this is, after all, the biggest and most popular wild reserve. You’ll be sharing the park with approximately 5000 visitors a day.
Tip: To reach Kruger National Park, you need to land at one of the three airports that serve the park, then take a connecting flight to there. You can do all that with FLYSAFAIR as they offer a wide range of routes and destinations.
Sabi Sands
If you’re looking for a private game reserve, then the Sabi Sands is definitely the most famous one. Sabi Sands has been the birthplace of sustainable wildlife tourism, and it offers an unbeatable game viewing experience.
Sabi Sands is quite exclusive, and what’s interesting about it is the fact that it has unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park. This allows for the natural, free movement of wildlife in and out the reserve, and the ultimate Big Five experience.
Animals freely wandering around 65 000 hectares of bushveld and vast stretches of grazing land is a normal sight to see. A herd of 1000 buffalo roaming around? Completely normal. The Big Five normally going their own ways? Also completely normal. An in immense number of leopards in their natural habitat? You got it!
The Sabi Sands can be explored in many different ways, from game driving, walking safaris and night safaris. It’s the optimum place for roughing it in the morning, then going back to your luxurious accommodation at night.
What you’ll see: There are over 330 plant species, 110 reptiles, 500 bird species, and 145 mammal species. All of this is topped with the Big 5 and the fact that it’s the best place to see the leopard.
Tip: Sabi Sands is an all year round destination, but I recommend visiting from July to mid-October. If you’re slightly bothered by rain, this makes those months the best time to go. The weather is dry, there is little rainfall and the game drives will be quite comfortable.
Tip #2: Try staying at one of the places bordering the main Kruge Park, since there you’ll be getting the highest density of game.
Timbavati
Legendary and phenomenal – two words that accurately describe the Timbavati Private Game Reserve. Spend your time amidst beautiful leopards, gangly giraffes, rhinos, elephants and lions.
This 185,000-acre private reserve is one of the most exciting safari destinations and also shares the borders with the Kruger National Park. This allows for the free movement of wildlife in the vast stretch of wildlife.
What’s interesting to know is that the Timbavati Association works on conserving the biodiversity of the area so you’ll be getting the ultimate experience.
Here are some of the things you can see:
- Wild Dogs – Mostly at the northern parts of the reserve.
- Leopard – The best leopard sightings are usually in this area.
- The Big Five
- The White Lions – Due to a rare genetic trait, you can spot the elusive white lions.
Pilanesberg
The fourth largest game reserve in South Africa is an excellent place to visit. Centered on the caldera of one of the largest volcanic complexes in the world, the Pilanesberg reserve is a highly unique setting.
What should you draw you in to visit Pilanesberg is it’s incredible juxtaposition between the dryer part of Kalahari and the wetter part of the bushveld regions. You’ll find an incredible biodiversity arising due to this natural settings, and overlapping wildlife.
The volcanic crater that it’s situated on is one of the only three in the world, and the sharp contrasts of landscapes is the ideal habitat for a wide array of wildlife.
The Pilanesberg is the best place to see rhinos, birds, and the Big Five. There are over 7000 animals, and it’s home to the black rhino and wild dog, so you get to see more unique wildlife.
The best place in Pilanesberg is without a doubt, the Lake Mankwe (place of the leopard), where you can see unfiltered wildlife.
If you are more interested in ancient history, then you’d be happy to know that you can explore stone and iron age sites, rock formations and cave drawings as well!
Kgalagadi
A magical corner in the world that shares the border with Botswana, the Kgaladi is easily the most unique wild reserve out of this list.
It offers an incredible experience of raw wilderness, rugged remoteness and landscapes straight out of a dream. The surreal red sand dunes, the wave-like sweeping landscapes, and the cloudless skies blend to form a highly picturesque scene.
Directly translating to place of thirst, this is one of the largest protected areas in the world and you’re guaranteed wonderful predator sightings.
The dry Nossob River is perched amongst gorgeous trees, and the Auob river is one of the wildest river beds. The Nossob flows only a few times a century, while the Auob flows only every couple of decades, thus giving the reserve its “place of thirst” name.
You’ll be enjoying truly wild, rugged landscapes, breathtaking scenery, dry riverbeds, dramatic backdrops and wonderful predators.
The wildlife is most found along the riverbeds, and you can find black-maned lions, cheetahs, hyenas, herds of gemsbok and much much more.
This is the place you go to for big predators and breath-taking backdrops, for excellent wildlife viewing and excitement-filled experiences.
Tip: There are no Big Five animals here, but you can find cheetahs, hyenas, foxes, meerkats and the black-maned Kalahari lions.
These game reserves and national parks are just a very small percentage of the ones you can see in South Africa. I recommend you get ready to embark on a trip of a lifetime that will turn your world upside down. Nothing really beats connecting with nature in its purest form, and nothing beats going to our primitiveness.
If you want to experience wildlife, sleep under starry skies, go on all types of safaris and get up close and personal with the Big Five, then South Africa is definitely the place for you.
Photo by Hans Veth on Unsplash
