Travel Tips

During my trip through southern Africa, I visited several different game parks - Kruger NP, Pilanesburg NP, Krugersdorp, Etosha NP, and Chobe NP. Here are some highlights from those safaris.

My first safari was on horseback through a private game reserve in Krugersdorp. This was my first opportunity to see wild animals in a non-zoo setting. Notice the zebras behind me. I got even closer to them than in the picture. I also saw springboks, giraffes, gemsbok, and even rhinos! In one area where there was a stream of water running through the park, I was surrounded by many of the buck species and rhinos.

Phillip and Inga took me in their car through a day in Pilanesburg National Park. Here I saw a lot more animals - some I've seen already, some new. There were very large herds of zebras, wildebeass, and buffalos. I saw many animals up close as often they would be blocking the car path. We also saw rhinos, and an elephant.

I went on a 4 day safari through Kruger National Park and a private game reserve. The terrain in the park was very similar to Pilanesburg and Krugersdorp. Saw much of the same animals, but here I saw a leopard (from a distance), and lions. We even caught the lions mating, which was very lucky since it only lasted 2 seconds!! Anyhow, now I have seen the big 5 - elephants, rhinos, buffalos, lions, and leopard. These animals are part of the big 5 because apparently they are the most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt.

Part of the 4 day trip through KNP included an open vehicle drive through a private game reserve. It was amazing how close we got to some animals which can potentially be aggresive - like rhinos and buffalos - in an unprotected vehicle. There were loads of these rhinos and buffalos around.

In addition to seeing all of the animals, this trip was particularly enjoyable because there were some great people on the tour - Mark, Joanie, Carl, David, Gerry, etc. They were the first travellers I have met since beginning this trip and it was a lot of fun exchanging stories and experiences.

Etosha was quite similar to Kruger NP, but the difference was that the there were more waterholes where animals actually drank at. It was told it is rare to be able to see a giraffe drinking from a waterhole because that is when they are most vulnerable - when their head is down. Anyhow, it was nice to see some action by the animals by the waterholes. It made for some really nice pictures at sunsets also (like the one at top). I also saw here for the first time a lion kill (what was left of it anyways).

Chobe National Park in Botswana is considered one of the best game parks because the chances of viewing a large number of animals are high. We did a boat cruise down the Chobe river, and although we did not see many varieties of animals, we saw large numbers of elephants, buffalos, and hippos. It was also a nice change of scenary as the game parks that I have been to so far have been dry in climate, and Chobe is very green due to its proximity to water. We got great views of elephants bathing in water, as well as other smaller animals like bucks, crocs, and monkeys.