Best National Parks in Africa’s Top Safari Countries from this site:
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Masai Mara National Reserve – Kenya
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Serengeti National Park – Tanzania
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Chobe National Park – Botswana
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Kruger National Park – South Africa
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Etosha National Park – Namibia
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South Luangwa National Park – Zambia
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Hwange National Park – Zimbabwe
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Queen Elizabeth National Park – Uganda
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Liwonde National Park – Malawi
When we review the above list of African national parks, we cannot help but smile. Of course, we’d love to have visited each of these national park, and perhaps we will at some point. But, at this time, we’ve been to six of these nine top locations, which are highlighted in bold type.
Besides Africa, we’ve been to three national parks in India from this site, including:
1. Kanha National Park
2. Bandhavgarh National Park
3. Kaziranga National Park
4. Nagarhole National Park
5. Ranthambhore National Park
6. Periyar National Park
7. Gir National Park
8. Sunderbans National Park
9. Nanda Devi Biosphere & Valley of Flowers National Parks
10. Jim Corbett National Park
Again, those we visited in India are highlighted in bold type. As shown, in the case of India, we’ve been to three out of ten, and we doubt we will return to see the others.
When we say “visited” national parks, we mean having been on safari in each of these national parks. While on the last cruise, another passenger asked how many safaris we’d been on. We haven’t kept an exact count, which I wish we had at this point.
But, based on a reasonable estimate, we’d say it’s no less than 200 or 300. And yet still, we revel in the excitement of “one more time.” Many of these safaris were with a guide. In India, our private tour of the country included our private safaris with a driver and our guide, which occurred in Kanha National Park and Bandhavgarh National Park where on both occasions we saw the elusive tigers.
We were on safari in Ranthambhore, hoping to see the Bengal tiger but that was in a group tour while we were on the Maharajas Express Train with about 20 passengers. It was, by far, our least favorite of all guided safaris when we saw very little, certainly not a tiger, and the driver drove too fast. One of the passengers was injured, falling out of her seat. This story is detailed in our post from that date here. This post also includes our final expenses from the luxury train adventure.
But, besides that less than stellar experience, we’ve enjoyed ourselves every time. Probably, we’ve done self-drive safaris considerably more than guided safaris. We’ve been on many guided safaris in Kruger National Park, which in some cases had resulted in the most sightings, particularly one of our favorites when we experienced the Ridiculous Nine as opposed to the Big Five. See our link here.
The Big Five is often a goal for first-time visitors to Africa and many safaris later for some. The Big Five sightings consist of the following: rhino, lion, elephant, leopard, and Cape buffalo. Sure, we love seeing all these majestic animals, but we’re long past that goal. We are grateful to see whatever treasures Mother Nature bestows upon us on any safari in a national park.
And “safari luck?” We coined that phrase years ago when we found ourselves lucky on safari and at other times in our world travels. Yes, we’ve had some ups and downs, most recently with our unpleasant experiences getting Covid -19 on the first cruise, having to cancel the second cruise, and later becoming ill with salmonella when we first arrived in Marloth Park.
But now, we feel our safari luck is returning with the plethora of animals visiting us at this house, and surely when we soon head to Kruger National Park for more adventures.
Be well.
Photo from one year ago today, June 15, 2021: