Kruger National Park

The 20,000-square-kilometer Kruger borders Mozambique and Zimbabwe has 145 species of mammals, including the world's largest rhino population grazing in prairies and riparian forests. Conveniently, you can watch the famous buffalo-lion crocodile battle within a five-hour drive from Johannesburg.

Royal Natal National Park

Drakensberg is one of Africa's largest mountain ranges. Royal Natal National Park is part of Drakensberg in the park uKhahlamba-Drakensberg. Standing tall on erupting streams and baboon forests is a 5km long cliff wall, more than 3000m high. Natal is about 280km northwest of Durban.

Golden Gate Highlands Nature Park 

In the picturesque foothills of the Maluti Mountains, 300km northeast of Bloemfontein, Golden Gate Highlands has antelope on shimmering grasslands beneath sandstone rocks. The name of the park comes from the brilliant yellow of the sun on the cliffs, especially the majestic Brandwag rock.

Table mountain national park

Table Mountain National Park runs along the Cape Peninsula, 1000m high with sweeping views of South Africa's oldest city to the Cape of Good Hope. Many activities make the most of this beautiful environment, such as paragliding, walking or the roads leading up from Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.

Kgalagadi  Transfontier

Red sand dunes stretch to the horizon in a 36,000 km2 Kalahari stretching across the South African border - Botswana and one of the largest wildlife reserves in the world. It's amazing to see animals from ostriches to lions, leopards and cheetahs survive in this arid environment. You can always feel something roaring threatening you, like a lion.

Cederberg wildlife sanctuary

Located about 200km northeast of Cape Town, the Cederberg Range has impressive sandstone formations. Hiking trails that last from an hour to a few days lead to wilderness 700 square kilometers. A great place to stay is the Sanddrif resort, which has an astronomical observatory and a winery.

Mupungubwe National Park

Mapungubwe is located along the borders of Zimbabwe and Botswana in the Limpopo River Valley, where elephants, giraffes, leopards and baboons roam among giant baobab trees. Mapungubwe is the heart of the first indigenous kingdom in southern Africa with more than 9000 people who have lived here.

Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

Blyde River Canyon is the third largest Canyon in the world, towering as it flows from Mount Drakensberg. This place is famous for its green slopes, dolomite rock formations and sandstone, huge rock arches. During the period from January to March, this place attracts climbers because of the cool weather.

ISimangaliso flooded park

iSimangaliso is one of the great ecotourism destinations. It is a 3320 km2 World Heritage Site that includes lakes, swamp forests, coral reefs, Africa's largest estuary and 220km of Indian Ocean beach. Activities include kayaking, horse riding, diving and wildlife viewing. 37 miles north of Durban on Elephant Coast, you should visit iSimangaliso between June and October, when the weather is cooler and drier, the risk of malaria is lower.

Namaqua National Park

Stretching on the west coast of South Africa, Namaqualand is famous for its spring bloom, covering the barren lands of the region with colorful floral carpet. Located 540km north of Cape Town, the park also preserves the richest succulent flora in the world.

The best time to see the flowers in general is mid-August to mid-September.