The Best of... National Parks

Addo Elephant National Park

Situated in indigenous bush in the Sunday’s River Valley, the park is 72 kms from Port Elizabeth along a good road. It contains some 350 elephants, as well as buffalo, black rhino, varieties of antelope and other game and many bird species and offers day and night drives, a 4km hiking trail and plenty of accommodation in cottages, forest huts, tented camps and campsites. One of the Eastern Cape’s prime tourist attractions

Agulhas National Park

The continent’s southernmost park, approx. 230 kms from Cape Town along the R316, offers a limestone lighthouse contains Africa’s only lighthouse museum, some 2000 coastal plant species, including the unique limestone fynbos, and rare wetland birds such as the African black oyster catcher. Accommodation is available in the nearby towns of Agulhas and Struisbaai.

Augrabies National Park

120 kms west of Upington, where the Orange River thunders down the Augrabies Falls, the 46 000 hectare park is home to the majestic gemsbok and other antelope as well as desert plants and succulents. It offers biking, canoeing, walking and hiking in arid though starkly beautiful surroundings. Air conditioned cottages, bungalows, caravans and campsites under shade are available.

Bontebok National Park

This 3500 hectare park on the banks of the Breede River, 240 kms east of Cape Town along the Garden Route (N2), contains several hundred of the once-threatened bontebok, Cape mountain zebra, red hartebeest, rhebok and other antelope as well as a rich diversity of flora and bird life. Accommodation in ‘chalavans’ and caravans as well as campsites along the river are available.

Cape Peninsula National Park

The narrow park stretches the length of the Cape Peninsula, from Signal Hill 60 kms southwards to Cape Point. It contains the world famous landmark, Table Mountain as well as

the Cape of Good Hope and Silvermine reserves as well as the Cape Floral Kingdom, one of only six in the world. The internationally famous Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens, with its many indigenous flowers and trees, lies just outside the park, on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.

Golden Gate National Park

This beautiful 1200 ha reserve in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains in the Eastern Free State offers spectacular mountain scenery, nature trails, educational courses, guided excursions and game drives. The highland habitat is home to eland, zebra, wildebeest and other antelope and some rare mountain birds. There are two rest camps, the one offering hotel accommodation and cottages and the other more rustic facilities. 320 kms from Johannesburg; 305 kms from Bloemfontein.

Karoo National Park

Once an inland freshwater lake, this arid park - about 10kms west of Beaufort West - contains some unique vegetation, rich animal- and bird life as well as fossils and unusual rock formations. For the handicapped, there is a 400 m long Braille Fossil Trail depicting the geology and palaeontology of the Great Karoo. Self-catering accommodation and a restaurant are among the amenities on offer.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

South Africa’s Kalahari Gemsbok Park and Botswana’s Gemsbok National Park have been combined into Africa’s first formal transfrontier reserve. This huge desert area, 38 000sq kms in size, is home to the Kalahari lion, leopard, herds of oryx (gemsbok) and other antelope and large birds of prey. There are three rest camps on the SA side, offering cottages and camping sites.

Knysna National Lake Area

The beautiful tidal lagoon and surrounds, towered over by the twin Knysna Heads, abounds in marine- and bird life. A variety of water sports may be also enjoyed in specifically zoned areas. The private Featherbed Nature Reserve on the western head is home to the endangered blue duiker, while the eastern head offers spectacular sea views.

Accommodation is plentiful in the town of Knysna, 500 kms from Cape Town and 300 kms from Port Elizabeth, along the Garden Route.

Kruger National Park

The most famous of South Africa’s wildlife reserves, the Kruger Park stretches for 350 kms along the country’s eastern border with Mozambique. The park offers visitors the opportunity of observing, at close quarters, the Big Five – elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard – as well as almost 150 mammal species, 380 species of tree and over 500 bird species. Ten main rest camps offer a variety of accommodation from luxurious guesthouses to huts, tented camps and campsites.

Marakele National Park

Set in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains, 250 kms north of Johannesburg near Thabazimbi, the Marakele National Park is home to rare yellowwood and cedar trees and the world’s largest colony of Cape vultures. The park also offers the Big Five, rare tsessebe, roan and sable antelope and over 300 bird species, including peregrine and lanner falcons.

The unfenced, tented safari camp, an hour’s drive from the reception centre, is situated on the banks of the scenic Matlabas River – an ideal setting for a bush experience.

Mountain Zebra National Park

The plains and valleys of the Mountain Zebra National Park provide a perfect environment for the Cape Mountain Zebra, one of the world’s rarest large mammals. The Karoo park is situated 25kms west of Cradock in the Eastern Cape. Small game and bird life are plentiful in the attractive reserve, which offers accommodation in a restored Victorian homestead and 4-bed family cottages.

Namaqua National Park

The Skilpad Wildflower Reserve, inside the park, is one of the finest places from which to view Namaqualand’s brilliant spring flowers. Skilpad is open only in August/Sept, but the rest of the park is worth visiting for its succulents and other veld flowers. The park is situated 22 kms from Kamieskroon, 495 km north of Cape Town along the N7 to Namibia

Richtersveld National Park

This mountain desert park on South Africa’s border with Namibia is managed jointly by SA’s National Parks and the local Richtersveld community. Its rugged, desolate landscape contains many weird and wonderful rock formations and a rich diversity of succulent plants. The park offers walking, hiking and canoeing trails, good fishing and marvellous photographic opportunities. A 4X4 vehicle is essential. There are cottages at Sendelingsdrift and five campsites, suitable only for tents not caravans. Temperatures can be extreme in summer

Tsitsikamma National Park

This combined marine and forest park, situated 195 kms from Port Elizabeth, stretches for 80 kms along the Garden Route from Nature’s Valley to the Groot River. Its chief attractions are a rugged coastline and secluded beaches on one side and fynbos and beautiful indigenous forests on the other. Besides the world-renowned 42 km Otter Trail, there are numerous shorter walks and trails and opportunities for swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving etc. The park has two rest camps offering family cottages and forest huts as well as caravan and camping facilities

Vaalbos National Park

23 000 ha in size, the little known Vaalbos reserve is named after the distinctive camphor bush, found there in profusion. The park conserves a part of the country where Karoo scrub, Kalahari thornveld and grassveld meet. Large raptors and the rare yellow-breasted shrike are among the attractions of what was once an alluvial diamond digging area. Limited accommodation in cottages is available.

West Coast National Park

The picturesque Langeberg lagoon is the chief attraction of this beautiful 30 000 ha reserve, one of Africa’s finest wetlands. Huge populations of water birds and waders – penguins, flamingos, gannets, cormorants, curlew sandpipers and the like – breed in the lagoon and offshore islands. The shores of the park contain eland, bontebok, springbok and other antelope and small game, while the Postberg section, open only in the spring, is carpeted annually with a dazzling array of wildflowers. The nearby towns of Langebaan and Saldanha offer plenty of accommodation. 120 kms north of Cape Town along the R27.

Wilderness National Park

Five lakes, two estuaries and a 30 km coastline are the features of this beautiful wetland reserve, which enjoys Ramsar status. The park is situated on both sides of the N2 highway between the Wilderness and Knysna. Its shoreline and lakes offer abundant opportunities for water sport enthusiasts and hikers, as well as to bird lovers. There is a rest camp inside the park, and many types of accommodation in towns nearby.

Links to Useful Sites

www.parks-sa.co.za
www.capenature.co.za
www.rhino.org.za