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Kruger National Park
Last, but certainly not least, there is the Kruger National Park. Covering an area the size of Israel, Kruger is South Africa's premier game reserve. If you want to experience the diversity of the African bush, Kruger is the place to be: the reserve is home to 336 varieties of tree, 49 types of fish, 114 species of reptiles, 507 types of birds and an impressive 147 species of mammals.
Stretching some 350 kilometres from north to south, Kruger is vast and offers seemingly limitless places to stay. If you're on a budget the self-catering accommodation (everything from campsites to well-equipped cottages) run by South African National Parks is probably the best way to stretch your Rands. If you've got some cash to spoil yourself with though, the Park is your oyster.
Your first port of call should be one of the private concessions within Kruger. These are on land leased out by SANParks to private operators, and offer the best game-viewing Kruger has to offer combined with luxurious accommodation, great food and excellent guides. Because you're on a private concession you'll also get to explore off the beaten track and enjoy sightings without the traffic jams.
One of the best on offer is the Mantis Collection's luxurious Jock Safari Lodge (www.jocksafarilodge.com), boasting 12 air-conditioned suites which combine the wilderness with just a touch of elegance. Throw in romantic mozzie nets, a bottle of wine in the fridge and stylish décor and you've got the perfect honeymoon getaway. Feeling hot? No need to take a dip in the Mitomeni or Biyamiti Rivers (the lodge sits on the confluence)… your suite has a private plunge pool where you can cool off between game drives. Tired of rolling through the bushveld? Pull up a comfy chair on your private deck and watch the wildlife stroll by. This southern section of the Kruger National Park is one of the most famous game viewing areas in the world, and you won't be disappointed… especially if you want to see elephant.
Just outside the southern Malelane gate you'll also find the four-star Pestana Kruger Lodge (www.pestana.com), offering an affordable option right on the Park's doorstep. It's less than a kilometre from the gate, but you will need to pay entrance fees each time you enter the Park.
50 kilometres from the Orpen Gate you'll find the interesting Hoyo Hoyo Tsonga Lodge (www.capemilner.com/hoyo-hoyo), which offers a more cultural safari experience. Set in its own 10 000 hectare concession, a stay at the lodge combines great game viewing with intriguing suites in the form of traditional Tsonga 'beehive' huts. What's more, all fabrics, décor and objet d’art have been sourced from the local Tsonga community.
On the eastern border of the park, Singita Lebombo (and the neighbouring Singita Sweni) has exclusive traversing rights to a large chunk of the Kruger National Park and, as you'd expect, the game viewing is excellent with plains game and rhino in abundance.
The jewel in the Singita group's safari crown, each of the 15 suites at Singita Lebombo has been designed to resemble an eagle's nest, perched on the craggy cliff-tops of the Lebombo Mountains on the border with Mozambique. A five-star eagle with impeccable taste who likes their home comforts in jaw-dropping style, that is. A stay at Singita Lebombo (www.singita.com) is not cheap by any means, but it is certainly worth every cent… this is one of those 'before-I-die' places to add to your list.
If that's a little rich for your blood, the private reserves bordering Kruger offer similar luxury with slightly less damage to your credit card.
There are a number of private reserves which share borders with Kruger, many of which have dropped fences between their property and the park which means that the game-viewing is as good as in Kruger itself. Except you have the whole place to yourself. And you see more animals. And your ranger will point out a hundred things you've just missed on the side of the road. And, after all that, you have a lovely lodge to come back to.
One of my favourites is Ngala Private Game Reserve (www.ngala.co.za) whose tented camp on the banks of the Timbavati River offers the tent to end all tents. A tent with lofty canvas ceilings, elephantine bed, wicker armchairs on the porch, flickering paraffin lamps winking hello after dinner and an outdoor shower simply made for watching heavenly bodies. Stars… I mean.
The Ngala (which means 'lion' in Shangaan) reserve itself is a modest 14 000ha, but with fences dropped with the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve to the West and Kruger to the East, it’s as diverse as if you were in the National Park.
The Timbavati is one of the most famous private reserves in the country and is home to a wide selection of excellent lodges. For somewhere that's child-friendly, try the Gomo Gomo Game Lodge (www.gomogomo.co.za) built on the banks of the Nhlaralumi River, which offers five fully-furnished thatched chalets and four East African-style luxury tents in the shade of age-old Jackalberry and Leadwood trees. South of the Timbavati, the Sabi Sand is another well-known private reserve famous for its excellent game-viewing, where you'll find lodges such as Elephant Plains, Leopard Hills, Ulusaba and the iconic Londolozi,
Whether it's mountainous or malaria-free, bushveld or by the beach, South Africa's vast range of safari getaways means you'll never have to leave the country to enjoy some of the best wildlife safaris the world has to offer.
» This article originally appeared in travelideas magazine.
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