The Big Five

November 2025 – I visited Mozambique and South Africa on a road trip from Maputo to Johannesburg via Maputo National Park and Kruger National Park. The car, a Toyota Hilux, was from Bushlore who rents equipped or unequipped 4×4’s (Toyota Hilux and Toyota Land Cruiser).

Maputo National Park

Maputo National Park is a 1,718 square km (663 square miles) park in Mozambique south of Maputo. The park contains 5,000 individual animals from 16 mammal species, including kudu, impala, eland, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra and elephant.

Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is a national park in South Africa covering an area of 19,623 square km (7,576 square miles) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in the country’s northeast. It extends 360 km (220 miles) from north to south and 65 km (40 miles) from east to west. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa’s first national park in 1926. An amazing place and one of the best places to see The Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros, Elephant, and African buffalo. We had four days in the park and saw all the big five within the first two days.

After a week in Mozambique and a week in South Africa, we returned our car to Bushlore’s main office in Johannesburg….