1. Sabi Sand

This game reserve probably offers the best leopard viewing in the world. In addition, it offers a huge variety of wildlife including the Big Five. Many of the lodges in the Sabi Sand cooperate to permit the neighbouring lodges to traverse on their land and share sightings. In addition, they operate under self-imposed rules which seek to respect the wildlife, but also give guests a more authentic experience. For example, lion cubs are off-limits if they are unaccompanied by an adult lion, and more than two vehicles are generally prohibited from wildlife sightings at one time. There are also a number of great lodges in the Sabi Sand.

2. Timbavati

North of Sabi Sand, the Timbavati also offers a great variety of wildlife viewing – again including the Big Five. The park is probably best known as the home of the amazing white lions. There are a number of really good lodges which are generally more moderately priced than those in Sabi Sand.

3. Manyleti

Positioned between Sabi Sand and the Timbavati, Manyelti thus offers a similar game experience. Importantly there are no fences between these three private reserves and the Kruger National Park itself, so the animals are free to move between them.

Event specific game reserves

4 & 5. The Serengeti and Maasai Mara

Many people’s vision of an African safari is the often-promoted Discovery channel scenes in East Africa, in particular the annual wildebeest and zebra migration. This amazing spectacle occurs within the Serengeti and Maasai Mara National Parks – which are only divided by a notional man-made border.

The Tanzanian portion of the park is known as the Serengeti and the Kenyan portion as the Maasai Mara. The migration is a sight to behold, with bleating wildebeest interspersed with more photogenic zebra as far as the eye can see.

The Mara is much smaller than the Serengeti but both are obviously home to general game as well as the big herds of ‘fast food’. The possibility of seeing cheetah is better than in the more undulating territory of the Kruger, but to see a leopard you will need a guide who is very familiar with the territory!

Game specific reserves

6. Hwange National Park

Hwange is great for various reasons, including the ability to see the exquisite sable antelope as well as large herds of eland antelope. Hwange is also relatively easy to access, mostly uncrowded and has a number of reasonably priced accommodation options.

7. Moremi Game Reserve

A list of the best African game reserves would not be complete without including Moremi Game Reserve (and the adjacent private reserves) in Botswana. Moremi includes a great part of the Okavango Delta, a world heritage wetland in the heart of the Kalahari Desert. The Delta is a bird lover’s paradise.

This list by its nature must be limited to a fraction of the number of game reserves in Africa. Just because a game reserve is not included on this list does not mean that it should be discounted – as said before, each one has its own attractions!