From the time we first see fantastic markings on zebra and giraffes as children many of us dream about spending time with wild animals in Africa. Perhaps you fell in love with one of the creatures in the Lion King movie, like I did. With modern travel so simple, it is easy to book a safari and spend some time with these spectacular creatures.
South Africa has many wonderful diverse National Parks for you to explore. Each has its own unique geography and habitat for different African animals. Getting to South Africa is relatively easy regardless of what continent you live. Johannesburg is a major world travel hub and there are international arrivals there constantly. If you are looking for cheap flights to South Africa, check for possible flights.
Kruger National Park

Kruger is the largest of the parks in South Africa with over 2 million hectares of wilderness. It is a magnet for anyone wanting experience African wildlife at their finest. It is an exciting place for its panoramic vistas and vast numbers of animals as well as for its past, stepped in history and legend.
Kruger is one of the few places in the world where it is possible to see the “Big Five” – elephant, lion, cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. The term “Big Five” is a vestige term from the days of big game hunters who wanted to pit themselves against such dangerous beasts. Nowadays the best hunters use cameras and lenses rather than high caliber rifles.
Addo Elephant National Park

Further to the south you can see the “Big Seven”. This is where you can take up the challenge of spotting the aforementioned “Big Five” plus a Great White shark and a Southern Right Whale on a marine eco tour. There is also a horse riding trail here which will get you close to the infamously dangerous cape buffalo and maybe a rhinoceros.
Table Top Mountain National Park
This is the second most visited park, behind Kruger on the somewhat wilder west coast close to Cape Town. Here you will find the Boulders Penguin colony in Simons Town and its attendant squabbling endangered species of African penguins. It’s a place to wander along pristine beaches and follow neat boardwalks to explore the park. This is a great park for a family outing.
KGalagadi Transfrontier Park

A park of yet another kind, the KGalagadi Transfrontier is north central, bordering Namibia. Both share the awesome Kalahari Desert. Here you may get the opportunity to view the magnificent black-maned lions of the Kalahari as well stunning desert creatures like gemsbok, eland and springbok. This sparse beautiful landscape cannot fail to leave a lasting memory.
Namaqua National Park

For something completely different you could visit the Namaqualand park during a southern spring in August and September. It seems like overnight the sand and dust becomes a carpet of wildflowers. It is estimated that there are more than a 1000 plants found only in this park and the colorful blooms are a joyful sight.
Camdeboo National Park

This is known for the Valley of Desolation and sometimes also called the Cathedral of the Mountains. The piled dolerite stone columns tower over the Karoo plains making for dramatic scenery and photo opportunities. You will feel enveloped in the timelessness of that southern land formed by ancient volcanic forces that shaped it over a period of 200 million years.
Algulhas National Park
Perhaps fitting for a last suggestion is Algulhas National Park where you can stand on the southernmost tip of Africa facing south to observe two great oceans, the Indian and Atlantic, meet crashing together in tumultuous waves. It is named “Cape of Storms” for a reason and many ship wrecks lie beneath the thundering waves that thrash those southern shores.
The Luxury of Glamping

Just because you are in the wilderness doesn’t mean you can’t expect some luxuries on vacation. South Africa is the perfect place for “glamorous camping” otherwise known as “glamping”. The tented structures have superb amenities with quality linen to indulge your dreams under canvas. And the food and wine are superb from the country’s renowned vineyards and restaurants. You can easily plan a few wine tastings and extra adventures to add to your animal safaris. Your safari in South Africa awaits you.
Our Seaside Baby
February 21, 2017 at 4:41 pmWhat amazing photographs! I would love to visit a national park with my three year old son. He’d love to see the elephants! South Africa offers so much.
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 12:59 pmYes, I’m sure he’d love seeing all of the animals! And you too 🙂
Karla | Karlaroundtheworld
February 22, 2017 at 7:19 amSouth Africa is really dear to me. I feel like they offer a lot of extraordinary adventures. I will definitely go back
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 12:59 pmI can see why it’s so dear to you! There’s just so much to see and do.
noel
February 25, 2017 at 11:12 amThese all look wonderful, so many amazing luxury choices and I love the glamping experience. Which is your favorite park to visit?
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 1:03 pmGlamping is always a fun treat! And don’t make me choose a favorite 😉
The Adventure Ahead
February 25, 2017 at 11:17 amThis is such a dream tip idea for us. We would love the experience of getting so up close and personal with the animals. Great photographs! The Zebra image is especially wonderful. Sounds like there are some really great adventures to be had here.
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 1:03 pmThank you! Yes, so many fun adventures to be had. I’m sure you’d LOVE it!
Jenn and Ed Coleman
February 26, 2017 at 12:12 amWe couldn’t agree with you more about glamping. We went glamping in Thailand last December and it was more glamours than camping. We had the most comfortable we of our entire Thailand trip, fantastic food and an extremely attentive staff to take care of us. Camping doesn’t have to be down and dirty.
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 1:05 pmGlamping is the way to go!! I’m glad we’re on the same page 🙂
Indrani
February 26, 2017 at 1:30 amSo much luxury… I will be totally spoilt!
The wildlife of the parks are so well captured. Light reflected off the Ostrichs’ head makes the pic so fantastic!
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 1:06 pmYes, the light was great! Thanks for reading 🙂
LeAnna Brown
February 26, 2017 at 11:17 amWe stayed right outside of the Kruger (could literally see the fence) at a reserve. Doing the South African Safari was truly one of the most memorable trips we’ve ever taken. I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 3:22 pmWow, I can imagine it’s incredible memorable! Thanks for sharing, LeAnna!
Andi
February 26, 2017 at 4:58 pmThis is totally on my hubby’s bucket list. He is a photographer and he can’t wait to do a safari. I love the amazing glamping opportunities there are in South Africa, I am looking forward to that part!
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 3:35 pmIt’s a photographer’s dream…that’s for sure!
Chrysoula
February 27, 2017 at 5:34 amI have only been to Kenya and loved it. South African parks are on my list too. I would also love to try glamping. A great accommodation alternative.
Carmen Edelson
February 27, 2017 at 3:39 pmGlamping is a really fun and luxurious experience! I’d highly recommend it.
Mags
February 27, 2017 at 7:14 pmI went to South Africa in October and absolutely fell in love. I can’t wait to get back (and now I have a few more parks to explore!)
Carmen Edelson
March 1, 2017 at 3:59 pmWe are going on a safari at the end of the year, and I can’t wait.
Lydia@LifeUntraveled
February 28, 2017 at 11:42 amI didn’t realize there were so many national parks for viewing wildlife and other natural wonders such as Camdeboo. I’ve yet to go on a safari – I’m hoping to make it to South Africa soon!
Carmen Edelson
March 1, 2017 at 4:00 pmI’m heading to South Africa in December and can’t wait to go explore some of these parks that I haven’t seen.
Jeric Danao
March 1, 2017 at 4:27 amI’m just wondering if there’s some extraordinary places that you can actually camp inside national parks such as this. Sorry if my comment is crazy, I’m really into glamping nowadays, lol. Thank you for sharing this! I should buckle my seat for some crazy adventures in the future 🙂
Carmen Edelson
March 1, 2017 at 4:05 pmYes, I know of a few places where you can camp inside the parks. What they consider camping isn’t the same as what we call camping. Most of the places have their own tents, and are what I call luxury glamping. Here’s a great website to check out: http://www.glampinghub.com
UK Family Visas
March 8, 2017 at 8:23 pmSouth Africa has so much wildlife that I though I will only see in National Geographic or in a documentary, I would love to visit this place again.
Christo from Flywise SA Flights
April 5, 2017 at 12:51 pmAs a “Saffa” (South African), we are blessed to have these beautiful parks and wildlife in our backyard. I’m originally from Namaqualand (on the SA / Namibian border), and as a child we use to see Gemsbok, or Oryx, next to the road or even down on the Orange riverbed. I think we are quite lucky to be so close to nature. Therefore it is always so strange when visitors from foreign countries makes wildlife a big thing. On the other hand, being able to see game any time we like, we as South Africans tend to loose the ‘awe’ and ‘wonder’ that travellers to SA really experience.
Thanks for this wonderful “review” of what South Africa has to offer. Keep up the good work.