1. Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is South Africa’s largest national park, extending across 19,485km²/7,523mi² of lowland savannah, and certainly its most well known. It is also very accessible. The closest entrance gate lies around four to five hours’ drive east of Johannesburg or Pretoria, and it is also connected to Johannesburg by multiple flights daily.
The park can be explored on an extensive network of surfaced roads. Like all of South Africa’s national parks, Kruger is open to self-drivers. You don’t need a 4×4 or high-clearance vehicle to get around either. The Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino) are all here in abundance and remarkably easy to spot considering the size of the park.
Kruger is serviced by an excellent network of state-run rest camps, all of which offer affordable and comfortable self-catering accommodations in well-equipped bandas (standalone cottages). Most camps also have a swimming pool, at least one restaurant, a well-stocked grocery shop and a filling station. More upmarket options include Jock Safari Lodge, which is themed on the much-loved South African children’s book ‘Jock of the Bushveld’, and great for those with young kids.
2. Pilanesberg Game Reserve
Pilanesberg Game Reserve is one of the most accessible and family-friendly safari destinations on the African continent. It is less than a three-hour drive from Johannesburg and only two hours from Pretoria.
There are a couple of affordable rest camps at the park gates. These offer accommodations in self-catering chalets, and have swimming pools and children’s playgrounds. The rest camps are fenced so you won’t get any unwanted visitors coming near your little ones either. They cater mainly to self-drivers, who can explore the park on a network of surfaced and all-weather dirt roads that are poorly maintained but navigable with care in any vehicle.
There are also several more upmarket family-friendly options in Pilanesberg. These include Shepherd’s Tree Game Lodge and Ivory Tree Game Lodge, which offer well-priced packages inclusive of meals and guided game drives.
Pilanesberg can get very busy during the school holidays but the abundance of wildlife makes up for that. Elephant and white rhino are very common, along with giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and a wide range of antelope, but all the Big Five are present. If you want to really get that sense of ‘wild Africa’ Pilanesberg isn’t for you, but if you want your whole family to see a good range of African wildlife as quickly and painlessly as possible, look no further.