Nature is beautiful. But you only get to fully grasp the depth of nature’s beauty when you go on an African safari trip. During your safari journey, you’ll get to experience the uniqueness in every destination, just like that of culture and customs.
Now, there are many reasons for deciding to go on an African safari trip. It may be the incredible scenery or the outdoor activities such as hiking and hot air balloon rides – for whatever reason at all, whenever the opportunity presents itself, it should be grabbed with both hands.
Knowing what you want out of a safari experience is important. Doing so helps you get the most out of it. A safari trip without exploring the wildlife in their natural habitat is not a whole safari experience.
For this reason, you don’t want to miss out on these top ten wildlife safari parks in Africa.
Kruger National Park
Found in the northeastern parts of South Africa in the province of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, the Kruger National Park is one of the largest wildlife reserves in Africa. Acclaimed as a world heritage site by UNESCO, the park extends 19,845 km square. A magnificent forest, the Kruger National Park is the base of the ‘Big Five’ including other such mammals as antelope, wild dog, jackal, giraffe, and Blue wildebeest.
Serengeti National Park
Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park stretches all the way to the East Masai Mara regions in Kenya. A highly-esteemed safari park traversing over the 30,000km square with an exceptional scenery of expansive rolling meadows, the famous ‘Big Five’ (Lions, African leopard, African bush elephant, eastern black rhinoceros and African buffalo) make their home here. Also, over 500 species of birds and carnivores like the cheetah, hyena, honey badger, and African wild dogs are here. It is always a delight to witness the annual migration of wildebeest. Now, over 2.5 million wildebeest, zebras, Thomson’s gazelle and antelopes migrate here between June and November in their quest for better grazing. And this has been considered as a world wonder.
Ngorongoro National Park
With over 25,000 large animals, Tanzania’s Ngorongoro national park has a stunning volcanic crater measuring about 20 kilometres across, 600 meters deep, and 300 square kilometres in area. It remains unflooded and unbroken as it also prides itself as being the largest caldera in the world. You’ll find elephants, reedbuck, and jackals in the rainforest of the crater rim. Wildebeest, eland, gazelles, and zebras make their base in the crater. Beautiful flamingos, ostriches, and pelicans are in the lake within the crater. About two million animals also pass through this park during migration.
Hwange National Park
Hwange National Park is the largest wildlife park in Zimbabwe today. Named after a local Nhanzwa chief, the reserve measures an extraordinary 14, 651 km square. Previously known as Wankie game reserve, Hwange National Park became a national park in 1961. There is an incredible diversity of wildlife here – from impalas, African buffaloes, lions to a large population of elephants including 400 bird species.
Masai Mara National Reserve
The Masai Mara Game Reserve conveniently makes this list having been recently honoured as the number one Safari Park on the planet by World Travel Award (WTA). Settled in the southwest of Kenya as it lies along the Tanzanian border, this 1,510 km square park is named after the legendary Masai Tribe. The standout feature of this park is ‘The Big Five’ game and the Great Wildebeest Migration.
Chobe National Park
Found in the northern parts of Botswana, this is the country’s first national park and the third-largest after Kalahari and Gemsbok national parks. There is a variety of wildlife including lions, giraffes, antelopes, cheetahs, zebras, wildebeest and over 450 species of bird on this park spanning up to 12,000km square of land. The Park is divided into four areas: The Serondela area, the Savuti march, the Linyanti Marsh, and Hinterland.
Kibale National Forest Park
Located in western Uganda and spanning across 776 km square, Kibale National Forest Park is esteemed for its abundance of primates in the whole of Africa. Here, chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys and L’Hoest’s in addition to other endangered species can be found. The luxuriant rainforest and spectacular panoramas will definitely have visitors spellbound.
Etosha National Park
Namibia’s Etosha National Park occupies a land of 20,000 km square. Acclaimed as the centre of easy spotting of diverse wildlife, the animals are not spotted as you drive around the park. Rather, they come to you. Just park your vehicle near one of the many water holes and enjoy viewing animals in their hundreds – lions, elephants, gemsbok, springbok and various bird species. You’ll also find the nearly-extinct black rhinoceros here.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park can be found in a thick rainforest in southwest Uganda on the edge of the Albertine Rift. Home to chimpanzees, monkeys, and endangered mountain gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park will offer the perfect African safari experience. Although there are rough tracks here, there is an abundance of stunning birds, butterflies, and garden species.
Luangwa National Park
Found in the eastern part of Zambia and covering 9,050 km square area, there is an abundance of mammals around the Luangwa River and oxbow lagoons. The river is home to hippos and crocodiles. On the land, there are over 60 species of mammal including Thornicroft giraffe, cape buffaloes, elephants, and leopards. There is also a large population of bird species here. Luangwa National Park is definitely a top safari park.
