These safari destinations are just too good to miss. They represent the best of what going on a safari is all about and if you ever get a chance to visit one of these game reserves, my advice is to jump at it. These five are based on the most popular that people ask for as tourists.
Africa's top safari destinations include wildlife parks in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana,. If you're looking for the best safari where you're almost guaranteed to see the "Big Five" you can't go wrong with these choices.
Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya)
Kenya is Africa's most popular safari destination and the Masai Mara Reserve is the most popular wildlife park in Kenya. From July - October you can witness the incredible migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra. The Maasai tribesmen also offer cultural tours which will enhance your experience.
The National Park is possibly the greatest wildlife theatre on earth! Besides wildebeest and zebra, elephant, hippos, zebra, Masai giraffe, wildebeest, impala, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, topi, hartebeest, waterbuck, jackal, spotted hyena, lion, leopard, cheetah, crocodile, baboons and monkeys are permanent residents in the park.
Chances are excellent of spotting many of them on any game drive. Masai Mara covers an area of approximately 1050 sq miles and is home to a wide variety of bird life. Ostrich, secretary birds, crowned cranes, hawks, eagles, marabou storks, vultures, guinea fowl and francolins are just a fraction of the nearly 400 species of birds found in the park. In the Mara stunning photographic possibilities are endless!
Another big plus is the fact that going off-road is allowed as long as you are not making new trails of your own. This is one of the few vacations in Africa parks that still allow this and it is a big advantage because the animals will rarely oblige you and stay next to the major roads.
The only downside here is that because of its popularity there are a lot of people around so if you want to spend time in isolation with nature this is not the place to go.
-
Chobe National park lies in Botswana's Okavango Delta and covers four distinct Eco-systems. The Savuti marsh in particular offers some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa year round. Safaris in Botswana have a reputation of being expensive, but Chobe is actually one of the more affordable parks in the country.
Kruger National Park (South Africa)
Kruger National Park in South Africa boasts the highest variety of wildlife in Africa which includes the Big Five, hippos, crocodiles, cheetah and more. Kruger is one of the best maintained parks in Africa which means it is ideal for a self-drive safari.
Kruger National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa and it is also home to the African lion. Guided tours will take you to where the big cats congregate however, given their daily ritual of sleeping for extended periods of time; getting glimpses of the flowing mane of a big male can sometimes be hit or miss.
For sheer variety of species no other place in Africa can come close to the Kruger Park. And because it is so large (larger than Wales) it has a number of different ecosystems that you can pass through in your search for animals and birds.
Serengeti National Park (Tanzania)
The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania offers the absolute classic African safari setting. The grasslands make the Serengeti fantastic for spotting lion kills because you can see the whole spectacle clearly. The migration of millions of wildebeest and zebra starts here and because it's much larger than the Mara (see above), it is also less touristy.
The Serengeti covers an area of approximately 9200 sq miles. The plains support a large variety of wildlife ranging from lions, cheetahs, wildebeest, and gazelles and may other species.
The annual migration moves northwards across the Mara River and this 'the last great spectacle of nature' has a cast that includes around millions of wildebeest, gazelle and an assortment of zebra. It begins in June with the return leg on October/November. The Serengeti centers on acacia savannah, with dry grasslands to the south, a western corridor of wooded highland that fronts Lake Victoria and the wooded grasslands along the Grumeti and Mara Rivers.
During the annual migration, when the wildebeest and zebra pack up and leave their grazing areas to find fresher ones, the Serengeti is an astonishing place to be.
It provides very good safari trips at other times of the year too but the migration has been ranked by many as one of the wonders of the natural world.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania)
The Ngorongoro Conservation area in Tanzania includes the world's largest crater which acts as a natural enclosure for almost every species of wildlife found in East Africa. The Maasai still live within the conservation area, and it's also home to Olduvai where some of man's earliest remains have been found.
Ngorongoro conservation area covers over 5149 sq miles and one of the most spectacular sights you are ever likely to see while on safari lies in the Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is a microcosm of the East African savannah and a natural wonder unique in the world.
Upon descent to the crater floor you are treated to a magical experience where herds of zebra rub shoulders with wildebeest, gazelle and buffalo. The crater provides a great chance of seeing some of Africa’s biggest bull elephants and many predators among a myriad of other animals.
Olduvai Gorge is famous for its fossil finds - about 150 species of prehistoric mammals including the Dr. Leakey's discovery of 400 fragments of a skull. A small museum displays a number of copies of the finds.
An extra one and one of my favourite.
Amboseli National Park
located at the foot hills of the famous Mount Kilimanjaro.
Although the park covers an area of just over 250 Sq miles. Amboseli National Park is a photographer’s dream with magnificent views of snow capped Mount Kilimanjaro looming near as a backdrop for vast herds of elephant.
It is here that some of Kenya’s largest bull elephants and buffalo roam freely through lush swamplands fed by the melting snows of Kilimanjaro. Herds of Zebra, wildebeest and gazelle graze on the grassy plains and transverse dry, dusty lakebeds in search of water.
Wooded areas of acacia forests offer great possibilities to photograph abundant species of bird and animal life sustained by and living among these beautiful trees.
Amboseli is home to many of the Masai people, the proud, tall nomadic warriors, famous for their acts of bravery and heroism as they protect their herds of cattle from predators and other dangers, ever present in the African brush. A visit to a Masai Boma affords one the opportunity to photograph these beautiful people in their home as they have lived for hundreds of years.
