Covering a wide stretch of bush and savannah in the Limpopo Province in the northern reaches of South Africa, Kruger National Park borders the countries of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. For its dense animal population and the variety of its flora and fauna, the park is considered the jewel of South Africa’s extensive park system. Numerous well-kept tarred and gravel roads have made the park a favorite choice for self-driving & self-catering expeditions. Visitors flock to the park to see lions, elephants, leopards, buffalos and rhinos, which are the animals known in the safari business as “the big five.”

The well-run park offer a variety of safari experiences, from bushveld camps overlooking hippo watering holes to rest camps where self-drive visitors can lunch before heading out to view nearby lion prides. There’s also a broad range of luxury accommodations that provide every modern amenity, whether its gourmet meals or in-room massage treatments. Most camps and lodges offer morning and afternoon safaris in open all-terrain vehicles. Guided bush walks with well-armed escorts are available as well.

The park is separated into 24 different ecosystems based on the type of wildlife that occupies each zone. Generally, the southern portion of the park has the most types of mammals while the dryer northern region is home to a wide variety of birds. With more than 140 species of mammals, 500 types of birds and 100 kinds of reptiles in Kruger National Park, visitors can count on encountering an impressive number of wildlife. The park is home to several import archeological sites as well, including Thulamela, Masorni and nearby Makapansgat.