The wild things are certainly to be found within South Africa’s massive Kruger National Park Area. One of Africa’s largest reserves, it stretches through 7,500 square miles in northeastern South Africa and borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Becoming South Africa’s first National Park in 1926, Kruger National Park Area has several private game reserves in which to explore. With over 270 animal species, 517 types of birds, 90 varieties of fish and amphibians, 2000 kinds of plants and even bushman rock paintings, there is much to see and explore.

AmaWaterways travels to the area’s private Manyeleti game reserve, which means “place of the stars” in the local Shangaan language. While there are no fences between the national park and the bordering reserve, allowing wildlife to roam freely – Manyeleti is not accessible for day visitors and is home to only three lodges in the area, meaning you have the bush more to yourself for a more luxurious, true ‘safari’ feeling. Because of this, it has been called the Kruger’s ‘best kept-secret.’

Originally founded as a private game reserve in 1963, Manyeleti spans nearly 60,000 acres and is owned and managed by the local Mnisi tribe. The private safari lodges pay the tribe for use of the land.

You’re likely to spot herds of lions roaming through the savannah – or perhaps an equally staggering herd of leopards or black-backed jackals. All Big Five are represented here – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo. But you may also find cheetahs, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, kudu antelopes, nyala antelopes, impala antelopes, wildebeests, zebras, waterbucks, warthogs, baboons and Nile crocodiles (the world’s second largest reptile), water monitor lizards and puff adder snakes.