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Selected Game Parks in South Africa in Top Golfing Areas
 South Africa is a first class golf location throughout the year and many of the top golf courses are close to unique game reserves giving golfers and non golfers the opportunity to see "big game" in the wild. You can stay at luxury game lodge's within the parks or visit them from hotels nearby.
- Pilanesberg Game Reserve is a great choice for golfers as it is adjacent to the #1 golf course. It is the 3rd largest game park in South Africa, well stocked and is malaria free. You can stay at a Game Lodge in Pilansberg Reserve and still use the entertainment facilities, golf courses and Casino at Sun City.
- Kruger National Park is the main game reserve in South Africa. It is five hours drive from Johannesburg or you can fly there. Here you have great golf at Leopard Creek which has been ranked #2 in South Africa and you can either stay at a luxury Game Lodge in one of the private parks adjacent to Kruger or you can visit the park from a hotel on the edge of the park. It is a malarial area.
- The Cape Coast - has two interesting reserves Shamwazi Game Reserve which works with the Born free Foundation and Addo Elephant National Park both near Port Elizabeth and malarial free.
- Durban, about 150 miles north of Durban is Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve, particularly famous for conservation of black and white Rhino's with all other major game viewing also. This is a malarial area.
is adjacent to the famous leisure and entertainment resort of Sun City. It may not be very large compared to Kruger or some of the other great African parks, but it has a real wilderness feel to it and most of the big animals you could wish to see. It lies amongst the only significant hills in the area, The Pilanesberg is the highest peak towering 1,950 feet above Mankwe Lake, which sits in the heart of the ancient volcano.
The volcano's circular bowl was recognized as being the perfect situation for a national park with its tall sides creating natural boundaries. There is a whole range of Africa's game, about 10,000 head including the 'Big Five'; elephants, black and white rhinoceros, buffaloes, lions and leopards and you will also see giraffes, zebras, hippos and a wide variety of antelopes including the very attractive sable, eland, kudu and gemsbok. There are also cheetahs and hyenas and jackal. Bird life is good with over 300 species and bird lovers will be interested in the huge stroll-through aviary at the Manyane gate. Also in this area is a 'vulture restaurant' - created to help save the shy and endangered Cape vulture from regional extinction.
Rainy Season: It rains during the summer months of November to March, with thunder and lightening showers predominantly in February and March. Temperatures hover around 79-86°F (26-30°C).
Dry Season: April to September is the cool dry winter season with bright clear warm days and cold nights, particularly in the mid-winter months of June to August. The winter is the best for game viewing as the foliage has died back and animals frequent waterholes.
 Kruger National Park
Few visitors leave South Africa without visiting the enormous and magnificent Kruger Park, it has a very safe safari environment and is one of the most popular public-entry game parks in the world. Its density of permanent game is unrivalled with hundreds of different species; 507 birds, 147 mammals, 114 reptiles, 49 fish and 34 amphibians! The central and southern parts of the park have the best facilities for visitors, with an excellent network of roads and game-viewing waterholes.
Sighting the "Big Five” has become something of a quest for many people when on safari, and Kruger National Park has more than its fair share of these, with an estimated 1,800 lion, 9,125 elephant, 25,000 buffalo, unknown number of leopards and 2,300 black and white rhino. These animals became the 'Big Five' because they are the five most dangerous animals to hunt - when injured they attack! It should certainly not be a pre-requisite of a safari to see these or even a priority, as there are plenty of other fascinating animals and birds in the African bush. Some of the biggest and most impressive birds to be seen here are the ground hornbill, martial eagle, lappet-faced vulture, kori bustard and saddle-billed stork.
Rainy Season: The subtropical climate has hot rainy summers starting in October and ending around March. The summer rains transform the arid park into a lush flowering paradise, but the increased foliage does make animals harder to see.
Dry Season: The winter months from April to September are extremely pleasant with warm dry days and cold nights. Traditionally, the best game viewing is in winter as the vegetation becomes sparse and water is restricted to rivers and artificial waterholes.
Was set up to save the last 11 wild elephants roaming the area. It is now home to over 350 elephants and numerous other species. Elephants are wondrous creatures to watch especially at a waterhole. The Park has been so successful that it has been expanded to go from the dense inland valley bushveld of the Sundays River, all the way until it reaches the sea. No citrus fruits may be taken into Addo as elephants have such a craving for them, that one whiff of an orange could send them crazy, and could mark the end of you and your car.
Black-backed jackals are commonly seen in Addo, and evenings are punctuated by their strident howls. Cape buffalo, black rhino, kudu, eland, red hartebeest and springbok all graze on their preferred grasses or bushes and highly adaptable leopards are there but rarely seen. Lion will be reintroduced to complete the 'Big Five'. Furthermore, with the park now stretching to the shores of the Indian Ocean, whales and dolphins will swell the viewing opportunities. Addo’s birding opportunities are accentuated by the contrasting habitats of dense thickets interspersed with open grassy areas and wooded kloofs. Look out for martial and crowned eagles, olive bush shrikes, yellow throated warblers, Cape batis, black korhaan and secretary birds.
This region's temperate climate is influenced by the Indian Ocean, providing rain in equal measures throughout the year. Spring is in the air by the end of August and into September. October gets much warmer with the feeling of summer around the corner.
Summer: November to March are hot, and temperatures peak from December to February at around 75°-86°F (24-30°C) or more.
Autumn: Temperatures start cooling down from about April but it can still be very pleasant until June.
Winter: June, July and August are mid-winter months but the days may still be bright and warm, but it gets cold in the evening.
Is a malaria free, private game reserve. It is situated in verdant bush along the Bushmans River, halfway between Port Elizabeth (45 minutes drive outside the city) and Grahamstown, forming a natural extension to the famous Garden Route. Shamwari is about conserving a vanishing way of life, dating back to the time when a multitude of game roamed wild and free.
The Born Free Foundation is at the forefront of drawing the public's attention to the plight of wild animals confined in impoverished captive environments and promoting through education and public awareness, a humane agenda. It is the mission of Shamwari Game Reserve to promote the conservation of species and the protection of habitat while maintaining a humane and compassionate approach to the welfare of animals, working in partnership with actress/conservationist Virginia McKenna's Born Free Foundation.
At Shamwari you will have the 'safari of a lifetime', rangers dine with you sharing daily experiences and providing further information. You can experience, learn and enjoy the very best that African wildlife viewing can offer. There is great game viewing from modern Land Rovers converted into open viewing. Each vehicle has a trained ranger who will increase your enjoyment with his knowledge of both the flora and fauna. The rangers are in 2-way communication with each other at all times, so on any day they know where the game is, and how to find the elusive animals such as the rare Black Rhino. Game viewing is carried out morning and evening on game drives, when you are driven in your open vehicle (which seats up to 6) over the rolling hills and valleys. If you have a particular species you would like to see, just mention it to your ranger; he will be happy to merge your plans into the group. In the early morning (if you are keen) you will leave before dawn, spending up to 3-4 hours spotting before returning to your lodge for a hearty breakfast. Blankets are supplied for those cold morning starts!
The heat of the day is usually spent in the shade, playing tennis, swimming, reading and, of course, eating a large buffet lunch. Between 4:00 - 5:00pm, you assemble again for the evening drive. As the animals emerge from their midday cover, you may see elephants browsing, rhino drinking at a waterhole, or perhaps the shy bushbuck motionless in the dense bushveld. At dusk, the Land Rover stops at some panoramic spot for a sundowner (from the icebox ) and snacks.
Then, as the light fades, your ranger will plug in a powerful hand-held light. With its help, you can sweep the veld, seeing first the eyes and then the forms of a variety of nocturnal animals. By 8:00pm you are back at your lodge where a drink in the bar with your ranger, amid cheerful recollections of the day's discoveries is followed either by another great meal expertly prepared by our chefs, or a barbecue next to a roaring fire. Finally, a hot shower and a well-earned sleep. Before repeating it again the next day!
Generally, you may not leave your vehicle when it is in the reserve. Guided walks can be arranged in the company of your armed ranger, in search of rare animals. These hikes can often be the highlight of your African trip, for it is really only then that you gain a perspective of this great continent. Note: Game drives are done in open Land Rovers, so you can feel close to Nature.
This is a large and incredibly scenic park with rippling hills covered in low acacia bush, and lofty viewpoints giving a bird's eye view of who's doing what where. The park is particularly famous for its conservation of black and white rhino. It contains 370 endangered black rhino and the largest population of white rhino in the world. At 1600, this means you are very likely to see one or both species. It also contains the rest of the Big Five; buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard, as well as many other species including blue wildebeest, zebra, giraffe waterbuck, nyala, kudu, bushbuck, warthog, cheetah, hyena and jackal plus about 24,000 impala.
You may have some close encounters with elephants as they often cross or block the road right in front of your vehicle. In excess of 300 species of birds have been recorded.
Rainy Season: This is a hot and humid sub-tropical area and most rain falls during the months of September to April. Annual rainfall is 29-39 inches. |
