Kruger National Park

It’s quiet, very early morning quiet. The air is crisp, and she is just metres away from the vehicle. You could almost reach out and touch her, but that would be deadly and stupid, so you decide the best interaction with this giant female elephant, is to sit still and full frame her right eye through your camera lens – click!

And so another beautiful day begins in the African bush; you and your family, the elephant and her family – welcome to a new day.

When you return to your lodge for breakfast you have photographed the elephants, dozens of buffalo and antelope, half a dozen zebra and giraffe. That evening, as the sky turns a rich orange, a pride of lions sneaks past your game viewing vehicle as though it is their shield to hide behind in their hunt for dinner; the hippo have yawned their good-night blessings and the silhouette of an endangered rhino under an acacia thorn tree becomes your final photograph of an incredible day.

Tomorrow your guide will try and find a leopard so you can tick off the Big Five from your bucket list, but tonight you will settle for an ice cold beverage to wash down a slow cooked, tender and juicy meal.

South Africa is blessed with the above scene in many parts. North east is the famed Kruger National Park, come a bit further south and you will enjoy the historic Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park. In the north west of the country is the stunning Pilanesberg Game Reserve. All these are Big Five and there are many more, all within good and easy road and air access.

They will all be waiting for you, as will the fish eagle, the dung beetle and the warthog.