Nature Tourism of South Africa

Aside from South Africa’s well-known attractions such as Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the sites of cultural/historical significance in its major cities, the country is also becoming a major destination for travellers in search of natural beauty and the latest offerings of eco-tourism. With recession-weary airlines offering cheap flights to Johannesburg, home to the country’s biggest airport, what follows is a short guide to some key attractions for anybody considering a nature-orientated holiday in SA.

South Africa is home to many national parks with Kruger being the country’s largest game reserve. Kruger National Park is situated in the North East of the country and covers almost 19,000 square kilometres including six different eco-systems. It has 147 species of mammals, including buffalo, lions, and in excess of 11,000 elephants which has lead to a park-wide contraception scheme in order to keep the elephant population at a more manageable 8000.

At Port Elizabeth on the South coast, the Addo Elephant National Park has recently expanded and is now likely to be the only national park in the world that is home to the Big 7 species, i.e. elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale and great white shark. As the name suggests, the park was established as a sanctuary for elephants (the last 11 in the area) in the early 1930s. Today the park receives about 120,000 visitors every year, with most of this number coming from Europe.

Last month saw the amalgamation of a new national park just along the coast from Addo. The Garden Route National Park has been formed by merging the Tsitsikamma and Wilderness National Parks with the Knysna National Lake Area. The park now stretches over 1,000 square kilometres and is famed for its abundance of indigenous forest and the dramatic Southern coastline.

As a fine example of South Africa’s diverse climate, the Augrabies Falls National Park in the North West of the country is strikingly arid. This makes for an incredible sight when the Orange River is in flood and pouring over the 60 metre drop. The gorge below is 18 kilometres long and 240 metres deep, and it is the thunderous sound of the water that reverberates through the granite canyon that really impresses its visitors. The area is also home to such animal species as the rock hyrax, and the verreaux and African fish eagles.

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