Big Five Sunset Safari from Cape Town

The drive from Cape Town into the Karoo

The safari starts with a late-morning pickup and a drive of roughly two hours along the main highway north-east of Cape Town. The road climbs through the mountain passes, passes through a long tunnel under the peaks and drops into the Karoo, a semi-desert of red earth, scrub and wide horizons that covers much of the country's interior. The change of scenery from green coast to dry plains is dramatic and is part of the experience.

Many travellers ask how to do a safari near Cape Town in one day, and this is the answer: a private big-five reserve near Cape Town, close enough to reach and return the same evening. Our air-conditioned vehicle has a driver-guide who tells you about the region on the way, and there is a comfort stop before you arrive. Have lunch before pickup, because snacks rather than a meal are served at the reserve.

The private big-five reserve

The reserve sits in a wide valley of the Karoo framed by mountains, on land that was once farmland and has been returned to wildlife. It is fenced and managed, with the big five introduced over the years, and today it is the best-known day safari from Cape Town. On arrival you are welcomed with a refreshing drink, tea, coffee and snacks, and have time to stretch your legs and enjoy the view across the plains before the drive.

Is a Cape Town safari worth it compared with Kruger? It is smaller and the animals live in a managed reserve, but it fits into a single day and the chance of seeing several of the big five in one drive is good. The welcome area has restrooms, a shop and a terrace; the reserve opening hours for day visitors are built around the morning and sunset drives, so a sunset booking is the easiest to combine with a full morning in Cape Town.

The sunset game drive

Around mid-afternoon you climb into an open-sided safari vehicle with raised seats and set off with a ranger who knows the reserve and its animals. The drive lasts two to three hours and follows dirt tracks across the plains and along the hills, stopping whenever animals appear. The ranger explains tracks, plants and behaviour, and answers questions, so the drive is as educational as it is exciting.

The best time for a game drive in the Karoo is late afternoon: the heat fades, the light turns gold and the animals leave the shade to feed and drink. You may see elephant at the waterhole, giraffe browsing the acacias, rhino grazing and, with luck, the lions beginning to stir. Every sighting is wild and unscripted, which is exactly what makes a sunset safari near Cape Town memorable.

The Big Five and the other wildlife

The term Big Five comes from the five animals that were historically the hardest to track on foot: lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros and Cape buffalo. All five live on the reserve, along with hippo, giraffe, zebra, springbok, eland and many smaller species and birds. Leopards are secretive and mostly nocturnal, so they are the rarest sighting; the other four are seen on many drives but never guaranteed.

Responsible viewing is part of the experience: the vehicle keeps a respectful distance, the ranger decides how close to go, and no animal is ever fed or chased. After the drive you have a little time on the reserve terrace before the return journey of about two hours, arriving back in Cape Town in the evening. For a longer safari we also arrange two- and three-day trips to the Garden Route reserves and to Kruger.