The term Big Five Game is used to describe the animals that can be seen in the African safaris by many tourist and wildlife guides while. The five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot are actually referred to as the Big Five. It was coined by game hunters but now the safari tour operators use this term. The five animals are the African elephant, the lion, the Cape buffalo, the rhino and the leopard. The following list features the best places in Africa to watch the “Big Five” which also offers an abundant wildlife and a great safari experience.
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10 Big Game Safari Destinations:
10. Moremi Game Reserve
Moremi Game Reserve is located in Botswana. It covers almost a third of the entire Okavango Delta. It is a diverse habitat where the desert and delta meet, lagoons, comprising forests, floodplains, woodlands and pans. This is our tenth choice for 10 big game safari destinations around the world.
The delta contains the full gamut of game and birdlife which include lions, cheetahs, hippos and crocodiles. During the dry season the seasonal pans dry up and the wildlife concentrates around the water. Thus from July to October is the best time to visit the Moremi Game Reserve.
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9. Hwange National Park
Hwange National Park is located in western Zimbabwe on the main road between Bulawayo and the world famous Victoria Falls. It is one of Africa’s finest havens for wildlife and is home to vast herds of elephants, buffalos and zebras. The safari also contains a very large concentration of giraffes. After Mugabe has stepped down from power, it became the best time to visit the park.
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8. South Luangwa National Park
South Luangwa National Park is located in the eastern Zambia. The park is centered on the Luangwa River which supports abundant crocodiles and hippos. The park is best known for its walking safaris. Here you can actually walk through the bush on foot in this park and track animals with the help of a guide. During the dry season, from April to October, is the best time for a big game safari inside the park.
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7. Amboseli National Park
One of the most popular safari attractions in Kenya is the Amboseli National Park. Mount Kilimanjaro which is the highest free-standing mountain in the world is located in Tanzania. The Amboseli National Park is located at the foot of that mountain.
The snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro provides a stunning backdrop to one of Kenya’s most spectacular displays of wildlife. Another interesting facility of the park is meeting the Masai people. We choose Amboseli National Park at number seven in our list of top 10 big game safari destinations around the world.
6. Etosha National Park
Joachim Huber
The Etosha National Park is located in Namibia and it is centered on a vast salt pan. Usually the pan remains dry but it briefly fills with water in the summer. This water is enough to stimulate the growth of blue – green algae which lures thousands of flamingos.
Herds of zebra, wildebeest and antelope can be seen around the waterholes that border the pan. Etosha contains three well established rest camps and it offers a great self-drive safari experience.
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5. Kruger National Park
The Kruger National Park is located in South Africa. It is the largest and most famous big game reserve in South Africa. The park contains more species of mammals than any other African game reserve. It includes the Big Five, cheetahs, giraffes and more. Kruger is a self-drive destination unlike most other safari parks. It has an excellent infrastructure and many places to stay inside the park from tented camps to luxury lodges.
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4. Chobe National Park
Located in the north-west of Botswana, The Chobe National Park offers some of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Africa. The park is best known for the large population of elephants it has and the number of elephant is almost 50,000 now. The elephants are most visible during the dry season, from May to September, when they congregate around the water sources, especially the Choberiver.
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3. Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Located in Tanzania, The Ngorongoro Conservation area is the third pick of big game safari destinations and it contains an old volcano that has collapsed and formed a crater. Natural enclosures formed by the steep sides of the crater have become the home of a wide variety of wild animals. The park is presently one of the most likely areas in Africa to see the endangered Black Rhino.
2. Masai Mara National Reserve
The most popular game park of Kenya is The Masai Mara National Reserve. Thousands of tourists visit the park every year to watch the exceptional population of game and the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest. From July to October millions of wildebeest and zebra migrate from the Serengeti in Tanzania every year which is termed as “The Great Migration”.
1. Serengeti National Park
One of the best-known big game safari destinations in Africa is The Serengeti National Park. This park is famous for its annual wildlife migration of over one million wildebeest and 200,000 zebra. The park is located in a high plateau between the Ngorongoro highlands of northern Tanzania and the Masai Mara Reserve in neighboring Kenya.
May is one of the best times to visit the park when the grass becomes dry and exhausted. During this time the wildebeest and zebra start to mass in huge armies offering a spectacular wildlife show.