South Africa has more than 20 national parks and numerous provincial and private parks. The oldest and best known is the Kruger National Park. Being one of the largest game reserves in Africa, it covers 18,989 square kilometers (7,332 square miles). Kruger Park can be entered through nine gates. Overall, the park has 21 rest camps, 2 private lodge concessions, and 15 safari lodges. Despite being the most popular national park in South Africa, visitors can still experience the wilderness of Africa. The nine tourist trails that run throughout the park. The Kruger Park has 147 species of mammals and 517 species of birds.
The second most popular national park in South Africa is Table Mountain. Located in Cape Town, the park is well known for its various landmarks: Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope. Unlike other parks, Table Mountain National Park is not one continuous area, so the park’s 221 km2 is divided into three separate sections: the Table Mountain Section; The Silvermine-Tokai Section; Section of Punta del Cabo. The park is well known for its tourist attractions: the Table Mountain Cable Car, the African penguin colony at Boulders Beach, and picturesque Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.
Located near Port Elizabeth is the Addo Elephant National Park. Currently the park is home to around 450 elephants and a large number of other mammals. The 1,640 km2 (630 sq mi) parks feature a main camp with accommodation and other facilities and 4 rest camps for tourists along with 4 campsites run by concessionaires.
Namaqua National Park is semi-desert, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with variable, generally low rainfall. Located in the northwestern part of South Africa, this park has an area of 700 km2 (270 sq mi). It also has the highest concentration of succulent plants in the world. The main tourist attraction of the park is the spring flower. The park’s tourist facilities include a 5 km long scenic drive, an information center and hiking trails. There are also places to picnic.
With the southern tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas, Agulhas National Park is a good place to watch whales. Whale watching season begins in November and ends in January. The park has one of the smallest areas – 20,959 hectares (51,790 acres) among South African national parks.
Golden Gate Highlands National Park is best known for its stunning scenery and numerous paleontological finds. The main attraction of the park is the deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops in shades of gold, ocher and orange, especially the Brandwag rock. Also numerous caves and shelters in the cliffs feature San cave paintings. The park is located in the Free State, Republic of South Africa, near the border with Lesotho.
South Africa has many more parks and they are all worth visiting.
