Namibia
Namibia is a
hauntingly beautiful safari destination - a land of unique
landscapes, surreal sunsets, towering sand dunes and desert
mists; swirling dust from wildlife herds on the searing pans of
Etosha; Damarland's lunar landscape and the desolation of
Skeleton Coast. A place of solitude and silence, vast spaces,
great destinations and friendly people.
Namibia has 7 main National Parks/Game Reserves:
 •
Namib-Naukluft National Park
• Skeleton Coast
• Etosha National
Park
• Damaraland
• Caprivi Region
• Fish River Canyon
• Waterburg Plateau
The most famous being:
Etosha
National Park
 One
of the largest and best game viewing parks in the whole of
Africa. The reason is in the Ovambo name
Etosha, which means 'huge white area' or 'place of dry water',
depending upon whom you ask. For most of the year a vast shallow
pan, which was once a lake the size
of Holland, shimmers a glaring bright white from
crystallised salt across its entire surface. Surrounding the
pans is a variety of grass and woodlands amongst which live a
wonderful variety of animals and birds, insects and reptiles.
and…The
Fish River Canyon
 The
Fish River Canyon in southern Namibia is second only in grandeur
to the USA’s Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is absolutely
magnificent and breathtaking in its immensity. Rock stratas of
purples, pinks and greys stretch along a 100-mile (161km)
course. Yet it comes as something of a shock when you arrive at
the canyon, as you have no idea it is there. It drops vertically
by 1,800ft (550m) out of a flat arid plateau without any
warning, even though at some points it is 17 miles (27km) wide!
Botswana
 Botswana
has a unique blend of magnificent wildlife regions, from the
searing mirages of the Kalahari Desert to the lush waterways of
the Okavango Delta. This is a country with a proud history of
wildlife management and conservation, making it one of Africa's
premier
safari destinations. Intriguing landscapes, abundant wildlife
and a myriad of bird species await the traveler.
Botswana’s main Game Reserves/National Parks are:
• Central
Kalahari Game Reserve
• Chobe National Park
• Linyanti Swamp
• Makgadikgadi Pan National Park & Salt Pans
• Mashatu Game Reserve
• Nxai Pan National Park
• Okavango Delta
• Moremi Game Reserve
• Savuti Channel & Savute Marsh of which Okavango Delta is the
most well known
Okavango
Delta
 The
Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland water
systems, the only inland delta of its kind and a unique oasis of
life in the centre of the Kalahari Desert. It stretches over
16,000 square km and
supports a staggering variety of animal, plant, fish and
birdlife.
The Okavango Delta consists of a multitude of main channels,
smaller tributaries and lagoons as well as floodplains, islands
and mainland areas. The watercourses are constantly changing due
to annual flooding as well as a combination of sediment
transport, seismic activity, the construction of termite mounds,
and the continual opening up of new channels by feeding
hippopotami and the closing of others
by new vegetation growth. There are two fairly distinct areas of
the Okavango Delta - the permanent swamp, which is inundated
with
water all year round, and the seasonal swamp, which is flooded
annually and dries gradually with the onset of summer.
Chobe
National Park
 The
Chobe National Park, which is the second largest national park
in Botswana and covers 10,566 square km, has one of the greatest
concentrations of game found on the African continent. Its
uniqueness in the abundance of wildlife and the true African
nature of the region,
offers a safari experience of a lifetime. The park is divided
into four distinctly different eco systems: Serondela with its
lush plains and dense forests in the Chobe River area in the
extreme north-east; the Savuti Marsh in the west; the Linyanti
Swamps in the north-west the hot dry hinterland in between. A
major feature of Chobe National Park is its elephant population
currently estimated at around 120,000. The Chobe elephant are
migratory, making seasonal movements of up to 200 km from the
Chobe and Linyanti rivers, where they concentrate in the dry
season, to the pans in the southeast of the park, to which they
disperse
in the rains.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe - despite its current political and economic tensions -
still offers superb wildlife experiences in some of the finest
reserves of Africa, from the water wilderness of Matusadona and
Mana Pools to Hwange and the remote splendor of Gona-Re-Zhou.
The crowning glory of Zimbabwe's natural beauty is the mighty
Victoria Falls plunging down the Zambezi.
 Zimbabwe’s
National Parks are:
• Gona-re-Zhou
National Park
• Hwange National Park
• Matusadona National Park
• Lake Kariba
• Malilangwe Private Willdlife Reserve
• Mana Pools National Park
• Matobo Hills National Park
• Victoria Falls & Zambezi National Park
Victoria
Falls and Zambezi National Park
With little awareness of what lies ahead, the steadily flowing
Zambezi River casually approaches Victoria Falls, then topples
out of control over a sheer 330-foot (100 metre) drop. This
mile-wide (1,609 metre) curtain of water really is as
spectacular as its reputation and can be viewed from various
angles at numerous viewpoints. It is the widest curtain of
falling water in the world, and during the warm wet months of
February to April, it cascades at over thirty times its dry
season flow. The resulting spray can be seen from 20 miles
(32kms) away and explains the local African name for the falls -
Mosi-oa-tunya ‘Smoke that Thunders’
Swaziland
 The
small mountain kingdom of Swaziland is one of Africa's least
visited destinations, yet it is host to some magnificent
scenery, mountains, waterfalls
and hospitable people. The country also boasts some fine
wildlife reserves - and although small in comparison to Africa's
fabled destinations, they are
nevertheless unique and worthy custodians of Africa's wildlife
heritage.
The Game
Reserves of Swaziland are:
• Hlane Game
Reserve
• Malolotja Nature Reserve
• Mkhaya Private Game Reserve
Hlane
Game Reserve
Meaning ‘wilderness’ is the Kingdom of Swaziland’s largest
protected area. It is an immense flat lowland thick with
1,000-year-old hardwood trees like knobthorn, leadwood and
tambuti with some grasslands and shallow pans.
Mozambique
 Mozambique
- although still relatively undeveloped due to the long civil
war which beset the country until the 1990's - is again becoming
a major African travel destination.
The war left its scars on the human psyche and decimated
vegetation in
some areas, but perversely helped preserve other parts of the
country in a pristine natural state, untouched by modern
development and construction.
Most visitors are drawn to Mozambique's endless stretches of sub
tropical beaches, where the fishing and diving are superb. The
country has yet to develop a major national park which can
easily be accessed by the traveler, although a massive tract of
land was recently incorporated into the world's largest
trans-frontier reserve, spanning South Africa's famous Kruger
National Park and Zimbabwe's Gona-Re-Zhou. This Peace Park now
has no artificial fences or barriers, allowing animals to
traverse into Mozambique
and the vegetation to recuperate.
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