| Aside from South Africa's well-known attractions | | | | white shark. As the name suggests, the park was |
| such as Table Mountain in Cape Town, and the sites | | | | established as a sanctuary for elephants (the last 11 |
| of cultural/historical significance in its major cities, the | | | | in the area) in the early 1930s. Today the park |
| country is also becoming a major destination for | | | | receives about 120,000 visitors every year, with |
| travellers in search of natural beauty and the latest | | | | most of this number coming from Europe. |
| offerings of eco-tourism. With recession-weary | | | | Last month saw the amalgamation of a new national |
| airlines offering cheap flights to Johannesburg, home | | | | park just along the coast from Addo. The Garden |
| to the country's biggest airport, what follows is a | | | | Route National Park has been formed by merging the |
| short guide to some key attractions for anybody | | | | Tsitsikamma and Wilderness National Parks with the |
| considering a nature-orientated holiday in SA. | | | | Knysna National Lake Area. The park now stretches |
| South Africa is home to many national parks with | | | | over 1,000 square kilometres and is famed for its |
| Kruger being the country's largest game reserve. | | | | abundance of indigenous forest and the dramatic |
| Kruger National Park is situated in the North East of | | | | Southern coastline. |
| the country and covers almost 19,000 square | | | | As a fine example of South Africa's diverse climate, |
| kilometres including six different eco-systems. It has | | | | the Augrabies Falls National Park in the North West of |
| 147 species of mammals, including buffalo, lions, and in | | | | the country is strikingly arid. This makes for an |
| excess of 11,000 elephants which has lead to a | | | | incredible sight when the Orange River is in flood and |
| park-wide contraception scheme in order to keep the | | | | pouring over the 60 metre drop. The gorge below is |
| elephant population at a more manageable 8000. | | | | 18 kilometres long and 240 metres deep, and it is the |
| At Port Elizabeth on the South coast, the Addo | | | | thunderous sound of the water that reverberates |
| Elephant National Park has recently expanded and is | | | | through the granite canyon that really impresses its |
| now likely to be the only national park in the world | | | | visitors. The area is also home to such animal species |
| that is home to the Big 7 species, i.e. elephant, | | | | as the rock hyrax, and the verreaux and African fish |
| rhinoceros, lion, buffalo, leopard, whale and great | | | | eagles. |
