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South Africa offers you many different opportunities for safari holidays. There are many reserves and national parks which allow you the chance to explore the famous African landscape and come into close contact (or as close as is safe) with wildlife in their natural surroundings. With so many from which to choose, it can be confusing and even overwhelming. If you have only a short time to visit, you might want to consider the following suggestions.
Addo Elephant National Park
Some say Addo boasts not the Big Five but the Big Seven. It has, in other words, the lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard, whale and great white shark. This makes Addo both a land and marine adventure playground for those on safari holidays. However, Addo is best known for boasting the largest population of elephants in the world. If you can't see an elephant here, you won't see one anywhere else in South Africa!
Hluhuwe-Imfolozo Game Reserve
Located in KwaZulu Natal, Hluhuwe-Imfolozo is almost unspoilt wilderness, with rolling hills as well as acacia woodland and subtropical forest. This is the park to visit if you want to see rhino on your safari holidays. In fact, the park is home to both white and black rhino and is part of a famed program of rhino conservation.
Other wildlife roams freely around the park. A haven for the Big Five, Hluhuwe-Imfolozo provides you with rare sightings of wildlife in the misty forests and grass-covered hills. The park provides shelter for the rarely seen nyala antelope and the bataleur eagle. Fast flowing rivers cut down on hippo sightings, but you can see giraffes, zebra, wild dogs, spotted hyena and blue wildebeest.
Kruger National Park
By far the most popular park in South Africa, Kruger provides the best game viewing for those on safari holidays. The park has more than 507 species of birds, 147 mammal, 114 reptile, 49 fish, 34 amphibians and an incredible amount of plant varieties. Take a guided tour to view the kudu (large antelope), sable antelope, giraffes and the endangered roan antelope, as well as zebra herds and, of course, the Big Five - elephant, leopard, rhino, buffalo and lion.
Pilansberg National Park
Pilansberg is known for its copious amounts of birds. These include the world's heaviest flying bird - the Kori bustard. You can also see ostriches, secretary birds, golden and red bishops, weavers and widows. Yet, Pilansberg is much more than a bird sanctuary. It offers visitors on safari holidays one of the best chances to view both rhinos and elephants. While hippos splash in the waters of the Mankwe Dam, leopards are abundant and lions have been growing in numbers since 1994. If you want to see the black rhino, however, you may need to go on a night game ride - very popular at this park. On a guided night drive, you can see many different species including spotted eagle owls, genets, Jameson's red rocket rabbits and the lesser bushbaby. You may even catch sight of the largest rodent in Africa - the Cape porcupine. Rachel Hill
