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| Wilderness experience/ photo: CC Africa |
COMING face to trunk with a colossal African elephant is an experience not for the faint-hearted, but it's great for an instant adrenaline high. If you’re driving yourself, your car will suddenly seem alarmingly flimsy; if you’re on a guided safari, you may briefly lament the Landrover’s lack of a roof or sides. Fear not - Bigfoot will probably saunter past without batting an eyelid. But occasionally, he will look straight at you and lift those massive ears. Mock charge or the real thing – you don’t want to hang about to find out.
Whether it’s an elephant or one of the other “Big Five” (lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino), it’s hard to describe the excitement and awe on finding oneself in the untouched African bush, where these animals – and countless other species of fauna and flora – exist in their ages-old natural habitat. A South African safari is not for the faint hearted, but you can do it in style. Pick from five-star resorts, luxury lodges and hideaway resorts. It’s all here in this detailed review of South Africa national parks, game reserves and lodges. A luxury hotel in the bush? No problem. But it may have a thatch roof.
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In South Africa, you have a choice between well-run National Parks (managed by South African National Parks [SANParks]) in arid, coastal, “bushveld” or mountain regions, with reasonable tariffs and comfortable, clean accommodation, and private game reserves.
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| What's for dinner/ photo: CC Africa |
The latter are often luxurious, with five-star accommodation, exclusive game-viewing, and an atmosphere that tends to be personalised and relaxed. Whether you choose the former or latter, you are sure to see plenty of animals, but if you go for the private reserve option, sightings of the Big Five are pretty much guaranteed, since your guide and tracker will know roughly where the animals are and will go off-road to find them for you.
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Game-viewing in South Africa's private reserves is done from open-topped four-wheel-drive vehicles. Your guide will explain that predators such as the big cats tend to see the vehicle and its passengers as a single, unthreatening entity. So, as long as everyone remains seated, there is no danger. Guided game walks are often part of the package. Tariffs include all meals, served outdoors in enclosures known as “bomas”, drinks, game drives and walks.
Most national parks also offer organised night drives or early morning drives in park vehicles with guides. Guided walks, hiking, bird watching – and sometimes four-wheel-drive trails – may also be on offer at set times, but if you prefer a flexible schedule, it’s a good idea to hire a car to explore the national parks on your own. Most parks have rest camps, and – depending on the park – a range of accommodation, from camps and huts to bungalows and guesthouses. Most accommodation is equipped with self-catering facilities, many camps have shops, and some have restaurants.
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| Bonamanzi River ride |
South Africa’s Mpumalanga region is internationally known for its wildlife, and many of the country's acclaimed game lodges are based there, but the area also has spectacular scenery — some of the places of interest worth visiting are the Blyde River Canyon and God’s Window, from where there are sprawling views. The temperate Eastern Cape, the hot, dry North West Province and Limpopo province are also increasingly popular game viewing regions.
KwaZulu-Natal is known for its scenic diversity: from sandy beaches to soaring mountains. About a third of the province is under some form of private conservation, and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is the provincial “protected area” agency entrusted with the long-term conservation and management of these areas, and the region’s ecosystems. (Ezemvelo is the Zulu term for the concept of the environment.) The organisation is separate from South African National Parks.
Game reserves in KwaZulu-Natal are spread across the subtropical plains of the east coast and on the upper reaches of some of its larger rivers. The Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park, set in tropical savannah with the Big Five roaming freely, is the oldest proclaimed park in Africa. Other eco-tourism destinations in the province include the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park with its lakes and wetlands fringed with Indian Ocean coral reefs, and the spectacular Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park. Both have been declared World Heritage Sites.
South African National Parks
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| Lower Sabie, Kruger/ photo: SANParks |
South Africa’s most famous national park is the massive Kruger National Park, comprising nearly two million hectares and situated in Mpumalanga province, bordering Mozambique. The Park, a five-hour drive from Johannesburg, has the greatest variety of wildlife species in the country. It is home to 147 types of mammals, 507 types of birds, 114 types of reptiles, 49 types of fish and 380 types of trees. It also has ancient bushman rock paintings and archaeological sites. On visits to the Kruger Park, we have seen plenty of lion (and in one case had a very close encounter indeed, when a large male literally brushed by the side of our small sedan car). During the same trip, we also saw a leopard with her cubs, another leopard stalking prey, plenty of elephants with babies in tow, many types of buck, buffalo, zebra, giraffe, baboons, crocodiles, hippopotami and countless birds, including birds of prey like the majestic Bateleur eagle, different types of hawks and bald-necked vultures.
The park, established back in 1898, has 12 main rest camps, offering a range of accommodation from camping, huts, safari tents, bungalows, cottages, bush lodges and luxuriously appointed guesthouses. Major camps have restaurants and petrol filling stations. There are also five smaller, more secluded "bushveld" camps. You are free to explore the park by yourself during daylight hours (in an enclosed vehicle) but you can also choose from a range of guided activities (wilderness trails, including three nights in a wilderness camp accompanied by a ranger, 2,240 rand, guided morning walks from R210, sunrise drives, from R110 per adult and afternoon mountain bike trails, from R175). As well as being a major tourist attraction, the park is also very popular with South Africans, so book ahead, particularly during local school holidays. A good time to visit is in the South African winter, when days are mild but nights cold. Kruger Park is in an endemic malaria area – consult a travel clinic or doctor before your arrival for a prescription of appropriate anti-malaria drugs. Don’t forget the repellents. The highest malaria risk is during the December to April rainy season.
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| Big Skies, Mapungubwe/ photo: SANParks |
Apart from the Kruger National Park, there are 19 other national parks in different parts of the country (14 of the 20 have overnight facilities). Not all boast the Big Five, but there are plenty of options for serious game viewing.
The 28,000-hectare Mapungubwe National Park is 230km from Polokwane, the capital of Limpopo province. It is a World Heritage Site, rich in traditional San art and a sanctuary to endangered large mammals such as the highly elusive wild dog, and black and white rhino. Mapungubwe means “place of the stone of wisdom” and the park, which is still in its development phase, also has more than 400 species of birds and offers a four-wheel-drive “eco route” with a state-of-the-art game hide. The numbers of game such as leopard, lion, giraffe, different types of antelope, zebras and baboons fluctuate with the movement of the animals (they are not restricted by fences).
The Addo Elephant National Park, proclaimed in 1931 when the number of elephants in the area had dwindled to only 11, is set in the Sundays River region of the Eastern Cape, 72km from the coastal city of Port Elizabeth. There are regular flights to Port Elizabeth from all the country’s major airports, including Johannesburg and Cape Town international airports. Following expansion, it is now the third largest park in South Africa and comprises six of the country’s seven “habitat biomes”. Here, rain occurs throughout the year and the climate is described as “temperate to warm” (but bring warm clothes in winter, and a jacket or something fleecy for chilly summer evenings).
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| Addo Lions/ photo: SANParks |
The park boasts over 350 elephants, 280 Cape buffalo, black rhino and a variety of antelope species. A wide range of serviced accommodation, including a tented camp, is available. Apart from guaranteed African elephant sightings, also try guided rhino trekking expeditions and guided hikes. For visitors in wheelchairs, there is a 2km Discovery Trail through typical Addo bush.
Really want to get away from it all? Head for the remote Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (it includes the former Gemsbok National Park in Botswana) with an area of more than 3.6 million hectares. The park in the fascinatingly arid Northern Cape has red dunes, sparse vegetation and dry riverbeds.
The park boasts vast herds of different types of antelope, lions and leopard, as well as many types of birds, although more patience is required to spot big cats here than in some other parks across the country. The park is also less accessible than most others. Get there by flying to Upington in the Northern Cape, from where the park is a 260km drive.
There is a landing strip where light aircraft may land with prior permission. The park has no surface water and an annual rainfall of only 200mm. There are three rest camps with basic shops and petrol stations, offering accommodation from camping to family cottages. In addition, unfenced wilderness rest camps have armed guards to protect you against unwanted predators (of the feline variety). The Nossob 4x4 trail is a must for four-wheel-drive enthusiasts. Visit in the South African autumn and winter (April to September), when days are warm and the mercury plummets to sub-zero at night. Summer temperatures are scorching.
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| Amber Suite, Earth Lodge Sabi Sabi |
The Karoo National Park set in the vast Great Karoo is a great place to break the long road trip from the country’s interior to Cape Town – it is 500km north of Cape Town and 1,000km south of Johannesburg. You will not find any big cats or elephants here, but the park has an immaculate rest camp and wonderful views, as well as many species adapted to harsher conditions. Real big sky country this.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife parks
The world-class Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park (Hluhluwe is pronounced “Shlushluwe”), run by Ezembelo KZN Wildlife, is home to all of the Big Five. The park is renowned for “Operation Rhino”, when endangered white rhinos were captured and relocated to havens within South Africa and abroad in the 1960s, saving them from extinction. As a result, this country's white rhino population is now 12 times the 1960 count of 500. The park has at least a fifth of the world’s black and white rhino population.
The park located in central Zululand, about two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Durban (six hours from Johannesburg and one hour from Richard’s Bay). There is a range of lodge or self-catering accommodation. The two safari camps are built on wooden platforms and guests are cautioned to use the locks on the fridges and not to leave food lying around – the hyenas have become adept at opening fridges. Summers are hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms, while the winters are generally warm and dry during the day, but it can get really chilly at night.
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| Mala Mala: Let sleeping lionesses lie |
The Greater St Lucia Wetland Park on the Zululand coast is about 250km from the city of Durban. Apart from diverse wetland systems and the highest vegetated dunes in the world, there are many types of antelope (including kudu, reedbuck and bushbuck) to be seen, as well as buffalo, crocodiles, hippo and numerous waterfowls, grassland, forest and sea birds. Accommodation consists of camping and caravanning sites.
Private Game Reserves
On the Kruger National Park’s western border lie a number of world-famous, luxury private game reserves, many of which regularly host international celebrities. Most of the private lodges have their own airstrips and swimming pools. More exclusive game viewing is on offer in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Province.
Mpumalanga
All the Mpumalanga private game lodges are in the vicinity of the Kruger National Park, about 500km (five hours by car) from Johannesburg. You can also arrange to be flown directly to your lodge.
Mala Mala, at over 45,000 acres, is the largest privately owned South African game reserve that is home to the Big Five. Herds of animals migrate freely between Mala Mala and the adjacent Kruger National Park along the unfenced boundary.
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| Sabi Sabi living area |
Famous for its leopard populations, Mala Mala, which is acclaimed for its “eco-tourism” approach (its managing director has received the prestigious State President's Award for Eco-tourism), has three luxurious camps with air-conditioned chalets. The 25 rooms at Mala Mala Main Camp consist of twin or double rooms, suites, family rooms and a disabled suite. Each of the air-conditioned rooms enjoys views of the surrounding bush and are equipped with "his" and "hers" en suite bathrooms and insect-proof screens.
Five-star 30,000-acre Londolozi is a member of the prestigious Relais et Chateaux hotels. All its camps offer outstanding service, riverside views and air-conditioned accommodation. There is something to suit every taste: small and intimate, or bigger and more social. As at other luxury lodges, you will be treated to day and night game drives, bush walks, and meals in a bush setting.
Inyati (the name means “buffalo” in the Shangaan language), set within the 65,000-acre Sabi Sand Game Reserve next to the Kruger Park, has 10 thatched, air-conditioned luxury chalets with luxurious en suite bathrooms. The camp also has a small conference centre, swimming pool, gym and river deck for relaxing and game viewing. As at other private game reserves, you will have a ranger at your service throughout your stay.
Sabi Sabi, the winner of numerous prestigious environment and tourism awards, has three luxurious lodges, all unfenced, on the banks of the Sabie River. The airconditioned suites are luxuriously appointed – Selati Lodge uses alternative energy to bring you closer to the bush, and if you want to enhance the sense of tranquillity that game viewing brings, go for a treatment at the Earth Nature Spa.
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| Stunning view from Rock Lodge, Ulusaba |
The total rebuilding of the 25-suite Bush Lodge was completed in August 2005. The outdoor game-viewing area was also expanded and now has two big decks overlooking a waterhole. Sabi Sabi also caters for conferences, incentive breakaways and weddings, hosting up to 50 people.
Singita, another top reserve in the Kruger Park area, is the winner of a number of prestigious international travel and hotel awards. The reserve has four exclusive lodges, a private airstrip, a “wine programme” offering more than 35,000 bottles of South African and international wines (not all stored on site) and a health spa.
There is also a camp for the exclusive use of families and small groups of up to 12. Singita is on the migration routes of many prey species, and sightings of lions and leopards are common. You may even get to see the rare wild dog. If you really must, there are Internet and satellite TV, too.
For an exclusive game experience (and if you don’t mind paying a small fortune for the privilege), Richard Branson’s Ulusaba Private Game Lodge is set in more than 10,000 acres of unspoilt African bush, housing the Big Five and many more. Luxury safari drives and guided game walks are the order of the day. When not communing with nature, there’s a gym or beauty treatments at the Aroma Boma.
North West Province
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| Cheetah/ photo: CC Africa |
The malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, 150km northwest of the metropolis of Gauteng (which includes Johannesburg) and near the sprawling Sun City resort, is the fourth largest in southern Africa, covering about 55,000 hectares, and is located in the crater of an ecologically important long-extinct volcano. You can fly straight to the Pilanesberg airport from Johannesburg. The 200km of roads in the park are not tarred, but well maintained and perfectly accessible by sedan car.
The park is managed by the North West Parks and Tourism Board and run as a three-way partnership between the Board, the private sector and local communities. It is set in what in South Africa is known as the “Bushveld”, a transition zone between dry Kalahari and wetter “Lowveld” vegetation.
The park houses all of the Big Five, and virtually every mammal in southern Africa, including springbok and brown hyena. Accommodation ranges from camping (at Manyane and Bakgatla camps, which also have chalet accommodation offering bed and breakfast and other packages) to upmarket lodges, including the luxury Babukung Bush Lodge, with 76 airconditioned rooms with thatched roofs and 66 chalets, all with satellite TV, IDD phones and other mod-cons.
KwaZulu-Natal
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| Stay in style at Singita |
Phinda private game reserve on northern KwaZulu-Natal coast with views of the majestic Lebombo mountains and bordering the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, offers wide-ranging game-viewing. Apart from big game, it is a birdwatcher’s paradise, with 380 species. The reserve has five luxurious lodges, including the Forest Lodge with airconditioned, glass-encased bedroom suites built on stilts and Mountain Lodge, boasting 20 suites with viewing decks. The new and exclusive, privately-owned Getty House is available at certain times of the year. Phinda is a four-hour drive from Durban and six hours from Johannesburg. Or fly directly to the Phinda airstrip.
Bonamanzi Game Park, a two-and-a-half to three hours drive from the coastal tourist city of Durban (which can be reached by direct flight from Johannesburg), is a Natural Heritage site and one of the largest private wildlife and birding parks in Zululand with over 4,000 hectares of pristine bush to explore. (Bonamanzi means “Look! Water!”) The park has some of the most endangered and rare South African bird species.
Do not miss the bird cruises down the Hluhluwe river to see flamingo, hippos, crocodiles, pelicans and other river birds. Visits are possible year-round, as the weather is almost always warm. Winter months are mild and dry, while brief rain showers can be expected in the summer months from November to February. The accommodation is not luxurious, but adequate, and would suit the pocket of the more budget-conscious.
Eastern Cape
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| Sabi Sabi: Selati Camp Ivory Suite |
The number of quality game reserves in South Africa’s the Eastern Cape region has grown markedly in recent years – there are now a number of upmarket options. A big selling point is that the region is completely malaria-free.
Kwandwe Private Game Reserve lies near the historic Eastern Cape university town of Grahamstown, on a 20,000-hectare area that has been restored and restocked with African wildlife and now houses thousands of animals including lion, black and white rhino, buffalo and elephant. Kwandwe means “Place of the Blue Crane” in the Xhosa language, and it is home to this endangered national bird. There are three accommodation lodges: the Kwandwe Main Lodge with thatched guest areas and viewing decks overlooking the Great Fish River, the Uplands Homestead, a restored 1905 farmhouse, and the stylish Kwandwe Ecca Lodge.
The luxurious, malaria-free 20,000-hectare private Shamwari Game Reserve is about a 45-minute drive from the Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth. Shamwari has received numerous international awards, including the World's Leading Conservation Company and Game Reserve for five consecutive years and has several five-star lodges. The reserve boasts five eco-systems supporting many forms of plant, animal and bird life.
The 7,500-hectare Lalibela Game Reserve spans five ecosystems. The easiest way to get there is to fly to Port Elizabeth and then drive the 90km to the reserve (about an hour’s drive) – or Lalibela will arrange your transfer from Port Elizabeth. There is also a landing strip for small aircraft. It is home to the Big Five and in January 2006, some African wild dogs were also released in the park. Lalibela is also home to cheetah, hyena, hippo, giraffe, zebra, warthog and numerous species of antelope.
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| Ulusaba, Safari River Suite |
On night drives, you may spot the elusive bat-eared fox, aardvark, black-backed jackal or aardwolf. The four thatched lodges have indigenous gardens merging into the surrounding bush. Units have private observation decks. The food is described as “true safari cuisine”. There is a special menu and dining area for children under eight.
The South African game parks and reserves mentioned here constitute just the tip of the iceberg. There are countless more, as well as many nature parks showcasing the country’s indigenous fauna and flora
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