Top 4 destinations you should visit in South Africa

South Africa is best known for its large scale mining of gold but did you know that besides having huge deposits of this precious metal in its surface, that it also has one of the best wildlife parks in the continent?

It has beautiful sceneries which form a major part of its tourist attraction sites. Here are some of the places you should visit during your trip to South Africa.

Kruger National Park

This park is one of the oldest in South Africa. Interestingly, it is one of those that have attained the world’s most famous safari parks in Africa status. Depending on your speed of driving, it is located 3-4 hours away from the capital, Johannesburg.

Here, the Big Five: Lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino are a welcoming phenomenon to visitors at the park which also has a variety of other wild animals. Besides wildlife, Kruger National Park is home to archaeological sites and ancient Bushman rock paintings.

Kgalagadi (Kalahari) Transfrontier Park

Located in the Northern Cape, Kgalagadi is the largest wilderness of its status in the whole world and Africa’s first to be officially declared a transfrontier park – consists two areas, which border each other across international boundaries and whose primary focus is wildlife conservation.

Established in 2000, this park gives you the best view of diverse wildlife including the rare but famous black-maned Kalahari lion, leopard, cheetah, hyenas, gemsbok which are unique for their V-shaped horns and multiple bird species and those also those of prey.

The Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal

Locally known as the ‘Dragon Mountains’; it is one of the most famous vacation destinations in South Africa. It has the highest peak. The mountains give a spectacular view of dense forests tucked in sheltered valleys which harbour over 800 different species of flowering plants and thousands of diverse wildlife species.

Visitors here engage in different activities among them fishing, rock climbing, parasail and the icing of the cake; rides in the hot air balloon which gives a panoramic and spectacular view of the mountains’ topography.

iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal

In the Zulu language, iSimangaliso means “miracle and wonder”. The wetland which was formerly known as Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, boasts of a unique ecosystem with coral reefs, lakes, rivers, crocodiles an expansive savanna and coastal dunes.

Besides, iSimangaliso has over 526 species of birds and different species of wildlife including rhinos, leopards, hippos and turtles. Given this unique ecosystem, visitors engage in marine activities such as diving, kayaking, fishing and snorkelling.