The call of the wild is hard to ignore when it is a chance for a tête-à-tête with the Big 5. For the unversed, Big Five is a term given to the most famous beasts of the wild namely the Lion, Rhino, Buffalo, Elephant and Leopard. If you love wildlife then watching the Big Five up close must surely be on your adventure bucket list. And when your Big Five safaris are planned by experts, you can be assured of an unbeatable thrilling experience.

The Big Five are commonly found throughout South and East Africa and spotting the whole gang together in a national park or game reserve simply adds an exhilarating edge to your safari.

Let’s look at 8 safari destinations where you can experience the undiluted thrill of an encounter with the majestic Big Five.

1. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Serengeti National Park spans over 14,763 square kilometres and goes all the way up to the Kenyan border in the north. The terrain is primarily open grassland which is more favourable to grazing wildebeest like zebras. Also, the lack of trees here makes it easier to spot the otherwise elusive leopards If you happen to visit the park during the migration period from November to July you may even get to see a lion kill.

Serengeti is a great place to witness the once-in-a-lifetime experience of the Great Migration. This is the time when thousands of wildebeest, zebra, and other game move through the rivers, fighting off the jaws of crocodiles and the sharp claws of lions, hyenas, and other predators.

2. Masai Mara National Park, Kenya

Savannas that stretch as far as the eyes can see,  countless zebras and wildebeest lazing around under the clear blue skies, encounters with big African cats and a chance to see the Great Migration: all this and so much more awaits you at the Masai Mara Park in Kenya.

Named after the indigenous Maasai people that inhabit these lands, Masai Mara has been a wildlife sanctuary for more than 50 years, inhabited by more than 40%of Africa’s large mammal populations. A few lion prides have been in this area for decades and continue to thrive in this region brimming with game.

For a bird’s eye view of the Big Five sauntering in the park or stalking their prey, you can take a sunrise hot balloon ride over the park. How is that for a roaring, or rather a soaring safari experience?

3. Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, Tanzania

Originally a gigantic volcano, Ngorongoro is now the largest preserved crater in the world. This three million years old caldera has a vast highland area and is a wildlife haven thriving with more than 25,000 species of large animals, including 6,000 resident wildebeest, 16 critically endangered black rhinos and more than 70 lions. 

Among the smaller carnivores, golden and black-backed jackals are commonly found here with large herds of buffaloes, zebras, and Thomson’s gazelles. The mineral-rich volcanic soil here allows a dense growth of the short-grass plains on the crater’s floor. These plains are the grazing grounds for large herds of herbivores and gaming grounds for the dense population of predators such as spotted hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, jackals and bat-eared foxes.

4. Kruger National Park, South Africa

Kruger National Park is among Africa’s largest game reserves and is home to more than 147 mammal species, including the Big Five that roam freely in almost two million hectares of unfenced African wild terrain. You can ride in an open-vehicle game drive, stopping at watering holes where you can spot buffaloes, antelopes and lions.

If you spend the night at a camp within the park, you can better your chances of sighting the Big Five on an early morning game drive when the temperature in the park is cooler and animals flock to the watering holes. Private reserves such as the Sabi Sands Private Game Reserves which border Kruger also give you exceptional wildlife sightings.

5. Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta

When it comes to game viewing regions, Moremi Game Reserve jutting into the Okavango Delta is easily one of the best reserves. The diverse spectrum of wildlife here includes large herds of impalas, tsessebe, buffaloes, elephants, wildebeest and zebras that come here from the dry Kalahari Desert looking for food and water. The sitatunga and lechwe live in the banks of the waterways and the open grasslands are hunting grounds for lions, cheetahs and packs of wild dogs. 

The reserve is home to over 400 of the bird species of the Okavango as well. You can easily spot the African fish eagle, crested crane and sacred ibis along with several mammal, insect, fish and reptile species that have adapted to the swampy conditions in the delta region.

6. Chobe National Park, Botswana

A heavenly landscape with the deep-blue Chobe River winding its way through it is a sight that is sure to cast an everlasting memory. Chobe National Park which is named after the river, is known for its incredibly large elephant population, big herds of buffaloes and equally large lion prides that freely roam the land while the skies are ruled by some fascinating bird species. While the big game here includes zebras, impalas, blue wildebeest, giraffes, kudus, warthogs and vervet monkeys, lions and the spotted hyena are among the dominant predators.

The Chobe and Linyati rivers are bustling with wildlife and see large concentrations of elephants and buffaloes during the dry seasons.  Game density in the park is so impressive that at times you may have to halt during your safari to let a large herd of animals pass through.

7. Etosha National Park, Namibia

Home to the world’s heaviest flying bird, the kori bustard and the most giant bird, the ostrich, Etosha National Park is known for its spectacular array of wildlife which includes elephants, black and white rhinos, cheetahs, lions, leopards, herds of springboks, wildebeest, zebras, giraffes and many more large and small species of animals.

The park is brimming with some rare species that you will spot only in Etosha. While the largest elephants in Africa lurk around in the dense vegetation areas along with the endangered black rhinos and leopards, the pale grasslands are a camouflaging ground for the king of the jungle, the African lions. A little fun fact about the park: the salt pan here is so large that it is visible from the space!

8. Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe

Now this one is really special because, unlike most safari destinations in Africa, this park is known for its walking and canoeing safaris. Located in the extreme north of Zimbabwe on the Zambezi River, Mana Pools National Park is one of the remote safari destinations.

The park gets its name from the four large watering holes or ‘pools’ formed by the Zambezi River. These pools are almost always busy with hippos and crocodiles. Not the kind of pool you’d think of diving in, right? 

Mana National Park is bursting with wildlife and birdlife that can be easily spotted at the end of the rainy season when the rivers start to dry up and large gaming herds start to enter the park searching for grass trees in this region. You can even walk through the African bush on foot at this park, watching the animals only from a few metres away or take a canoe safari in the rainy season.

Conclusion

Going on Big 5 safaris isn’t just about seeing these animals in their natural habitat. It is also about the experiences and memories you collect in the wild. A tailor made safari that truly lets you soak in the untamed beauty of nature, surrounded by abundant game and magnificent predators, is what is guaranteed to ensure a wild soul-enriching holiday. So get your bags packing and book your tickets for your next magnificent holiday!