Everyone is looking for something different when they head to the bush.

Some want to tick off the Big Five and not much else, some want to eat and drink in luxury, and others are just keen to soak up the serenity.

Ah yes, the serenity.

Whatever your reasoning, there’s no doubting that our continent is blessed with some of the world’s most beautiful national parks. CNN have decided on five of their favourites, and our own Kruger National Park has made the cut.

A baby buffalo scaring the daylights out of a full-grown elephant (HERE) – what’s not to love?

Anyway, we’ll start with the other four:

Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

In addition to an impressive population of big cats, rhinos and elephants, it plays host from July through to October each year to one of the world’s more spectacular movements of wildebeest. Known as the Great Migration, the phenomenon involves more than 1 million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of gazelles, zebras and other animals, which migrate from the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.

Speaking of the Serengeti, they also make the cut:

It is famed for its spectacular scenery, diverse wildlife and its part in the impressive annual migration of more than a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other animals. It was listed in 1981 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and hosts an average 90,000 visitors each year.

Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo

Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, it was created to protect mountain gorillas in what was then known as the Belgian Congo. It stretches over 3,000 square miles and houses forests, savannas and active volcanoes and the Rwenzori Mountains.

The park is known for being the “continent’s most biologically diverse protected area” and is home to endangered species, such as the mountain gorilla and the okapi.

I have so much love for the okapi.

Next is the wonderfully named Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda:

The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda and is home to a multitude of birds, butterflies and endangered species, including the mountain gorilla. Some 300 wild gorillas live in the park, accounting for nearly half the world’s population…

The main tourist attraction is gorilla tracking, which generates a steady stream of revenue for the Uganda Wildlife Authority. It’s estimated the direct total income from gorilla visits in the Bwindi park is $15 million a year.

Rounding up their five is of course Kruger National Park:

Kruger National Park was established as a game reserve in 1898 and is home to a vast number of species, including more than 500 types of bird and more than 100 reptiles. It also boasts a huge diversity of trees and flowers.

The park is also known for big game, as well as more than 255 recorded archeological sites. Several rivers traverse the park from west to east, including the Sabie, Olifants, Crocodile, Letaba, Luvuvhu and Limpopo.

Lucky bunch, aren’t we?

You can read more about those five national parks HERE.

[source:cnn]