Why do giraffe splay their legs to drink?

Their necks are shorter than their legs, so reaching ground level takes a wide stance or a deep bend at the knees. It also leaves them slow to stand up, which is why they drink in turns with others watching, and why a waterhole is the place a giraffe is most alert.

Wildlife

Giraffe

Q: Where can you see giraffe in South Africa?

Across the bushveld and savanna: Kruger and the reserves beside it, the Waterberg, Madikwe and Pilanesberg, and the Zululand reserves including Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Phinda. They do not occur in the Cape fynbos or the Karoo.

Giraffa camelopardalis

The South African giraffe or Cape giraffe (Giraffa giraffa or Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) is a species or subspecies of giraffe found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Mozambique.

from Wikipedia

Showing stays that recordGiraffe75+ stays list it on site or nearby

Species insights▾

When to visit

Recorded year-round

Recorded in every month, so no month is the wrong month to look. We would rather say that than invent a best time.

Best monthsAny month

Records7,512 records

Curve from 7,512 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.

Where you'll find it

Mpumalanga and beyond

Provinces where Giraffe is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.

7,512 records, iNaturalist

Parks where hosts record the Giraffe

Places to stay

75+ results in South Africa

Tanda Tula Safari Camp

Limpopo

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 27 birds recorded · Lion, Leopard · Guided walk, Game drives

Price on request

Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge

Hluhluwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 285 birds recorded · African wild dog, Spotted hyena · Game drives

Price on request

Ubuntu Lodge at Elephant Point

Hazyview

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 1 bird recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Price on request

Maninghi Lodge

Hoedspruit

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 8 birds recorded · Giraffe, African elephant · Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Rhino Sands Safari Camp

Hazyview

Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa

Limpopo

Giraffe recorded here · Forest biome · 16 birds recorded · Leopard, Spotted hyena · Fishing, Guided walk

Supports BirdLife South Africa

From R 11,820 per night

Plains Camp @ Rhino Walking Safaris

Mpumalanga

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 224 birds recorded · Aardvark, African elephant · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports BirdLife South Africa

Price on request

Jaci's Private Lodge

Madikwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 71 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Game drives, Photography

Supports Jaci's Lodge Trust

From R 31,500 per night

Mont Eco Game Reserve

Mont Eco Game Reserve, Montagu

Giraffe recorded here · Succulent Karoo biome · Leopard, Lion · Guided walk, Game drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

Price on request

Phelwana Game Lodge

Hoedspruit

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 2 birds recorded · Giraffe, Cheetah · Safaris, Game drives

Supports DAKTARI Bush School

From R 1,100 per night

&Beyond Phinda Zuka Lodge

Hluhluwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Scenic drives

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 31,600 per night

&Beyond Tengile River Lodge

Bushbuckridge

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 37 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 93,000 per night

&Beyond Phinda Vlei Lodge

Hluhluwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Rock Lodge

Hluhluwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Hiking

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 44,800 per night

&Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge

Hluhluwe

Giraffe recorded here · Savanna biome · 34 birds recorded · Leopard, Lion · Safaris, Wildlife viewing

Supports Endangered Wildlife Trust

From R 35,500 per night

Plan a trip around these stays

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Giraffe

Giraffe are the easiest large animal to spot and the most pleasant to watch, because they are visible above the bush from a long way off and they are active through the day.

When to go, park by park

Here all yearEasiest viewing

Best months to visit each park where hosts record the Giraffe
Park	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Kruger	Here	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here	Here
Kgalagadi	Here	Here	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Easiest viewing	Here	Here

Darker months are each park's own best season, when thinner bush or scarce water makes viewing easier. A sighting is never guaranteed.

Best hours of the day

Early morning and late afternoon. The Giraffe is out through the day, and easiest to watch before the heat.
Midday heat. Often resting in shade or near water.

Where to base yourself

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Kruger Kgalagadi Augrabies Falls Mapungubwe

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Gondwana Phinda Sabi Sand Welgevonden

Species

Giraffa camelopardalis

Records

7 512

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Giraffe on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

More about the Giraffe

Giraffe are the easiest large animal to spot and the most pleasant to watch, because they are visible above the bush from a long way off and they are active through the day. They browse acacia and combretum in the bushveld and savanna, which puts them across the Lowveld, the Waterberg, Madikwe and Pilanesberg, the Zululand reserves and the private reserves on the Kruger boundary. They do not occur naturally in the fynbos or the Karoo.

There is no real season. Winter thins the bush and makes them easier to see at a distance, summer brings green leaf and calves. Early morning is the best light for photographs, because a giraffe at a waterhole with its legs splayed is one of the great sights of the bushveld and it happens most often in the first hours of the day.

Watch for the necking of young bulls, a slow swinging contest that looks gentle until it is not. Pair giraffe with the rest of the plains game in the same reserve, a Lowveld birding trip in summer, or the Waterberg for a malaria-free bushveld alternative within easy reach of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

When is the best time to see giraffe?

Any season. Winter thins the bush and makes them easier to see at a distance, and early morning is the best time for drinking behaviour and photographs. Giraffe are active through the day, so they do not need dawn and dusk the way the cats do.

Where can you see giraffe in South Africa?