Where to see the Lion in South Africa

Lions are easiest to find where they are least disturbed and where the animals they hunt have to come to water. In South Africa that means the big parks and the private reserves beside them: the Kruger and the Sabi Sand and Timbavati reserves on its western boundary, the Kgalagadi in the Northern Cape, Madikwe and the Waterberg in the north, and Phinda and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi in Zululand.

Lions live in these parks all year, but the dry winter, from May to September, makes them easiest to find. The grass is short, the bush is thin, and the animals concentrate at the few remaining waterholes and riverbeds, which is where the prides wait. Time of day matters as much as time of year: lions hunt and move in the cool, so the first two hours after sunrise and the last two before dark are when a drive is worth taking. In the middle of the day they are asleep under a bush, often within sight of the road and almost impossible to spot.

Night drives, available inside the private reserves and on guided drives in the national parks, are the other way to see them awake. Pair a lion trip with the birding of the Lowveld in summer, a walk in a Big Five reserve, or the Kalahari for a completely different lion in a completely different landscape.