SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL PARKS

Addo Elephant National Park is a great park for family vacations and learning about conservation set on the backdrop of the undulating African bushveld.

The Southernmost tip of the African continent, Agulhas National Park sits on the “Cape of Storms” where many myths have taken root.

Augrabies Falls National Park is a great place for the outdoor enthusiast.

Bontebok National Park is the smallest of the national parks in South Africa, located in the Langeberg Mountains in the Cape floral kingdom.

This incredibly scenic park surrounds the Karoo town of Graaff Reinet and was commissioned to protect this ecosystem in the Eastern Cape.

The park gets its name from the colors of the sandstone cliffs when the sun shines on them.

As a reserve to protect two of South Africa’s most endangered animals, the Riverine rabbit and the black rhinoceros, Karoo National Park has become a model to many others and is admired the world over for its ability to pull back animals from the brink of extinction.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is the most arid of all South Africa’s national parks; located in the southern Kalahari Desert.  There is however, an abundance of game, and hiking safaris with an armed guide are a must to enjoy and appreciate the dusty landscape.

Knysna National Lake Area is a pristine marine national park along the “Garden Route” which is made up of the two previously separate Wilderness National Park and the Knysa National Lake Areas.

Kruger National Park is a big five national park with 147 specials of animals and over 500 species of birds. Kruger has varying activities from hiking safaris, horseback riding to game drives and pure African adventure.

Also a UNESCO World Heritage site, Mapungubwe National Park is home to the Iron Age “Lost City” which first was populated in the 10th Century long before anywhere else in the region with established trade routes with India, Egypt and China.

Marakele National Park or “a place of sanctuary” in Tswana is located north northeast of Johannesburg and drivable in about 2 hours nestled in the Waterberg Mountains.  A very accessible national park, it has very good facilities in the camp ground and is a good national park for families or those with disabilities.

Mokala National Park is located about 100km outside of Kimberly, in the near center of South Africa.  It is the newest National Park to be added to the system, and is already home to some endangered and indigenous species of animals and plants.

Because of the steep valleys, undulating hills and plains, the land has provided a perfect ecosystem for the Cape Mountain Zebra which, when compared, is quite different from the typical grassland zebra with its smaller body, white stomach and reddish nose.

Sitting on a biodiversity hotspot, Namaqua National Park becomes one carpet of flowers that lay in complete contrast to the dusty plains of Namaqualand that surround it.  When in season, the porcupines and the butterflies are out giving anyone walking or driving through the park a very magical and eye-popping mosaic of colors.

Table Mountain National Park runs from the Table Mountain chain which sits above and around Cape Town, down to the Cape of Good Hope and the surrounding water and coastline.  Table Mountain National Park is mainly an open access park where park entrance fees are only payable at Boulders, Silvermine and the Cape of Good Hope.

Wildlife is a very rare find in this harsh environment and when the vehicle engine is turned off a very calming silence fills the park and you feel very connected with the earth.

A small coastal national park, called the “place of much water” found just south of the Formosa Nature Reserve and east of Plettenberg bay.  Tsitsikamma National Park is where the high forest canopy runs down the embankment to meet the rocky coast.

The first impression of the park is flowers, and the Postberg Flower Reserve is nestled into the park.  The coast is rocky in parts and sand dunes meet the beach in others. West Coast National Park is a real bird sanctuary with Cape Gannet, Flamingos and Black Harrier; just to name a few.  The lagoon is a part of the protected park, but used often in the summer months for water sports.

Between George and Plattenberg bay is the Wilderness National Park, right on South Africa’s famed garden route.  Wilderness National Park was once more in the wilderness, but now is quite central to the communities that surround it.

The scraggly kloofs and the high mountains of this mountainous desert are home to indigenous plant life and an array of wildlife found in few other places in the world.  The only water source comes from morning fog blown in from the Atlantic Ocean some 40 miles (60 km) away.