OF all the trillions of reasons why I love living in South Africa, the best thing about our wonderful, funny, sometimes infuriating, sometimes depressing, always glorious country is its plethora of excellent national, provincial, municipal and private game and nature reserves.
Whereever you live in South Africa there is sure to be some sort of wilderness, a little patch of it or a large game reserve, almost on your doorstep. If you are a nature lover, there is no excuse for staying at home. There is so much pristine, or nearly pristine, wilderness close at hand to explore, either on a day excursion, a weekend break or a more extended holiday. Even people living in Gauteng have the most amazing choice of really lovely conserved areas within the most urbanised sections of their crowded province.
My husband, Bill, and I have travelled extensively throughout South Africa and, over the years have visited so many of its wonderful wild places. Many of the reserves we have grown to love are run by provincial conservation authorities, some of them pretty cash-strapped. Generally, they do an excellent job of protecting and maintaining their green gems.
However, without knocking the provincial conservation authorities, I have to say that if there is an organisation that, as a South African, really fills me with pride, it is our marvellous South African National Parks Board.
Usually known as Sanparks, it is an organisation that deserves so much more credit for what it achieves. Sanparks has even joined hands with other countries to create wonderful transfrontier parks or, as they are also known, Peace Parks. How incredible is this amazing development – conservation without borders!
There are 19 wonderfully varied, expertly managed national parks that fall under the Sanparks umbrella. We are fortunate to have visited all of them except for one, the new Namaqua National Park. I’ve read so much about it that I can’t wait to get there. There are also a couple of parks that are long overdue a revisit.
How fantastic are our national parks, though, and so incredibly diverse, each one so splendid, scenic and fascinating in its own, unique way. You are not going to be able to see the big five in every one of them, but a big five mentality is an awful handicap when you are visiting a game reserve.
Just driving around looking for and ticking off lions, leopards, rhino, buffalo and elephants is way too boring. To get the most out of a national park visit, you have to be aware of the inter-connectedness of all the elements that make a conserved area so dynamic. By developing an awareness of the ever-changing topography, vegetation, climate, season, insects, birds and animals, you start to fit pieces of a puzzle together to see the bigger picture.
And, whether you visit our huge, flagship Kruger National Park or the smaller ones, like the still developing Tankwa Karoo, the bigger picture is always fascinating.
What is more, the parks are just so amazingly well run, from an environmental and from a tourism point of view. Whenever we have had the privilege of visiting a national park, from the time we made our booking to the time we left, we have experienced nothing but efficient, friendly service. In all the years we have travelled around southern Africa we have never had cause to complain about Sanparks in any way. What wonderful ambassadors for South Africa are the helpful people who look after the thousands of travellers from all over the world who visit our national parks.
These beautiful game reserves are also incredibly visitor-friendly. Infrastructure is well-maintained, facilities are world-class and the rest camps are always comfortable and spotlessly clean – and so very attractive. We usually spend our national park holidays under canvas and camping in any of them just couldn’t be easier. While some camping areas are more rustic than others, the facilities are always excellent. In on-the-beaten-track places like Kruger you even have boiling water on tap.
Now and then we stay in hutted accommodation and when we go to the Kgalagadi we spoil ourselves with a few nights in the game reserve’s fantastic wilderness camps. I often hear complaints about game reserve holidays bein so expensive but I must say I have found the accommodation options good value for money. However, for families with a limited holiday budget, camping is really the way to go.
Armed with a good tent and an annually renewable Wild Card (which allows free entrance into all national parks and most provincial ones and is a real money saver) a holiday in a national park is amazingly inexpensive. And at certain times of the year, pensioners can save up to 40 percent on accommodation, which make camping incredibly cheap for the over-sixties.
Above all, though, our beautiful national parks offer the most incredible wilderness experiences. The people who manage them are so dedicated and wise. I always leave a national park feeling that South Africa’s green heritage is in good hands.
For the next few weeks, come with me on a whistle-stop virtual tour of South Africa as I share my happiest memories of visits to some of our wonderful Sanpark game reserves.
