National parks versus private game reserves

Is a safari in Africa a dream of yours?

We offer tours to fantastic and unique areas of natural beauty in Africa – both world-renowned national parks and private game reserves.

What’s the difference between the two? And does it make any difference to your safari where you go?

In this blog post, we look at the differences between national parks and private game reserves and let you in on the pluses and minuses of both.

National park versus private game reserves – What’s the difference?

The difference between national parks and private game reserves is basically quite straightforward.

A national park is owned and managed by the state and is subject to the state’s rules for the area, whereas a private game reserve is privately owned, often by one or more lodges located in the area. There are also what is known as “concessions”, which are private areas within or just outside a national park.

But what do the differences mean in practice? And why choose one over the other?

A brief summary of the differences

Why should you go on safari in a national park?

Africa offers countless beautiful national parks known for their outstanding wildlife. Serengeti, Chobe and Kruger National Park are just some of the unique areas of natural beauty we offer tours to.

When you’re on safari in a national park, you have access to a large area of natural beauty, which you can make your way around in search of the area’s exciting wildlife. What’s more, the large network of rangers who are on safari with guests in the area are continuously in contact with one another with information about where the various animals are. This means that your chances of enjoying some exceptional animal experiences are high. On the other hand, the size of the national parks can mean that you’re too far away to have these experiences before the animals have moved on again.

What is the advantage of a safari in the national parks?

By virtue of the large size of the national park, you have access to more varied nature and, in some cases, also more varied wildlife. Plains, forest, lakes and rivers. Some animals like to hang out in the treetops – others where there is water. In the national parks, you will typically find it all, because they cover such a large area.

Some places offer such unique nature and experiences that you have to visit a national park to experience them. This could, for example, be the spectacular nature of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, the wildebeest crossing the Mara River on the border between the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya and Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, or the rare mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.

What is the disadvantage of a safari in the national parks?

As national parks are owned and managed by the state, they are subject to certain rules that you won’t experience in private game reserves.

This might be things like:

• You are not allowed to drive off road, which means that the cars must stick to the roads in the national park. If a leopard is lying in a tree far away, you’ll have to get your binoculars out to see it up close.

• Safaris are only open to private operators during the national park’s opening hours, which means that night safaris are guided by national park people. These guides are also skilled, but their cars are bigger and have room for more people, so you’ll have a less intimate experience than in private game reserves.

• You have to stay in the car unless you’re in an area where you’re allowed to get out. This is why there are not typically any bush walks in the national parks themselves

Why should you go on safari in a private game reserve?

Like national parks, private game reserves are areas that exist to preserve wildlife and their habitats. Here, though, it is typically private safari lodges that own the areas.

It will often be the same wildlife you experience.

In South Africa, for example, there are many private game reserves in the Great Kruger area, i.e. around Kruger National Park. There are no fences between the areas, so the animals that live in the national park can wander into the private game reserves (and back) when it suits them. However, this also means that if the leopard you wanted to see has wandered into the national park, then it is the guests in the national park who may be lucky enough to spot it that day.

What is the advantage of a safari in private game reserves?

Although the basis of their existence is the same – i.e. to preserve Africa’s unique wildlife and its habitats – there is a big difference between private game reserves and the national parks in that they are not subject to the same rules. For you, this means that you can see the wildlife where it is. You have the option of off-roading or bushwalking, and there is greater freedom and the flexibility to get right up close to wildlife throughout the game reserve (also away from the roads) at and after sunset/before sunrise, when the wildlife is also most active.

And one of the biggest advantages of choosing a safari in a private game reserve is the exclusivity. Here, you don’t have to share your experiences with many other visitors, as may be the case in the national parks, especially in the high season. The national parks are both more popular and more accessible (especially in relation to the price), and this also means that a stay at a private game reserve is far more exclusive. What’s more, in private game reserves you have the opportunity to stay longer in the same place if you’ve found something exciting, because you don’t have to make room for other visitors. So you get fewer rules, fewer visitors and more luxury.

What is the disadvantage of a safari in private game reserves?

Staying at a private game reserve means that you enjoy a more luxurious stay, as these lodges are often 5-star and/or come with all inclusive – this is the case at, for example, the South African Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, where you are on safari in Sabi Sands Game Reserve in the Greater Kruger area, and Kariega Game Reserve, located in the Kariega Valley in Eastern Cape.

The fact that it is more exclusive and luxurious to stay at private game reserves means it is also more expensive. The area is also smaller and the wildlife more limited than in the national parks.

So this means:

• It is usually quite a bit more expensive to stay at a private game reserve because the camps and lodges are more luxurious (but on the other hand, everything is usually also included).

• The nature is less varied than in a national park, which are larger and therefore also often span several ecosystems.

• It is not as prestigious to have been on safari in a private game reserve. Even though you also enjoy unique experiences here, there is something about being able to say that you have been on safari in the Serengeti or Kruger National Park.

So how do you choose?

Whether you go on safari in a national park or in a private game reserve, you’re guaranteed to experience Africa’s unique wildlife and fairy-tale nature. What is right for you depends on many things.

If you want the most affordable safari tour and don’t mind having to share your experience with other guests, but where you have access to a large, well-known and perhaps also more prestigious area, then a safari in one of the fantastic national parks is the right one for you.

If, on the other hand, you want the most intimate and exclusive safari experience, and you also have a high budget for your tour, a safari in a private game reserve is perhaps the right choice for you.

Need help choosing? You’re welcome to contact us. We know our destinations because we’ve been there. So, we’re on hand to help you find the perfect safari for you.