How to plan a Safari
The beginning
You may have seen a wonderful documentary, or had friends and family do a Safari… either way, it can be a daunting task to arrange. Africa is a vast continent, with a number of areas and countries offering some truly fantastic safari experiences – which means you can often get caught up in trying to include your entire personal ‘’bucket list” on your first-time trip.
Where?
Every country that has an excellent Safari offering has something unique and special, and rather than a whirlwind tour, it might be best to select just one country, or perhaps 2 or 3 (particularly in Southern Africa) if time and budget permits, to really capture the true essence of why you decided to come on safari in the first place.
The Safari destinations in the continent are usually seen as Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique. Of these, you get a marvellous combination of iconic wildlife, unique areas, wonderful people and some great beaches and islands (just in case you want to add this to your overall experience).
In the quest to see and experience as much as possible, there is also the temptation to just travel for a night or 2 to each area, which can lead to everything becoming a bit of a blur. Although it might have been the wildlife that caused your initial interest, there is also some spectacular scenes and unique geography that frame the overall experience.
Although it is certainly possible to do a multi-country safari, you may need a recuperation period once you return home! And you may find that sit for many hours in airports waiting for connecting flights.
Your days on Safari mean early starts and potentially late nights – this can be a combination of game viewing, best time for sightings, and the climate…
Generally, Safaris usually involve very early mornings for the best game viewing, and often, late evenings as you enjoy discussing your day’s experiences around the campfire at night (or are still out and about on a night drive).
It’s sometimes a truly therapeutic experience to linger longer at one Camp, just soaking up the African bush, gazing at the stars at night, glimpsing the lizards and birds (and yes, insects) that scurry and scrounge around your accommodation during the day, and really hearing the true beat of Africa.
Next year, or in a few years’ time, you can return to Africa, and then concentrate on your other bucket list items….. It is also possible, which happens to many people that Africa gets under your skin, making is easier to want to return again and again – and at different times of the year to enjoy the great seasonality in terms of game viewing and activities.
The Process
The first step is to think of which mammals or birds you’d like to see. Landscapes you’d like to experience. What season of the year can you travel in? It may be that you are looking at a family experience, which means taking school holidays into consideration. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer holidays coincide with the winter months in Southern Africa, which also tend to the be start of the best game viewing, for example.
If are keen to include a Christmas/ New Year break, then you have a number of options, not least of which is a beach holiday combined with some game viewing.
You may have seen a wonderful documentary, or had friends and family do a Safari… either way, it can be a daunting task to arrange. Africa is a vast continent, with a number of areas and countries offering some truly fantastic safari experiences – which means you can often get caught up in trying to include your entire personal ‘’bucket list” on your first-time trip.
Where?
Every country that has an excellent Safari offering has something unique and special, and rather than a whirlwind tour, it might be best to select just one country, or perhaps 2 or 3 (particularly in Southern Africa) if time and budget permits, to really capture the true essence of why you decided to come on safari in the first place.
The Safari destinations in the continent are usually seen as Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique. Of these, you get a marvellous combination of iconic wildlife, unique areas, wonderful people and some great beaches and islands (just in case you want to add this to your overall experience).
In the quest to see and experience as much as possible, there is also the temptation to just travel for a night or 2 to each area, which can lead to everything becoming a bit of a blur. Although it might have been the wildlife that caused your initial interest, there is also some spectacular scenes and unique geography that frame the overall experience.
Although it is certainly possible to do a multi-country safari, you may need a recuperation period once you return home! And you may find that sit for many hours in airports waiting for connecting flights.
Your days on Safari mean early starts and potentially late nights – this can be a combination of game viewing, best time for sightings, and the climate…
Generally, Safaris usually involve very early mornings for the best game viewing, and often, late evenings as you enjoy discussing your day’s experiences around the campfire at night (or are still out and about on a night drive).
It’s sometimes a truly therapeutic experience to linger longer at one Camp, just soaking up the African bush, gazing at the stars at night, glimpsing the lizards and birds (and yes, insects) that scurry and scrounge around your accommodation during the day, and really hearing the true beat of Africa.
Next year, or in a few years’ time, you can return to Africa, and then concentrate on your other bucket list items….. It is also possible, which happens to many people that Africa gets under your skin, making is easier to want to return again and again – and at different times of the year to enjoy the great seasonality in terms of game viewing and activities.
The Process
The first step is to think of which mammals or birds you’d like to see. Landscapes you’d like to experience. What season of the year can you travel in? It may be that you are looking at a family experience, which means taking school holidays into consideration. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer holidays coincide with the winter months in Southern Africa, which also tend to the be start of the best game viewing, for example.
If are keen to include a Christmas/ New Year break, then you have a number of options, not least of which is a beach holiday combined with some game viewing.
