Why Your Next South African Safari Should Be in KwaZulu-Natal

"At the Babanango Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, I spent more than an hour tracking a collared cheetah by her satellite signal with guide Musa Mbatha and wildlife monitors Bongani Khumalo and Tumelo Sathekge, watching her flop down in the shade after a kill — an encounter Mbatha said might not happen again with two male lions recently reintroduced to the area. I learned the reserve was created in 2017 when the Emcakwini Community Trust and two other landholding community groups partnered with German philanthropists Hellmuth and Barbara Weisser; reintroductions began in 2018 and, along with remediating former cattle pasture, have helped black rhinos, giraffes, lions, and cheetahs begin to thrive (elephants were brought back shortly after my visit). It’s described as one of the largest rewilding programs in South Africa in the last 20 years, and rather than promising easy big-game sightings it offers the chance to join tracking teams, monitor how reintroduced wildlife adapt, meet researchers, and explore cultural sites such as millennia-old San rock art, recurring Iron Age kiln finds, and nearby 1879 Anglo-Zulu War battlefields." - Heather Richardson Heather Richardson Heather Richardson is a journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. She writes about travel, conservation, and environmental science for publications such as National Geographic, Nature, BBC Future, and The Guardian. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines