The Best of... Wildlife

South Africa is the best place in the world for viewing the 'Big Five' (elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo), in addition to other large mammals including hippo, giraffe, zebra, cheetah and many species of antelope, as well as crocodiles and other reptiles and many species of bird. No other country offers such a variety and choice of game-viewing options - from the comfort of an air conditioned bus or open land rover to a trail through the bush on foot.

Game parks

Game reserves in South Africa fall into two broad categories: national parks, which are explored by tourists in their own cars or with a guide on foot and usually involve self-catering ; and private game reserves, which are generally more expensive but offer guided tours in open-topped vehicles or on foot. Private reserves offer a wide range of accommodation from the super-luxurious to the reasonable, as well as full board and swimming and other recreational facilities.

The biggest and best of South Africa's game reserves is the world famous Kruger National Park, as big in size as Wales and stretching 350 kms from the Mpumalanga lowveld in the south to the Limpopo River in the north. The Kruger Park has the greatest concentration of mammals in the world, including 8000 elephant, 2000 lion, 900 leopard, 2,500 rhino, 4,600 giraffe, 30,000 zebra and 140,000 impala. There are also 500 bird species and 330 species of tree.

The park has eleven main camps, offering a range of accommodation, camping and catering facilities and other amenities. (see Mpumalanga, Limpopo, National Parks)

Other major national parks offering the Big Five in different geographical and topographical surroundings include the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in KwaZulu-Natal and the Pilanesberg National Park, in North-West province near Sun City, a mere 190 kms from Johannesburg and ideal for a short visit. (See KwaZulu-Natal, North-West province)

The malaria-free Eastern Cape is also becoming a popular game-viewing region. Once home to South Africa's richest variety of game - vast herds of elephant, lion, antelope etc - the area became farming country during the colonial era . Now more than a million hectares of farmland have been restored to their natural state and restocked with the Big Five and other game. The most well known reserves are the Addo Elephant Park and Shamwari Game Reserve. (see Eastern Cape)

Other not-to-be-missed game sanctuaries in the greater Southern African region include the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the South Africa-Botwana border;, Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta, Botswana; Chobe National Park in Botswana; Etosha National Park in Namibia and Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. (See Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe)

Marine "Big Five"

South Africa's coastline is also home to the Marine 'Big Five' (whale, shark, dolphin, marlin and tuna). Each year Southern Right whales migrate into coastal waters to calve and nurture their young - especially around Hermanus and Walker Bay. Between June and November - from the West Coast of the Cape to the East Coast around St Lucia - southern right whales, humpback whales, Bryde's whales, killer whales, bottlenose dolphins, dusky dolphins and many other species offer some of the best land- and boat-based marine-viewing in the world

For more information see www.cape-whaleroute.co.za . See also Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal)

Links to Useful Sites

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