Africa Tourist Guide - South Africa Safaris

The diverse wildlife and stunning scenery make South Africa one of the most perfect safari locations in Africa

A South African safari is an amazing travel experience. The diverse wildlife and stunning scenery make South Africa one of the most perfect safari locations. To the northeast of South Africa is the Kruger National Park, it is the best known but by far the only place where you can go on a safari holidays in South Africa. The Kgalagadi Transfontier Park in the heart of the Kalahari Desert with wide open spaces is among the many other options, and there are also several privately owned game reserves, where you can stay and go on game drives to watch the wild life, like for instance the Welgevonden Game Reserve.

In some of the parks you are allowed to do game drives in your own (or rental car), but you will see and learn more by participating in escorted game drives and walks, something most of the parks offer. The best, but not the cheapest, way to visit the parks is to stay at one of the game lodges within the park, some of which are very luxurious. The lodges offer a full game viewing program where you are offered morning and afternoon drives with experienced trackers and rangers. Some even offer evening or night game drives.

A wide range of species may be encountered in the reserves, but the biggest attraction for most visitors is the Big Five - rhino, elephant, buffalo, leopard and lion. They are named so because of the difficulty in hunting them and not their size, which why the leopard is on the list and the hippo is no. The wildlife in South Africa's parks and reserves is so diverse that an unforgettable experience is more or less guarantied and many visitors will get a chance to see at least some of the Big Five, as well as cheetah, giraffe, hippo, a numerous variety of antelopes and an abundance of bird species, but nothing is guaranteed, it is still wildlife moving around on large protected areas.

Some game reserves have more than one ecosystem, sometimes five, ranging from valley bushweld, savannah grassland and fynbos to riverine forest and acacia woodland. This provides a dramatic improvement on the types of wildlife that are present and the numerous of birds that thrive in these environment.

Game viewing is highly enjoyable throughout the year, but the ideal time to visit is from April to September, during the South African winter. In the wildlife areas most rain falls during the South African summer where there is lush vegetation and animals therefore are more difficult to spot. In the dry season during the winter the bush is sparser, and game is forced to drink at rivers and waterholes, where it can be more easily viewed. Best time of the day for seeing game is in the early morning or late afternoon through to dusk. This is when the animals are at their most active.