South Africa could be described geographically as an immense mosaic of rural lands, fertile farming areas, mining regions, highlands that host the oldest cradles of humanity, cosmopolitan cities and oceanic coastlines, facing the southern edge of the earth, but also boundless nature reserves that protect extraordinary ecosystems, among the most famous national parks in Southern Africa.
The Kruger National Park certainly needs no introduction, being one of the most important and largest protected areas in the world, and the best managed park on the entire African continent. Its immense area is traversed each year by hundreds of thousands of tourists, in search of adrenaline-fuelled sightings of the African wildlife, which is practically complete here. The ‘Big Five’ are all present at roll call: lions, elephants, leopards, buffalos and rhinoceroses, but also zebras, giraffes, lycaons, cheetahs, baboons, warthogs and, of course, crocodiles and hippos, the park being crossed by no less than five river veins. Not to mention the variety of avifauna, flying over ecosystems ranging from acacia and sycamore forests, savannahs, riverine forests and glades, granite hills, to the evergreen vegetation of the southernmost part of the park, which receives the most rainfall. A dense network of paved roads and dirt tracks connect the numerous observation points, along the rivers, on specially prepared platforms, in the hills or around the main pools. The park is also served by a sampling of accommodation facilities of all categories, from comfortable lodges to simple rondavels, designed specifically for the more adventurous and as a base for treks. That’s right, because at the Kruger National Park it is also possible to follow itineraries on foot or by bicycle, supervised by expert guides, among an infinity of routes that vary from comfortable flat paths to backpacking climbs. What you will see, whether on foot, by bike or by car, is indescribable. Suffice it to say that most nature documentaries on African wildlife have been filmed in the Kruger. Lions and crocodiles fighting to prey on a buffalo, giraffes sprouting from the tops of mopane and acacia trees, families of elephants razing everything in their path, to the point that contraceptives are now in use to control their overpopulation, cheetahs and leopards hunting in the warm light of dusk, or rhinoceroses, black and white, and hippos mingling with impalas and gazelles, among the vast glades and granite peaks.
The variety of ecosystems and the concentration of fauna in such a vast territory makes the historic Kruger National Park one of the international destinations offering the highest probability of sightings in the whole of Africa.
If the Kruger extends to the borders of Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, one only has to detour to the northwestern South African hinterland and reach the Blyde River Canyon, an immense natural monument of incredible beauty. It is the third largest canyon in the world, with breathtaking vistas that open up between an infinity of nature trails, all converging towards the reserve’s main viewpoint, the Three Rondavels, perfectly circular and pointed sandstone formations, reminiscent of the huts typical of Southern Africa and towering over South Africa’s most spectacular geological scenery, eroded by the weather and the river courses that meander at their feet.
If you then decide to return to the south of the country by land, and feel that you are still not sufficiently charged with adrenalin, a stop at the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing no less than five different ecosystems, home to exceptional flora and fauna, including large aquatic species such as hippos, crocodiles, fish eagles, flamingos and humpback whales on the coast, as well as elephants, is not to be missed.
Finally, Addo National Park, north of the Wild Coast in Zululand, offers the most striking encounters with elephant families, but also an extraordinary transitional nature, between the coastal microclimate and the vegetation of the tropical hinterland.
These are undoubtedly the naturalistic must-sees in South Africa, but it is also true that each South African region has its own protected area, and the opportunities for wildlife spotting are plentiful everywhere, as well as each offering extraordinary landscapes. What makes the difference, however, is rather the concentration of flora and fauna and the organisation of accommodation, among which the Kruger remains to this day the top, worldwide.
