Top 5 National Parks for Wildlife Spotting in South Africa

If you’re backpacking in South Africa then some serious wildlife spotting probably features high up on your to-do list.

Africa’s wildlife is some of the most impressive in the world and seeing lions, elephants, monkeys and rhinos in the wild is a once in a lifetime experience for many people.

There are plenty of national parks just waiting to be explored in South Africa, here are five of our favourites.

1)      Addo Elephant National Park

This national park can be found in the Eastern Cape and is home to over 450 elephants, making it a fantastic place to spot these magnificent creatures in the wild.  The park is also home to all of the Big Seven (lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo, whales and great white shark) so if you’ve only got time for one national park this is a great one to visit.

2)      Kruger National Park

Kruger national park is world-renowned for its huge size.  Covering almost 2 million hectares the park has 16 ecosystems and is home to 147 types of mammal, 507 birds, 114 reptiles, 49 fish, 336 trees and 34 amphibians, phew!

3)      Garden Route National Park

Garden route is a great park to visit if you want to experience the diversity of South Africa’s landscapes. Take in South Africa’s south-eastern coast- full of lush evergreen forests, rocky beaches and sparkling lakes and rivers.  The wildlife you’ll find here is as diverse as the landscape, look out for leopards, monkeys, bush pigs and otters.

4)      Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Kgalagadi is situated in the northwestern corner of South Africa and western Botswana.  The area has very harsh and dry conditions and is widely thought of as a desert.  Despite the extreme conditions it is still teeming with wildlife including antelope, wildebeest and black-maned Kalahari lions.

5)      Mountani Zebra National Park

The Cape Mountain Zebra used to be on the brink of extinction, but now thrives in Mountain Zebra National Park on the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  The landscape in this park is rocky and craggy and is also home to Cape buffalo, cheetah, wildebeest, springboks and black rhinos.