Mike Unwin, award-winning travel journalist and storyteller for BBC Wildlife, The Times and The Daily Telegraph, takes us on a journey through South Africa’s myriad wildlife, nature-based tourism and immense national parks.
By Mike Unwin
It’s hard to tear myself away. The leviathans are still performing – a southern right whale and her calf, flipper-waving in the surf – but dusk is falling. I start back along the boardwalk, over the dunes, only to meet a caracal padding towards me. We both freeze. Briefly, I take in the tufted ears and amber eyes. Then, with one bound, it’s gone, melting into the marram grass.
In a lifetime of wildlife watching, nowhere has provided me with more surprises than South Africa. Yes, the country is world-famous for its safaris. But big wildlife excitement doesn’t stop with big game. My once-in-a-lifetime caracal/whale moment took place in De Hoop Nature Reserve, Western Cape. There are few other places on the planet where such a combination is even possible, yet how many people have heard of De Hoop?
Where Wild South Africa Begins
It’s all about habitat. South Africa’s ecological diversity is astonishing. Within its 1.2 million square kilometres (think France and Spain combined), there are semi-deserts, tropical savannahs, towering mountains, primeval forests and over 2,000km of coast. And the country is a conservation flagship, its impressive national park network amplified by numerous private reserves, with ecotourism a crucial part of the equation. This means a bonanza for visitors, from walking safaris to whale-watching cruises, and, in many places, an opportunity to give something back.
For many, including me, South Africa begins with the vast Kruger National Park. The country’s premier reserve, up in the far northeast corner, is as biodiverse as any in southern Africa. The stats are impressive: 30,000+ elephants; Africa’s second-largest lion population; 500+ species of birds; and more tree species than all of Europe.
PICTURED: Lilac-breasted roller. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
But numbers alone don’t convey the magic. Many of my top safari moments have been here: from watching hyenas battle wild dogs over their impala kill, to tracking lions on foot. Even back in camp, the wildlife doesn’t stop, with genets sniffing around your campfire and hornbills at your picnic table.
PICTURED: African wild dogs. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
The Kruger’s excellent infrastructure is made for independent travellers. But those wanting a more exclusive experience might prefer the private concessions along the park’s western boundary, such as Timbavati, Klaserie and Sabi Sand. Known collectively as the Greater Kruger, these are contiguous with the national park and protect the same wildlife, but with upmarket lodges and top guiding. Here, the ‘big five’ and much more come guaranteed.
From Powerful Predators to Rare Ground Pangolins
South Africa’s northwest – across the country from the Kruger – overlaps the southern fringes of the Kalahari. This is a very different world: one of crescent sand dunes and parched river valleys, where herds of gemsbok and springbok crop the new growth after the rains. Here, the enormous Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is famed for its predators – I’ve seen lion, cheetah, brown hyena, Cape fox and African wildcat in a single day – but the small fauna is equally compelling: from ground squirrels around your chalet to the cape cobra I watched raiding the communal nest of sociable weavers one memorable Christmas day.
PICTURED: Kgalagadi gemsbok. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
PICTURED: Kgalagadi Cape ground squirrel. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
The Kalahari also has several excellent private reserves. Madikwe, to the east, oversaw one of Africa’s first successful wild dog reintroductions – and now these endangered canids thrive here, alongside an impressive suite of other large mammals. Tswalu Kalahari, further south, supports an excellent conservation programme, where visitors can help monitor rare ground pangolins – perhaps the easiest place in Africa to see this elusive mammal – and join researchers to meet habituated meerkats.
PICTURED: Meerkat. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
The Cape’s Living Tapestry of Nature
Heading south, to Africa’s bottom tip, the Cape offers a more Mediterranean landscape, its unique fynbos habitat rich in proteas and other endemic plants. In a single day here, I’ve enjoyed spectacular shore-based whale-watching, strolled among breeding colonies of the endangered African penguin and ticked off a host of endemic birds – from Cape sugarbird to orange-breasted sunbird – as they flitted over the hillsides from bloom to bloom.
PICTURED: Cape sugarbird. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
Numerous small reserves dot the Cape, including the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, just outside Cape Town, and De Hoop National Park, further east, where I met my caracal. Among my favourites is Grootbos, which works with the community to eradicate invasive vegetation and restore the fynbos. When I visited, a shy leopard had just been captured on a camera trap: the first recorded for years, and living proof of the conservation pudding.
Where Gentle Giants Roam Once Again
Travel east along the scenic ‘Garden Route’ and you’ll reach the Eastern Cape. Intensive rewilding work in recent decades has transformed this region into a malaria-free ‘big-five’ Kruger alternative. It centres on Addo Elephant Park, originally proclaimed to protect a relict population of elephants that survived a historic hunting onslaught, plus several private parks that together make up the Greater Addo Conservation Area. These include Shamwari, where lion, rhino, buffalo and other large mammals once again roam the land where they belong.
PICTURED: Elephant calf. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
Greater Addo lies at the southern edge of the Karoo, a panoramic expanse of arid scrub and flat-topped sandstone hills that dominates central South Africa. Private conservation initiatives here are restoring degraded former farmland into thriving habitat, with benefits for community and wildlife alike. Samara Karoo Reserve is one such gem: I’ve tracked cheetah here on foot, spied elusive aardvark and zorilla on a guided night drive, and rolled up my sleeves to plant spekboom, a native succulent integral to this precious habitat.
PICTURED: Planting spekboom in Samara. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
PICTURED: Samara cheetah. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
The Coastal Heart of South Africa’s Wildlife
In far eastern South Africa, beside the Indian Ocean, Zululand protects some scenic parks and prolific wildlife. This region is white rhino central – it was here that the species was saved from extinction – and elegant nyala antelope are everywhere.
Hotspots include the delightful Mkhuze Game Reserve, where I’ve spied Pel’s fishing owl in the fig forest, tracked giraffes on foot through the lush savanna and spent long hours in viewing hides, ticking off some of the park’s 400+ bird species. The adjoining upmarket Phinda Resource Centre has reintroduced a full suite of large mammals, including lion and cheetah, and offers a more upmarket experience – plus a hands-on wildlife monitoring experience for volunteers.
PICTURED: Mkhuze white rhino and calf. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
On the coast, the iSimangaliso Wetland Park protects one of Africa’s most important wetlands: its lakes teem with hippos and crocodiles, while the fringing dune forest holds rare samango monkeys. At Kosi Bay, a little further north, I’ve waded lagoons crowded with flamingos and, later that day, tramped a moonlit beach to watch loggerhead turtles laying their eggs. Offshore, the reef tempts snorkellers with a kaleidoscope of fish, while dolphins surf the breakers and early spring sees humpback whales breaching close inshore.
PICTURED: Dolphins. Photo taken by Mike Unwin. Instagram: @mikeunwin.wildtravel
For me, South Africa means a lifetime of wildlife memories – yet I sometimes feel I’ve barely scratched the surface: what about the rugged peaks of the Drakensberg or the floral spectacular of Namaqualand? Whatever your priorities, have no doubts that this country holds something special for you. Your only problem will be choosing where to start.
Watch Wildlife in South Africa with Rainbow
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