Are there any Big 5 Safaris in Cape Town, South Africa?
We often get clients wanting to do an overnight or day safari in Cape Town or from Cape Town. While there are a few Big 5 game reserves near Cape Town there are no Big 5 wildlife safaris in Cape Town.
There are very few Big 5 Safari options for affordable day trips from Cape Town. If you are only visiting Cape Town in South Africa and want to go on a short wildlife safari (a day safari or 2-to-3-day safari) check out the Best Big 5 Safari near Cape Town.
If you can spend a few extra days in South Africa, we highly recommend heading further north to Kruger National Park. South Africa's leading national park (and one of the best game reserves in Africa), Kruger is the best place for a full-blown African safari experience. You won’t want to leave! (And there are plenty of awesome budget Kruger Safaris!).
A Bit of Cape Town (Kaapstad) History
Way back when, before Jan van Riebeeck and the Dutch East India Company landed in Cape Town (aka Kaapstad in Afrikaans) and began farming and building up the area, the land was wild and filled with animals, including the Big Five – lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo, and leopard roamed freely.
That was in 1652. The last wild lion was seen in the Cape in 1858. It took just over 200 years for humans to wipe out the entire population of lions (and many other animals) in the areas surrounding Cape Town. While the change in habitat due to widespread farming in the area was partly to blame for this, the main reason was ruthless hunting.
So the Big Five no longer call Cape Town ‘home’, but fear not, Table Mountain National Park still has many antelope, mountain zebra, smaller cats like caracals and genets, plenty of baboons, and hyrax (or dassies), and prolific reptiles and birds.
Cape Town & South Africa Flora
The vegetation of the Western Cape is known as fynbos and is one of the six floral kingdoms in the world. Fynbos is the only floral kingdom contained within one country (South Africa). With over 8 700 plant species within a relatively small area, it’s a feast for botanists and nature lovers.
As one heads north, into the interior of South Africa, the flora changes. First to the Karoo, with its huge arid plains. Then in the northeast, the Greater Kruger National Park consists of vast tracts of true bushveld – four different types of it – scattered with thorn trees, marulas, and mopane trees. This is the natural habitat of the Big 5 animals. This is real, unspoiled, African bushveld.
Cape Town's Climate
Cape Town’s climate tends more toward a Mediterranean one, with hot dry summers and relatively mild, wet(ter) winters. This is unlike the climate of the Highveld, with its cold, dry winters (perfect for spotting animals in the dry landscape) and summer rains. There’s nothing like an afternoon thunderstorm in Africa and the smell of fat drops of rain on African dust.
Searching For The Big 5 in Cape Town
So while Cape Town and its surrounds offer visitors a smorgasbord of sights and delights – white beaches with azure seas, forested mountains, vast Cape Winelands (and the wines and fine cuisine that accompany them) – the Cape doesn’t feature the rolling plains and vast numbers of Big 5 animals.
There are a number of small private game farms that offer affordable Big 5 Safaris near Cape Town. If you don't have the time or budget to head up north then these Big 5 Safaris near Cape Town are ideal.
The game reserves near Cape Town can’t, however, offer the wide-open savannahs with large numbers of indigenous game, including the Big Five, that the national parks further north – like the Greater Kruger National Park – can. And that, in a nutshell, is why we encourage our clients to set aside a few days (or a few weeks!) to head north and experience an epic Big 5 Safari in Kruger Park.
For budget-friendly Kruger Safaris browse our upcoming Johannesburg tour departures or hone in and compare our Kruger Safari Tours.
If you're sticking to Cape Town (or Kaapstad) and its surrounds you'll find affordable Cape Town Safaris here or you can view our calendar of upcoming budget tours departing from Cape Town.
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