"South Africa, A World in One" South Africa by Waxbag

South Africa (SA) is a fascinating country rich in wildlife and cultural with incredible landscapes and interesting history. It is a country that is constantly improving its infrastructure and rebuilding its human landscape out of the depths of apartheid. The country has a strong history of wildlife conservation with some of the oldest and largest parks in all of Africa. The latest trend are the Transfrontier parks that combine other reserve to resestablish mirgratory routes and promote diversity. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a combined effort by SA and Botswana to create a large Kalahari park and the Greater Limpopo Reserve will combine the Kruger National Park with reserve in Zimbabwe and Mozambique making it the largest protected area in the world. The park facilities here are among the best and most accessible in Africa. You can find the Big 5 in several of the parks as well as a huge variety of others animals. There are an estimated 22,000 species of floral in SA which accounts for 10% of the entire world. That is impressive considering that SA only accounts for .8% of the entire area of the world.

Gold and diamonds were the backbone of the South African economy bringing a huge number of European immigrants here during the late 1800s causing friction with the Boers (Afrikaner) who were already here from the mid 1600s. There are still distinction between British and Afrikaner as well of course with the original native populations including Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana and, Zulu to name a few that makes SA’s political landscape very complex. Gold and diamonds are still an important part of the countries economy as well as agriculture and tourism. It is one of the only if not the only self sufficient country in Africa.

Leopard at Satara

There is so much to do in South Africa I had to make two visits. Of course the game parks never get old. You can see something new each visit, either new animals or behavoirs.

If you are here for a month or more you can see a lot of the country including the beautiful parks in the south and the interesting historic cities such as Capetown, Simon's Town, the Wine country, Kysna etc as well as the fantastic Kruger Park and perhaps some of the game reserves in Kwazulu-Natal.

If you are short on time you really must choose one area to focus. If you stay to the south and plan on doing just Capetown and some of the Garden Route, go visit Addo Elephant National Park just north of Port Elizabeth. It is a beautiful park and although nothing like Kruger, has the Big 5 and a lot of game for a small park.

If you really have some time and are interested in some adventure, go visit the stunning Kalahari. Kglalagadi National Park and Augrabies Falls National Park are two of Africa's best kept secrets.

Blyde River Canyon

The Wild Card program has been recently introduced in the South African National Park system to make the parks more affordable for those making multiple entries. The card has a small computer chip in it that stores and process information. South African residence may buy a card specific to one region or “clusters”. For instance the Bushveld Cluster would include Golden Gate, Kruger, Mapungubwe, and Marakele National Parks. International tourist pay the same no matter what. The price is good for one year no matter how many parks or how many times you visit.

For all parks South African Residence pay R195 for individual, R335 for a couple, and R440 for a Family.

For International tourist the card is R795 for individual, R1395 for a couple, and R1795 for a family.

Other benefits like 5% cash back on accommodation, car rental, refreshments, etc. may also be available with the card.

Kruger and Kgalagadi Parks costs R120 a day per person. Other parks are less expensive, but if you are planning to spend a lot of time in the South African national Parks, absolutely get the card.

Here is the list of National Parks that you can get admissions with the Wild Card:

Addo Elephant National Park
Agulhas National Park
Augrabies Falls National Park
Bontebok National Park
Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Karoo National Park
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Knysna National Lake Area
Kruger National Park
Mapungubwe National Park
Marakele National Park
Mountain Zebra National Park
Namaqua National Park
Richtersveld National Park
Table Mountain National Park
Tankwa Karoo National Park
Tsitsikamma National Park
Vaalbos National Park
West Coast National Park
Wilderness National Park

• Pros:Great Diversity of Attractions, Good Infrastructure
• Cons:High Crime in Urban Areas, Becoming More Expensive
• In a nutshell:Africa's "A World in One Country"