The crest of a sand dune dividing light and shadow

Destinations

Tar, sand, salt — the country decides the adventure

Six countries, six kinds of driving. What each one asks of you, which parks are worth the detour, and who it suits — so you know which one is yours before you start planning.

Close-up of a lion with a full mane, eyes half closed

South Africa

Where it started

The country where my own first safari began in 2015, and the one I know best. Kruger is the rare park you can explore in an ordinary car, which makes it the gentlest possible start into self-driving.

Kruger National Park Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

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Oryx at a waterhole in front of dry hills

Namibia

Dunes and distance

Namibia is the country people picture when they say they want space. Gravel roads for hours, almost no traffic, and a landscape that does most of the work.

Etosha National Park Sossusvlei

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A herd of elephants with a calf moving across the savannah

Botswana

Water and elephants

Botswana is the step up. Deep sand, water crossings and camps far from the next town. This is the country where the vehicle and the preparation genuinely matter.

Chobe National Park

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A lioness stretched out along a horizontal branch

Zimbabwe

Wild and quiet

The least crowded of the four, and the one that asks the most of you. Fewer vehicles, fewer certainties, and a wilderness that feels genuinely unmanaged.

Mana Pools National Park

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An antelope with curved horns striding through tall grass

Tanzania

The great wildebeest migration

Tanzania is on the list of countries I plan for, and the one thing that pulls almost everybody there is the great wildebeest migration across the plains.

SerengetiNgorongoro

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Two impalas among bushes, one looking towards the camera

Eswatini

Between Kruger and the coast

Eswatini is small, sits between South Africa and Mozambique, and is the country most people drive past. It stands in my enquiry form because it genuinely fits into a route through the region.

HlaneMkhayaMlilwane

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Not sure which one fits?

That is exactly what a first conversation is for. Tell me how much time you have and how adventurous you want your nights to be, the country tends to follow from that.

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