PHOTO GALLERY Panorama routeJackalWaterfallBourke's Luck potholesShangaan boysLionsBirdlife

Mpumalanga and Limpopo is home to the finest big game territiory imaginable, namely the world renowned Kruger National Park. The region also holds numerous other sensational natural wonders

Especially in the north east corner of South Africa, where vast reserves combine the attractions of the "Big Five" with impeccable hospitality. South Africa's world renowned reserve is the Kruger National Park, which boasts the most developed infrastructure of all Africa's game parks, plus the world's largest concentration of species, making it the best do-it-yourself drive-through reserve and great value for money too. At just less than 20 000 square kilometres - that's about the size of Wales so most visitors sample just a section of it.
But for those whose idea of safari means experiencing the African bushveld in secluded luxury, with gourmet food and personal game rangers, the private game reserves adjoining the Kruger National Park offer it all. They fall into the Sabi Sand area in the south and the Timbavati o­n Kruger's northern border.Whether you choose to spend your nights in a lodge or a bush camp, film star treatment comes with the territory.
With most of the safari lodges situated around waterholes, excellent game sighting is possible simply by looking up from o­ne's novel o­n your private viewing deck. But twice a day at sunrise and sunset guests venture into the savannah with ranger and tracker in open 4x4 vehicles, sharing the oddly exhilarating realisation that this is o­ne domain where man is not supreme.
This is big game country with incredible game viewing and no fences between
each private reserve's boundaries, allowing the game to wander freely. As the day gives way to the pitch blackness so utterly foreign to city dwellers, the day's sightings are animatedly discussed over cocktails. It's an experience that no brochure could ever do justice to.
But there's a lot more to this corner of South Africa than game reserves. Just outside the town of Graskop is God's Window, a fissure in the mountain side which reveals the rocky escarpment and the Lowveld about a kilometre below, with Mozambique and Kruger Park in the distance.
The Blyde River Canyon's rust coloured sandstone cliffs and craggy buttresses, soaring over the chasm gouged by the waters of the Blyde River, is another example of this region's astounding natural beauty. Amid the dizzying cliffs, spectacular waterfalls and weird rock formations, lies Bourke's Luck Potholes, an awesome moonscape of deep hollows and channels.
And then there's Pilgrim's Rest, the Victorian town "frozen" in the time of the gold prospectors. Moving northwards, the Limpopo Province not o­nly has a rich wildlife heritage and scenic splendour, but a wealth of historical and cultural haunts. It's a land of legends and myths, where the spirit of Modjadji, the revered rain queen, can be found. Many make the trip north solely for the Bela-Bela experience. The therapeutic waters which occur naturally here have spawned an enormous health complex - just
the thing after all that game reserve indulgence!

· Enjoy an unforgettable drive o­n the "Panorama Route", taking in the sights of Pilgrims Rest, Blyde River Canyon and Bourkes Luck.
· Spend a few days in luxury at o­ne of the many private game reserves in the area - Singita, Sabi Sabi, Leopard Hills and Kings Camp are synonomous with a luxury game experience.
· Take a helicopter flight from Hazyview, taking in the beauty of the Pinnacle, Lisbon Falls and Mac Mac Falls.

Kruger National Park

World renowned Kruger National Park in South Africa is the finest big game territory with ultra-luxurious Colonial Africa-style lodges and adrenaline pumping wildlife experiences

The size of the Kruger Park is so vast (20 000 square kilometres !) that dependant upon where you are, the experience can vary. In a day's game drive a visitor can pass through three or four different eco-systems !
The far North of the park is very remote and renowned for birding, plantlife and large herds of elephant and buffalo. It is difficult to find the big cats. The north is more difficult to access, but the remoteness brings other rewards - notably less people !. There is o­nly o­ne camp, Punda Maria, and the design takes you back to yesteryear. The area is rich in archaelogical remains, with examples such as the Thulamela ruins at which mysterious golden artefacts have been found.
Slighly further south is Shingwedzi camp (On the banks Shingwedzi river with its seasonal flooding). Elephants and buffalo abound, and cat viewing is good. Bushveld is mopane shrubveld, stunted mopane trees and mopane bushveld.
Central area, includes Letaba, Oliphants - good for buffalo and giraffe. More broken terrain, characterised by Oliphants and Letaba rivers, mopane bushveld and small kopjes (Granite outcrops). Riverine bush along the rivers attract hippos and crocs and the occasional Black Rhino. Famous for leopard sightings.
Around Satara is the best gameviewing. Satara is surrounded by vast open savanna grassland, and layers of marula and acacia trees, attracting browsing and grazing animals, and the largest numbers of wildebeest and Zerbras occur. Some of the best Lion country, and a number of cheetah sightings. The black rhino also frequent this area - although hard to find !