National parks of South Africa: a guide

From spectacular landscapes to rare animals and carefully repopulated spaces, a visit to any of the South African national parks will be a memorable experience as you lose yourself in the wonders of the wild, but if you’re hoping to spot particular animals, love being by the water or want to discover history along with the wildlife, there’s a park that’s perfect for you.

So whether you’re planning a bigger South Africa tour or safari holiday, we’ve picked out the best national parks to visit in South Africa.

The third largest national park in South Africa, Addo Elephant National Park is home not only to the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo) but also the Big Seven, which includes the Southern right whale and great white shark off the coast.

It’s the elephants which tempt most visitors, with more than 600 living in the park, and you’re guaranteed some of the world’s best sightings here.

Addo Elephant National Park

In the last few years, six lions have also been reintroduced, along with spotted hyenas, which means you’re also more likely to see some of Addo’s Cape Buffalo – a herd of more than 400.

Perhaps one of the most unusual creatures to spot is the rare flightless dung beetle, which has right of way on the roads in Addo – they might be small but they play a vital recycling role. You could call them the Goldilocks of insects though, as they only appear when conditions are not too hot and not too cold.

Only 30 minutes from the airport in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), it’s also easy to visit from accommodation in nearby private game reserves, with short walks in the park as well as guided game drives and self-drive game viewing.

Driving along South Africa’s south coast, you’ll discover one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world as you explore the Garden Route National Park.

The Park itself stretches from Mossel Bay to Storms River in the Tsitsikamma (itself a national park), encompassing the Wilderness and Knysna areas, including Plettenburg Bay. It’s easily combined with a stop in Hermanus for whale-watching too, especially if you’re planning a self-drive holiday along the Garden Route.

Storms River mouth, Garden Route National Park

Along the route, you’ll find mountains, forests and fynbos, the shrubland vegetation that’s unique to South Africa, with some wonderful birdwatching, as well as hiking and kayaking. Home to 77 different mammals, you could see elephants but one of the highlights is the marine life, with orca, dolphins, Cape fur seals and a string of whales, including Southern Right whales and humpback whales. Don’t miss a stop at Robberg Nature Reserve where you can also spy Bryde’s whales, and where Southern Right whales come to breed and calve from June to December.

The largest South Africa national park by far, Kruger covers an area five times the size of Kent, stretching for nearly 2 million hectares – the flagship of the South African National Parks, it’s unsurprisingly one of the most popular game parks in the world.

Leopard, Kruger National Park

There are private game reserves along the boundary of the national park as well, including Timbavati Private Game Reserve, and despite Kruger’s huge size, there’s a lot of flexibility about how you explore – you can drive your own vehicle, stay at public rest camps or check into more exclusive private lodges, such as Simbavati River Lodge and Imbali Safari Lodge.

The animals you can see in Kruger National Park are equally varied; 147 species of mammal, 507 birds, 114 reptiles, 34 amphibians, 49 fish and even 336 different types of tree. Spotting the Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo – is really only the beginning. You could also see everything from hippo and giraffe to eagles and vultures, as well as smaller inhabitants such as elephant shrews, leopard tortoises and rhino beetles.

But the park also preserves some significant cultural treasures, including bushman rock paintings, along with several archaeological sites, reminding visitors that for centuries human life was interwoven with the natural world which draws tourists today.

If you’re looking for a quieter South Africa national parks experience, heading north to Marakele National Park in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains is memorably different. The word Marakele translates from the Tswana as ‘a place of sanctuary’, and this more tranquil national park lives up to its name.

Set in the area where the dry western and wetter eastern regions of South Africa meet, you’ll also find a wide variety of wildlife living here, along with rare yellowwood trees.

Waterberg Mountains

The scenery itself is worth a visit; look out for Cape Vultures soaring through blue skies with the mountains as a backdrop, some of the 800 breeding pairs in the park. Birders will be in heaven, especially if you’re hoping to spot raptors, with many species riding the thermals here; several eagle species are among the 272 types of bird living in Marakele.

But you’ll also find larger mammals such as lion, leopard, elephant and brown hyena, as well as a whole string of antelope species, plus chacma baboons and mischievous vervet monkeys.

Right in the far north of South Africa, Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site sits on the site of an ancient African kingdom dating from around 1200CE at Mapungubwe Hill.

This powerful tribe, thought to be Southern Africa’s first kingdom, traded with India and China before its fall less than a century later. So if you’re interested in archaeology as well as wildlife, Mapungubwe is unmissable.

White-fronted bee-eater in Mapungubwe national park

Archaeologists excavated a golden rhino here, along with other evidence of this wealthy civilisation, on display in the collection at the University of Pretoria Museums. For even more ancient history, there are fossilised dinosaur footprints, plus fossilised plants, insects and even termite mounds to see.

Today this South Africa national park is home to elephants and leopards, along with a rich variety of birdlife as the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers meet, with at least 447 species spotted here – and as it’s less visited than other areas, it’s thought there may be even more.

The landscape is as dramatic as its history too, with towering cliffs and lush forests along the water. Mapesu Nature reserve, a private reserve on the edge of Mapungubwe National Park is easy to combine with the national park for more chances to spot wildlife.

If you think South Africa national parks are all about the animals, think again. Table Mountain National Park may have its own wildlife, but it’s the spectacular scenery which has seen this area of the Cape Peninsula named a natural world heritage site.

Table Mountain itself, looming above Cape Town with its regular ‘tablecloth’ of cloud on top, is perhaps the best-known highlight but the national park includes far more, including the clear seas and white sands of the Marine Protected Area around the peninsula, as it stretches 70km from Signal Hill and Table Mountain in the north to Cape Point in the south.

Table Mountain

Part of the Cape Floral System, the national park is known for its fynbos, the unique vegetation found in this part of South Africa – some species are only found within an area a few kilometres across – and it’s perfect for walkers and hikers to explore on foot. While lions lived in this part of the country long ago, the area is home to rather less ferocious wildlife today including various species of antelope.

Best known are the rock hyrax, or dassies, small furry rodent-like creatures which are actually most closely related to elephants and manatees. Or if you head down to Cape Point and the peninsula’s beaches, you can spot the equally endearing African penguins.

Part of the Garden Route National Park, Tsitsikamma means ‘place of abundant water’, and from anywhere in the park, it’s easy to see where it got its name.

This coastal national park sits on a plateau 200m high which is split by a huge snaking river. Known for its thick ancient forest as well as the marine conservation area stretching 5km out into the ocean, Tsitsikamma National Park is also one of the best national parks in South Africa for hiking, with the wonderful Otter Trail.

Tsitsikamma National Park

This five-day hiking trail starts at the Storms River Mouth Rest Camp and ends at the village of Natures Valley, although you can also choose to hike just part of the route with some wonderful views out along the coast.

You’ll also find kayaking tours and cycling routes, plus a canopy tour in the Tsitsikamma rainforest, where you can glide around huge Outeniqua Yellowwood trees, some of which are over 700 years old and enjoy views from the platforms high in the treetops.

Look out too for landmarks such as Storms River Suspensions Bridge, for years the highest concrete arch bridge in Africa, and the rather prosaically named ‘Big Tree’, a giant 800-year-old Yellowwood which stands more than 36m tall and which has a trunk measuring 9m in circumference.

West Coast National Park is unique among South African national parks for its large lagoon, the only one in the country, making this location particularly tempting for birders as well as those looking to get out on the azure waters of the lagoon.

Langebaan Lagoon Marine Protected Area

You’ll find kayaking, sailing and other water sports to enjoy, not to mention a chance to relax on the pale sand. Or venture beyond the dune to discover wetlands and South Africa’s unique fynbos shrubland on walking and cycling trails through the national park, with everything from short walks to longer routes such as Eve’s Trail. This 2.5km guided walk follows in the ancient footsteps of ‘Eve’, whose footprint was discovered preserved in rock in 1995 and which is thought to belong to a woman who lived 117,000 years ago.

Home to around 280 bird species, over a quarter of South Africa’s total numbers, there are bird hides around the national park. Particularly important for wetland birds, the best time to visit is in March, when they congregate in larger numbers to feed before they migrate and September on their return journey. Only around 90 minutes’ drive from Cape Town, it’s easy to combine with time in the city too, and if you visit during August and September, you can spot Southern Right whales migrating past the coastline in the Tsaarsbank section of the park.

If you’re interested in visiting the South Africa National Parks, or exploring some of the country’s other magnificent sights, find what we have on offer on our holidays in South Africa.