Does Africa have a best wildlife experience? Is there somewhere you would rather go in Africa for that ultimate wildlife experience? Africa is the only destination to go in the world for excellent game viewing and immersion in the wilderness. There is so much on offer from South Africa in the south to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia. Each country offers incredible wildlife experiences where you can enjoy both luxury safari lodge accommodation or rustic bush camps with very little impact on your natural surrounds. Take your pick from our top of the range best wildlife experiences in Africa:
Mana Pools National Park – Zimbabwe
Starting with Zimbabwe, we take you on a journey to Mana Pools National Park, place of lakes and wonderful pristine bush where huge wild animals wander. For fantastic photographic opportunities and superbly romantic ambience, this is your dream hideaway. Choose this idyllic destination and enjoy canoe safaris and plenty of rewarding game drives. Mana Pools National Park is one of the country’s 5 World Heritage Sites so come and explore this vast natural wonderland with its park-like appearance and lovely pools. Feel your adrenaline rush on walking safaris and get the enviable opportunity to stand close to a buffalo or elephant or watch hippo and crocodiles from close range. The word ‘Mana’ means four and refers to the pools around the park headquarters: Main, Chine, Long and Chisambik. Mana Pools forms part of a staggering 10,500 km2 Parks and Wildlife Estate within which animals roams freely.
Check out our Mana Pools Explorer Fly in in package deal where for 5 nights in this paradise, you only pay $2 456 per person and for that you stay in the glorious Kanga Pan camp. This 12-bedded tented camp features en-suite bathrooms with outdoor showers overlooking the water hole. Relax in the upper deck lounge under the shade of a mahogany or sit on the deck below near the splash pool and enjoy Kanga ? the old Africa in a new era.
Masai Mara Game Reserve
Pick a time to travel to Kenya that coincides with the Annual Wildebeest Migration and enjoy an intense wildlife spectacle with scintillating predator-prey interactions in the famous Masai Mara Game Reserve. The Masai Mara is definitely one of Africa’s best wildlife experiences and your bush adventure guarantees outstanding sightings of the Big 5 and an enormous variety of regal predator species. Imagine tens of majestic big maned lions, splendid leopards, sprinting cheetah and spotted hyenas all competing for food? See the estimated 1 500 elephants, enormous herds of buffalo, unusual topi, baboons, warthogs, giraffe and impala. Watch numerous hippos and crocodiles wallowing. This is the lifeblood of the Masai Mara, along with the Sand and Talek Rivers. Meet some of the Masai, a very proud people, who are an integral part of the landscape, and whose farming areas contribute to the greater game reserve.
Book your safari holiday in Mara Plains Camp, a one-of-a-kind, 7-tent camp located in the private 35,000-acre Olare Motorogi Conservancy, on the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Experience the finest wildlife viewing and outstanding hospitality and guiding. Feel privileged to game drive in some of the 100,000 acres of private conservancy land, as well as the haunting beauty of the Masai Mara. Mara Plains Camp is a sanctuary for resident species, including many of the 300 bird species. After dark, larger mammals frequent the camp and Maasai warriors escort guests to and from their rooms while hippos snort and leopards bark. Luxury canvas chalets come with deep canvas canopied ceilings, rough-hewn wood floors and accents of East Africa’s rich safari history. Enjoy Swarovski binoculars and a professional Canon camera and lenses for use in the wilderness daily.
Liwonde National Park
If you love smaller spaces and seeing numerous elephant and hippo, then Liwonde National Park is the safari destination for you. Spend valuable time in what is considered the most prolific wildlife area in Malawi. You may not see many leopards or lions but you will enjoy game drives, walks and boat trips ending with a fantastic sundowner looking over the Shire River.
Head to this very off-the-beaten-track setting where excellent guides focus not only on the larger animals but on the smaller fauna and flora too. Combine your safari in Liwonde with sightseeing trips to Mount Mulanje and Lake Malawi – Liwonde sits on the southern tip of Lake Malombe, stretching only 580 square kilometres and yet a convenient 4 hours from Lilongwe, or 3 hours from Blantyre.
Are you a birder? This is the most exceptional year-round bird-watching spot in Africa where twitchers can tick off Livingstone’s flycatcher, Pel’s fishing owl, Spur-winged Lapwing, Lillian’s lovebird and the rare Brown-breasted barbet. Wildlife viewing is breath-taking and you will see the likes of impala, reedbuck, waterbuck, warthog and the majestic rare sable. Buffalo, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, zebra, roan and eland were historically hunted to extinction in the area but you can still find them protected within ‘the sanctuary’. Black rhino mingles with these creatures in their 4 000ha fenced area within the Park.
Choose Mvuu Lodge with stunning views over a tranquil lagoon just off the Shire River. The main lounge area sits high above the water and offers an extensive wildlife library and telescope to make the most of the exceptional bird and other life that moves around the river. Mvuu means “hippo” in Tonga and the name epitomises the large numbers of pods of these water-loving mammals that float in the river.
Sleep in 8 luxury tents, including a romantic honeymoon suite. Enjoy en-suite bathrooms and private decks for serious game viewing. Lodge facilities include a dining room, pub, lounge area and a swimming pool. Set off on boat safaris, walks, birding trails and traditional game drives by day and night. Don’t miss the Rhino Tracking Experience, a 2- to 3-hour guided drive and walk, tracking the endangered black rhino and learning how they are monitored and conserved. No visit to Mvuu is complete without a visit to one of the villages on its boundaries to experience authentic African village life.
Lower Zambezi National Park
Are you a keen angler? Spoil yourself with a holiday to this watery retreat where you get to view the game in style on board a canoe. Wonderfully untamed and offering a unique safari experience in Africa, the Lower Zambezi National Park is a haven for fishing, nature walks, boat cruises day and night game drives. Catch Tigerfish, Bream and Vundu – lodges provide tackle and bait.
Or book a canoe expedition over one, three or five days – the currents take you downstream where a speedboat picks you up again. Watch crocs, hippo, elephants, zebra, impala, puku, baboons and kudu drinking or socialising on the banks. The spectacular Lower Zambezi National Park is surrounded by three Game Management Areas (GMAs) which together add 14 453km² of protected wildlife area to the National Park, opening up a total of 1.85 million hectares for one of Africa’s best wildlife experiences.
Experience a classic safari at the rustic, yet comfortable Old Mondoro Bush Camp. Feel the soul of the African bush from this tranquil and remote setting. You don’t have to venture far to see the game so sit back, relax and enjoy the sweet melodies of nature all around you. Old Mondoro offers Zambia holiday packages tailored to suit your pocket. With only eight guests accommodated at this Lower Zambezi safari camp, it is an ideal camp for small groups. Enjoy temporary structures, reminiscent of the traditional mobile camps of East Africa, built from scratch and dismantled at the end of each safari season. Appreciate en-suite toilets with an outdoor shower and huge ‘splash tub’, overlooking the Zambezi River. Each room also has a shaded timber sun deck complete with a comfortable day bed for relaxation with the very best of views.
We love these experiences in Africa where you see some of the best wildlife and birds ever imagined. Take time to choose your best safari accommodation and we do the rest – contact Voyage2Africa
today.