he typical safari day begins with a VERY early wake up call just before
sunrise–not just by the camp staff, but by lions roaring in the distance!
We take tea and coffee, cereal and toast. Then we're on our way, leaving
camp in an open 4x4 safari vehicle for game viewing, or on foot for a guided
nature walk with an armed guard as an escort. Other activities may include
boat or canoe excursions in water areas.
e have a midmorning coffee, tea and cake break, continue on our walk
or drive, returning to camp somewhere between 9:30 and midday. We have
a sumptuous brunch when we get back. The afternoon is for reading, relaxing,
writing postcards, lazing around or even visiting the camp's hide for a
couple of hours of quiet observation of nearby wildlife. Or we can sit
on chairs, field glasses in hand, observing the hippos or crocodiles down
by the river's edge. We may even opt for an additional game drive or nature
walk, which, though–because of the heat of the day–is not customary.
y late afternoon, toward 4:00 or 5:00, after tea and cake, we embark
on yet another game drive. We pause for sun downers at dusk, admiring the
incomparable African sunset and welcoming the African night. We resume
our drive into the early evening, culminating in a spectacular ‘night drive',
where–with the aid of a halogen lamp–we glimpse the comings and goings
of a variety of nocturnal species.
he best part of the day awaits our return at about 8:00–the hot showers
that are all prepared and ready for us! And no sooner than we just begin
to relax with a few drinks at the bar, we're called to sit down to a fabulous
multi course meal, prepared for us by talented African chefs, every bit
as skilled and creative as you'll find in any urban four-star hotel. It's
quite amazing, in fact, to discover that the fabulous meal you've just
eaten–deep in the African bush–was prepared, no less, in a hole in the
ground!
And speaking of a hole in the ground, let us not forget the proverbial, notorious African bush toilet!
fter another drink or two at the bar, the magic begins–we're seductively
drawn to the flickering fingers of dancing flames of the most alluring
camp fire we've ever seen! Under a black sky, peppered with more stars
than we've ever imagined–this is the time–the perfect moment we've waited
the whole day for–perhaps even a whole lifetime for. It is just now that
we begin to rehash the day's memorable myriad happenings–the elephant
that nearly charged–the lion that came awfully close!–the fearsome, menacing
buffalo that appeared out of nowhere! And like the proverbial "Kodak
Moment"–the moment that simply MUST be seized–there is no more perfect
a time than RIGHT NOW! to begin to share a few of our favorite Travel
Stories! Finally, the inevitable happens–we all begin to fade. The
day, after all, has taken its toll. We head off to our tents, collapsing
into our beds at around 10:30, being slowly lured to sleep by the soothing,
incessant, infinite and hypnotic background blanket din of the myriad blended
sounds of the long African night–a night that would seemingly go on forever–but
for the sudden, terrifying, punctuating sharp shrill ‘laugh' of a lone
hyena, emerging out of the nowhere and just as quickly fading back in!
e're
on the hunt for the African ‘Big Five'–the leopard, lion, buffalo, rhino
and elephant. We're armed to the teeth and we're ready! We'll shoot them
if we can–not with guns–but with our cameras! Assuredly, we've come to
learn to expect the unexpected. We'll encounter these animals just as often
as not–but entirely on their own terms. It's rare, indeed, to not encounter
at least some of the ‘Big Five'. And as few or as many safaris that any
of us have been on–it's like "today's the first day of the rest of
your life!"–we are no less excited with each repeat sighting of any
the ‘Big Five', than we were the very first time!
f course, interspersed with episodes of the ‘Big Five', are innumerable
encounters with antelope, hippo, giraffe, wildebeest (gnu), waterbuck,
zebra, warthog, eland, greater kudu, hyena as well as a variety of smaller
game animals. Africa is no less a birder's paradise, either, with 500 or
more species to be observed and tallied.
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