15 Day Private South Africa National Parks Safari

On arrival at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, you are welcomed by your private African Sky guide – often one of our most experienced specialists like Mary-Anne, Amanda, Bret, or Manuella. After a short tour briefing and time to settle into the vehicle, you leave the city behind and travel east across the rolling Highveld, descending through scenic passes towards the Lowveld and the world-renowned Kruger National Park.

We enter Kruger through one of the southern gates and meander slowly toward Lower Sabie Rest Camp. Keep a lookout for elephant, giraffe, and perhaps your first big cats. With a private overland vehicle and guide, you can stop whenever something catches your eye and set your own pace. After check-in, enjoy a late-afternoon game drive along the Sabie River, followed by dinner at camp and your first night falling asleep to the sounds of the African bush.

The next two days are devoted to exploring the southern reaches of Kruger National Park with your private African Sky guide. Early each morning you depart just after gate opening, when predators are still active and the light is at its most beautiful. Your guide uses years of experience in the park to choose routes that maximize opportunities for Big Five sightings, while still allowing time to appreciate smaller creatures, birds, and the park’s varied habitats.

Between drives, you return to Lower Sabie to relax, enjoy brunch, and watch animals coming down to drink along the Sabie River. In the late afternoon, you head out again for an unhurried game drive, stopping at viewpoints and waterholes as you please. Because this is a private overland safari, the pace is entirely yours – whether you prefer to linger with a herd of elephants or patiently track lions as they move through the riverine thickets.

You enjoy a last early-morning game drive in Kruger, making the most of your final hours in this iconic reserve. After breakfast back at camp, your private guide steers the vehicle south toward the Eswatini (Swaziland) border, passing rural villages and sugarcane fields along the way. Border formalities are handled with your guide’s assistance, keeping the process smooth and hassle-free.

Once in Eswatini, the scenery changes to green rolling hills and small homesteads dotted across the landscape. You wind your way into the Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary, where Reilly’s Rock sits perched on a forested hillside. The afternoon is free to stroll the grounds, look for antelope and birdlife, or simply relax on the veranda with sweeping views over the Ezulwini Valley. Dinner is enjoyed in the lodge’s cozy dining room, with your guide on hand to discuss the next stage of your national parks adventure.

Wake to birdsong and fresh mountain air at Reilly’s Rock. Depending on your interests, you may join your guide for a gentle walk or short game drive in Mlilwane, where zebra, wildebeest, and antelope roam freely and the absence of large predators makes for a relaxed introduction to the bush. After breakfast, you depart Swaziland and travel south, crossing back into South Africa and continuing through rural countryside toward northern KwaZulu-Natal.

In the afternoon you arrive in the Mkuze region, where the fertile valleys and distinctive silhouette of Ghost Mountain dominate the horizon. Your base for the next two nights is Ghost Mountain Inn, a comfortable lodge that serves as an ideal gateway to uMkuze Game Reserve and surrounding wetlands. You have time to settle in, enjoy the gardens and pool, and perhaps take a short sundowner walk or optional activity, with your private African Sky guide coordinating arrangements and discussing plans for the following day’s exploration.

Today is devoted to uMkuze Game Reserve, one of KwaZulu-Natal’s hidden gems. You travel with your private African Sky guide into the reserve, known for its exceptional birdlife and scenic variety, from acacia savanna to fig-lined riverbeds and ghostly fever tree forests. Game drives take you to productive waterholes where nyala, kudu, zebra, and giraffe gather, while crocodiles and hippos lurk in the pans.

Several photographic hides overlook prime pans and allow for close, relaxed viewing without disturbing the animals. Your guide helps you identify the many species that appear, from colorful bee-eaters and kingfishers to raptors circling overhead. Between outings you return to Ghost Mountain Inn for some downtime and a hearty lunch. As evening falls, you may opt for another drive in the reserve or simply soak up the atmosphere at the lodge, reliving the day’s sightings over dinner.

After breakfast, you may enjoy a final short excursion in the Mkuze area – perhaps a walk near the lodge or another brief visit into the reserve, depending on your interests and timing. You then travel south with your private guide toward Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, one of Africa’s oldest proclaimed wildlife reserves and a key stronghold for white rhino conservation.

Upon entering the park, game viewing begins immediately. The rolling hills, river valleys, and pockets of coastal forest create a striking backdrop for sightings of rhino, buffalo, elephant, and a variety of antelope. You arrive at Hilltop Camp, set on a ridge with sweeping views over the reserve. After check-in and a short rest, you head out on an afternoon game drive, making the most of the golden light and your guide’s knowledge of the best loops and waterholes before returning to camp for dinner.

With a full day in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, you can truly appreciate the character of this historic reserve. Your guide leads morning and afternoon game drives, focusing on productive areas for rhino, elephant, buffalo, and, with luck, lion or wild dog. The park’s network of roads winds over ridges and down into river valleys, providing ever-changing views and photographic opportunities.

Between drives, you return to Hilltop Camp to relax, enjoy brunch, and perhaps spend time on the deck scanning the hillsides with binoculars. Because you are traveling overland with your own vehicle and guide, there is no rush – you can wait patiently at favored waterholes, follow fresh tracks, or focus on birding and the smaller details of the ecosystem. As dusk falls, you return to camp for dinner, with the night sounds of the bush accompanying your last evening in KwaZulu-Natal’s flagship reserve.

There is time for a final early-morning game drive in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi, savoring the last views of this classic Zululand landscape. After breakfast at Hilltop, you travel with your guide to Durban’s King Shaka International Airport for a scheduled flight along the coast to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape.

On arrival in Gqeberha, your private guide meets you and continues the overland journey to Addo Elephant National Park. The road soon gives way to rural farmlands and fynbos-covered hills as you approach the park. After checking in at Addo Main Camp, you may head out for a late-afternoon game drive, focusing on the waterholes and open plains where large elephant herds often gather. The day ends with dinner at camp and the anticipation of two more full days in this unique, malaria-free reserve.

Over the next two days you explore Addo Elephant National Park, a conservation success story that began as a sanctuary for a handful of elephants and has grown into a diverse reserve supporting lion, buffalo, black rhino, and plains game. Your private guide focuses morning and afternoon drives around key waterholes and open plains, where elephants frequently congregate in large, social groups – often just meters from your vehicle.

Because Addo is malaria-free, it is an especially comfortable park to spend time in, with relaxed game drives and no need for anti-malarial medication. Between outings you can enjoy the camp’s facilities or simply watch the activity at the nearby floodlit waterhole. Your guide is always on hand to interpret behavior, assist with photography, and tailor the pace of each drive. Optional SANParks night drives may be added (subject to availability) for the chance to see nocturnal species like aardwolf, porcupine, or lion on the move.

After breakfast at Addo Main Camp, you say farewell to the elephants and wide open plains and begin the westward journey toward South Africa’s famed Garden Route. With your private African Sky guide at the wheel, you follow the N2 highway past citrus orchards and coastal farmlands, gradually entering a landscape of forested hills and dramatic coastline. The drive from the Gqeberha area to Knysna typically takes around three to four hours, allowing time for comfort stops and photo opportunities along the way.

As you cross into the Garden Route National Park region, the scenery shifts to indigenous forests, deep gorges, and sweeping views of the Indian Ocean. When time and conditions allow, you may pause near Storms River for a short walk to viewpoints over the Tsitsikamma coastline before continuing west to Knysna. By late afternoon you arrive at Knysna Hollow, set close to the Knysna Lagoon and forested slopes, where you can unwind, enjoy the gardens, and look forward to the flexible days of coastal exploration that lie ahead.

These two days are kept flexible so that you and your private African Sky guide can shape the experience around your interests. The broader Garden Route National Park protects a mosaic of coastal forests, mountain catchments, rivers, and lagoons stretching from Wilderness through Knysna to Tsitsikamma. You might spend a morning walking under towering yellowwood trees, an afternoon enjoying a relaxed lagoon cruise, or drive to viewpoints above the famous Knysna Heads.

Your guide will suggest a balance of gentle activities and scenic drives, always mindful of your energy levels after a fairly full safari. Birders can focus on forest species, while photographers may prefer seascapes and coastal cliffs. Evenings are spent back at Knysna Hollow, where you can reminisce about your journey from Kruger to the Eastern Cape over dinner and perhaps a final drink in the bar.

After a relaxed breakfast at Knysna Hollow, there may be time for a short walk along the lagoon or a final viewpoint stop, depending on your flight schedule. Your private African Sky guide then transfers you west along the coast to George Airport, where you check in for your flight back to Johannesburg.

At O.R. Tambo International, your guide assists with the connection to your international departure if required, or sees you off at the domestic arrivals area if you are continuing your travels in South Africa. Your overland journey through many of the country’s finest national parks – in the expert company of an African Sky guide like Mary-Anne, Amanda, Bret, or Manuella – comes to an end, but the memories of big game encounters and varied landscapes are sure to remain with you for years to come.