African Safari – where are the best places for wildlife viewing?
Safari Club’s guide to the best places to see some of Africa’s top game animals
Big 5: Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino and Elephant
If you want to tick the Big 5 off your list in one trip, the Maasai Mara in Kenya, Kruger National Park and Sabi Sands in South Africa and the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania offer the best chance.
Wild Dog
The Wild Dog is a highly endangered and exciting animal to see. Botswana’s Linyanti Wetlands and Okavango Delta , Tanzania’s Ruaha and Selous Reserves, Kafue National Park in Zambia and Hwange in Zimbabwe consistently provide good sightings.
Elephant
Most of East and Southern Africa’s major Parks have good elephant populations. Chobe Game Reserve and the Okavango Delta in Botswana have the largest populations with over 100000 elephants.
Lions
Lions are widespread and the open plains of the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in East Africa are a good place view lions. The Maasai Mara in Kenya is also a good place to find lions. In Southern Africa, South Luangwa National Park has plentiful lions as do Etosha National Park in Namibia, South Africa’s Kruger and Madikwe and all of Botswana’s major parks.
Leopards
Leopard are common but can be very difficult to see as they are mainly nocturnal. South Luangwa National park is usually an excellent place to see them on night drives. The private reserves of Sabi Sands around Kruger National Park also usually provide good leopard sightings as the leopards are less shy than elsewhere. Other hotspots are the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Kafue in Zambia, the Maasai Mara in Kenya and Selous in Tanzania.
Cheetah
Cheetah are best spotted in open country, the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the desert reserves of Botswana and Namibia are the best places to find cheetah
Black Rhino
Black Rhino is by far the rarest of the big five and Etosha National Park possibly offers the best chance. The Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania has a reasonable population as does South Africa’s Kruger which also has many white rhino. In Kenya well protected specialist conservancies such as Lewa Downs and Ol Pejeta along with the small Lake Nakuryu National Park and the Maasai Mara provide good sightings.
Hippos and Crocodiles
Both animals are common in lakes and rivers throughout East and Southern Africa. The Luangwa, Zambezi and Kafue Rivers in Zambia all have plenty of Crocs and Hippos. Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the Grumeti and Mara Rivers in Tanzania and Kenya have some of the biggest crocs. Liwonde National Park in Malawi also offers fine viewing opportunities.
Gorillas
There are only around 800 Mountain Gorillas left in Africa making it the continents most endangered wild animal, seeing this close relative of man in the wild is something very special. You can visit the Mountain Gorillas is in Parc National de Volcans in Rwanda. If you have time, Gorilla Trekking in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest can be the highlight of a general safari to the beautiful country of Uganda the only other place where Mountain Gorillas can be seen.
Chimpanzees
Mahale Mountains National Park on the shores of beautiful Lake Tanganyika is a great place for Chimpanzee Trekking, there are also several places where they can be viewed in Uganda including Kibale and Budongo Forest Reserves and Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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About the Author
Safari Club use small, intimate, luxury safari camps and lodges in beautiful locations we have visited ourselves in Southern and East Africa; other tourists are few and the wildlife plentiful. Our tailor made safari holidays aim to give the best value for money without compromising on the quality of your exclusive Africa safari experience.
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