Elusive Destinations For Leopard Safaris in Africa (2023)

South Africa’s biggest national park is home to the country’s greatest diversity of wildlife. Kruger’s real draw is an almost guaranteed encounter with the super-celebrities of the safari circuit: Africa’s iconic Big 5. You can expect sightings of them all year round.

This reserve encompasses an impressive 286 km² (110 mi²) of protected wildlife land. It offers some of Africa’s finest game viewing experiences, as well as 436 bird species. The reserve is particularly well known for close-up sightings of the elegant yet elusive cheetah, as well as the rare black rhino.

Wild, mysterious and just unthinkably vast, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve is a true wilderness that will give you the impression that you are exploring Africa on your own. Rich grasslands surround you by day whilst the skies at night are as clear as you could ever imagine.

This is a vast area of pristine wilderness located in the north of Botswana. The entire area is superb for elephants. There are a few rival prides of lion and this is also an excellent area for spotting the elusive leopard and rare wild dog.

The Okavango Delta is one of the most inspiring wilderness locations in Africa, if not the entire planet. The Delta is a truly unspoiled wilderness with terrain ranging from dry grasslands to swamps. Possible animals to be sighted include cheetahs, lion prides, leopards on the prowl, zebra, giraffes and elephants.

This most famous park in Zimbabwe provides a haven for 107 mammal species and more than 400 recorded types of birds. If it’s elephants you want to see (there are between 45,000 and 60,000 living in Hwange), then this is the place. Hwange is most commonly combined with Victoria Falls.

Kafue National Park covers a massive 22,400 km². It remains little-known and largely unexplored with vast tracts of its virgin bush still untouched. Thanks to its size and variety of habitat types the it holds a fantastic diversity of wildlife. The Busanga Plains is famed for its prides of lions.

Mana Pools is considered one of the prettiest reserves in the world. Its location near the Zambezi River gives it large pools that support an amazing collection of wildlife. Canoe safaris, a terrific way to see animals. It’s also one of the best places in Southern Africa to see endangered wild dogs.