Travel Guide: South Africa

South Africa is one of the most geographically varied countries of the African continent, comprising territory that ranges from the rolling, fertile plains of the highveld and the wide open savanna of the Eastern Transvaal to the Kalahari desert and the peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains. While all of its diverse regions offer ample opportunities for adventure travel, the focus in South Africa - as in much of sub-Saharan Africa - is the safari.

In addition to possessing 2 of the world's most renowned wildlife reserves, the Kruger and the Kalahari Gemsbok National Parks, the country contains over a dozen smaller regional parks and reserves. In addition, with its excellent road and rail systems, its abundance of top-rated accommodations, and its bountiful farmlands and vineyards, South Africa allows visitors ample opportunity for more luxurious comfort along with adventuresome excitement.

Places of Interest

Kruger National Park:

Stretching over 350 miles (563 2km) from north to south, teeming with wildlife, Kruger National Park is justly rated as one of the world's finest game reserves. Kruger National Park is home to more species of wildlife than any other game sanctuary on the continent, and is one of Africa's few remaining havens for big cats. Well over a thousand Lions, and large populations of Leopard and Cheetah, roam freely here, along with substantial numbers of Elephant, Zebra, Rhino, Giraffe, Hippo, Impala, and Kudu--more than enough to satisfy even the most shutter-happy photographer. Kruger is also--like South Africa as a whole--an outstanding destination for birdwatchers, offering a scarcely believable diversity and abundance of species.

Founded in 1898 by Paul Kruger, the park has over the last century been well tended and carefully developed. Unlike many reserves and sanctuaries, it is blessed with an outstanding road network, and in recent years its perimeter fencing has been substantially reduced, allowing greater migration ranges and increased wildlife populations.

Stretching along the park's western border are a number of private reserves, supplementing the land available to Kruger's game and allowing greatly enhanced opportunities for safari visits. On the private reserves, visitors are permitted to travel on foot, in open vehicles, and to view wildlife at night, none of which activities are permitted within the park itself.