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Safari special
Close-up, intimate views of big cats such as cheetahs (here in Namibia) are among the great pleasures of an African safari.
The array of wildlife-watching opportunities in Africa is dizzying. But with a wealth of species to spot and a vast range of parks, reserves, lodges and camps, how do you pick your perfect safari? BBC Wildlife asked the experts.
Safari: it’s one of the most resonant words in the wildlife-lovers’ lexicon. Swahili for journey, the term is pregnant with the sights, sounds and smells of the African savannah.
If it doesn’t conjure up images in your mind of lions resting under an acacia tree or elephants standing in the heat of the tropical sun, ears flapping like giant wings, then English probably isn’t your first language – or even your second, third or fourth.
A safari of some description is the first choice for many people who go on a wildlife holiday. That’s not just because of the great diversity and biomass of Africa’s megafauna, but also because of its visibility. You want elephants? You can’t miss ’em.
But the wide distribution of the traditional safari – from South Africa’s private reserves to the plains of Kenya’s Masai Mara – makes it hard to know how you can guarantee the wildlife experience you are hoping for.
With this in mind, we asked three of our most experienced Africa writers to choose their top spots for specific experiences or animals. If big cats are your thing or you want a self-drive adventure, they know the very best places to go. Some destinations may be known to you, but others won’t. And this experts’ guide is a great starting point for making your next big trip the holiday of a lifetime.
- Phillip Briggs has visited more than 20 African countries in the course of writing numerous travel guides and wildlife articles.
- William Gray writes about family, wildlife and adventure holidays, often travelling with his wife and 10-year-old twins.
- Brian Jackman is a former staff travel writer for The Sunday Times and now specialises in safari destinations.
Best for big cats: Olare Orok Conservancy, Kenya
A good guide can make all the difference to a safari, and they don’t come any better than Jackson Saiyalel. With his beads, bangles and blood-red shuka – the distinctive red, checked blanket – there is no mistaking him for anything but a true Maasai, born and bred on the Mara plains. Today he works in the Olare Orok Conservancy, which covers 8,000ha and borders the Masai Mara National Reserve itself.
At a time when lion numbers are declining, it is heartening to find somewhere that is bucking the trend. Since Olare Orok was founded in 2006, the local feline population has increased dramatically. There are now 51 lions, comprising three healthy prides, and one of the joys of staying here is getting to recognise them as individuals. There’s no mistaking Nguro, one of the Ridge Pride lionesses – her Maasai name means ‘short tail’. Nor does it take long to identify Mzee and Lolalai, grizzled Moniko Pride males.
Another bonus is that low-density tourism rules, so you can usually watch big cats with no other vehicles around – something that is much harder in the National Reserve.
Brian Jackman
Now you do it
- Stay at Porini Lion Camp, one of only three camps with exclusive game-viewing rights on this private wildlife reserve. Details from Gamewatchers Safaris. Call 0870 471 7122.
- Go any time except April and May, which is the rainy season.
Also recommended
- Duba Plains Camp, Okavango Delta, Botswana
- Mwagusi Safari Lodge, Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
Best for canoeing: The Zambezi, Zambia
Few tasks concentrate the mind so much as steering a canoe between a pair of hippos submerged in a channel of the Lower Zambezi. Stick to the shallows, says our guide, and you’ll be in no danger. But the problem is that I don’t see any signposts reading ‘Shallow water’ or ‘Here be hippos’.
As the current nudges me forward, I focus on the wake of the lead canoe that runs between the banks. The crossing takes only 30 seconds, but it feels like an eternity.
Canoeing the Zambezi is mostly a serene activity, and some moments are etched on my memory forever – for instance, floating within 10m of a pride of lions, whose guileless yellow eyes followed our passage across the knee-deep water. It is one of Africa’s most compelling experiences, offering the immediacy of being right there, on the river, without an engine in earshot or a window frame in sight.
Philip Briggs
Now you do it
- Sausage Tree Camp offers one-hour to one-day canoe trips
- All-inclusive packages can be booked through Expert Africa. Call 020 8232 9777.
- The best time to visit is June to September, the dry winter months.
Also recommended
- Okavango Delta, Botswana
- Arusha National Park, Tanzania
Best for volunteering: Tuli Block, Botswana
Elephants can be masters of suspense. An entire herd can hide nearby in dense scrub, teasing you with glimpses of questing trunks, before they melt away into even thicker vegetation. In Tuli Block, however, we are rewarded with a far more intimate encounter when a herd of 30 encircles us and shows off their full range of dust-tossing, ear-flapping and head-shaking.
Getting up-close and personal with elephants takes on new meaning with the Tuli Conservation Project. Working as a volunteer, your job is to develop ID cards and record behaviour for the 1,400 or so elephants found in the study area.
This is one of southern Africa’s last free-roaming populations, and research into their movements is key to the success of the Limpopo-Shashe Transfrontier Conservation Area that allows wildlife to migrate between Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Other activities focus on recording predator and baboon behaviour, game counts and habitat restoration.
William Gray
Now you do it
- Contact African Conservation Experience. Call 01454 269182.
- Accommodation is in huts and tents, with outdoor showers and flush toilets.
Also recommended
- Frontier has a wildlife conservation project in Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley. Call 020 7613 2422.
- Earthwatch has a cheetah conservation project in Namibia. Call 01865 318838.
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