The habitat of giraffes once ranged all over Africa but due to various reasons the same has considerably shrunk over the last centuries and today the beautiful animals are concentrated only in a few wildlife reserves and national parks in the eastern and southern part of Africa. One of the reasons is extensive poaching for their beautiful skins. Another reason for concentration of these animals in only a few protected areas and national parks is due to the conversion of land into ranches and agricultural farms. The growing charcoal industry is also a reason for the dwindling population of these animals. Nevertheless, if you are visiting one of the national parks anywhere in Africa, a safari will simply not be complete without a giraffe sighting. This article is intended to give our readers information about the best places to go for sighting the giraffes. It lists 16 national parks, reserves and other places to have the best sightings of giraffes.
· Giraffe Manor, Kenya This is beyond any doubt the best place to see giraffes up close. Here you don’t need to go to see giraffes, they come to see you. One can even feed the animals here with one’s own hands. But don’t mistake this to be a forest area, it is a historic boutique hotel (a hunting mansion dating back to the 1930s) on a sprawling 12 acres of private land within 140 acres of indigenous forest in a quaint neighbourhood in Nairobi, now owned by The Safari Collection. With almost a royal façade, classy interior, manicured gardens, sunny terraces and beautiful courtyards, visitors are often made to feel like being inside a movie set. As one sits down for meals, it is not surprising to have a curious visitor poking its head inside through the floor-to-ceiling windows to pick up some food from the table. It has a resident herd of Rothschild’s giraffes making it a sanctuary of this extremely rare and endangered subspecies of the animal. One can book the Giraffe Manor for night stays or as part of a tour with The Safari Collection.
· Serengeti National Park, Tanzania The Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania has an abundance of wildlife and a safari here is truly an amazing experience. It is most popular for the annual migration of wildebeests and zebras. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among all the species, the Masai giraffe, which is East Africa’s most widespread species of giraffe, and the tallest of all the subspecies, can be spotted roaming freely in the Serengeti. It is not impossible to sight them in groups of more than 40. Giraffe is the national animal of Tanzania, and it has strict laws to protect this endangered creature.
· Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya This national reserve, also called ‘Mara’ is a key tourist attraction in Kenya. This game reserve is named after the local Maasai people. It lies on the southwestern part of Kenya, close to Tanzania border. Although it is mainly known for the Big 5 and the annual migration of the wildebeest seeking better grazing grounds, it continues to be a great place to sight the Masai giraffe. These giraffes can be found in good numbers here and any safari is bound to bring you close to big herds of them.
· Etosha National Park, Namibia The flat, open spaces of the wilderness areas of Namibia, covered in thorny acacia trees, ensure a great giraffe sighting experience. The best place to go for sighting a giraffe here is the waterhole where the tall animals come to drink water. The predators target these places to prey upon them. This national park is home to the Angolan giraffes.
· Kruger National Park, South Africa This national park is home to the Big Five - African elephant, African lion, African leopard, Cape buffalo and Rhinoceros, but apart from these, it is also a great place to see herds of giraffes. The presence of Africa’s biggest predators here also ensures plenty of game-viewing chances. The expert guides here are a great reason to visit this park for sighting giraffes, for the singular reason of knowing about these animals in more details. The best way to visit here is to take a self-driving trip of the national park.
· Amboseli National Park, Kenya Offering views of the Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain peak, this park is one of the popular places for wildlife enthusiasts. This national park famously boasts five different habitats, including the dried-up bed of the lake, wetlands, savannahs and woodlands. This is a great place to see the Masai giraffe.
· Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda While the number of giraffes in East and Central Africa has greatly decreased, Uganda has successfully done the greatest conservation efforts in the region. In the last two decades the population of the Rothschild giraffe in the region has gone up from 250 to about 2,000 and this national park, the largest in the country of Uganda, alone has 1,800 of them. One can come here to see the Nubian giraffes here.
· Skeleton Coast National Park, Namibia This national park of Namibia apparently seems to be too barren to support any life. But in reality, its windswept sand dunes and shipwreck strewn coastline is home to a wide variety of fauna including elephants, hyenas and giraffes. It is also the world’s largest ship cemetary due to the large number of shipwrecks that took place historically in the region.
· Kouré, Niger This is a very less known place to visit but if one is around, it is worth all the pain to visit the rural community of Kouré, which is located 37 miles from the capital, Niamey. The locals here have helped drive a conservation initiative which has pulled the West African giraffe back from the brink of extinction. While two decades ago there were only 49 of these giraffes left, today there are 549 of them.
· Akagera National Park, Rwanda This national park is characterised by the presence of woodlands, savannahs, swamps and lowlands. Although not having a huge population, yet tourists visiting here may check out the national park for sighting giraffes. This national park was destroyed during the Rwandan Genocide and subsequent refugee crises. But it has made a remarkable comeback, reintroducing animals like giraffes, elephants and lions. So it is definitely worth visiting here to encourage the conservation efforts.
· Selous Game Reserve, Tanzania This huge reserve in Tanzania is still unexplored. Yet it is so jam-packed with giraffes that it is often also referred to as the Giraffic Park. It has Africa’s greatest concentration of the animal. So if one wishes to see giraffes, this is definitely one of the best places. Some lodges offer game drives, boat cruises, walks and flycamping adventures.
· Okavango Delta, Botswana This freshwater wetland at the heart of the Kalahari is home to large number of giraffes. One can go for helicopter safaris over the Delta’s glittering floodplains and during the flight one can spot herds of giraffes.
· Arusha National Park, Tanzania For those who want to see giraffes up close, this is the best place to visit. One can take walking tours here with an armed ranger who takes visitors quite close to the giraffes and one can appreciate just how huge these animals are.
· Garamba National Park, Congo If you want to see one or more of the last remaining Kordofan giraffes, this national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the place for you to visit.
· Samburu National Park, Kenya This is a fairly small national park in Kenya but a visit here can be very rewarding. It has a great concentration of some of the most sought after wildlife species of Africa, one of them being the Reticulated giraffe. It is also home to some very rare species of animals. It is also blessed with beautiful landscapes.
· South Luangwa National Park, Zambia This national park is home to the very rare Thornicroft giraffes (regarded as similar to Masai giraffe), which is a pride of Zambia.
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