TOP 10 THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT SAFARI THAT YOU'VE PROBABLY NOT THOUGHT ABOUT!

28 Nov

If you’ve not been on safari before, perhaps you think it’s the same as visiting a zoo, just without the wire fences and cages? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong!

For me, the experience goes far beyond the top-line, obvious act of seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, it’s about delving into the subtle gifts and deeper messages that surround the whole adventure.

1. No Guarantees

No safari will EVER be the same. Even if you travelled every day on exactly the same routes, your experience would be different each time. Wildlife roam freely in the reserves so every day the slate is wiped clean. My best advice is to show up with an open expectation and hopefully you’ll be unexpectedly delighted by wonderful moments of serendipity….. I assure you, ‘miraculous happenings’ can take place when you’re in the right place at the right time!

2. Tell-Tale Signs

If you speak nature’s language, you’ll soon discover that the answers you seek are staring you in the face. Tuning into the environment and listening out for the sound of alarm calls from birds, baboons, antelope etc. means you become aware of clues that may lead you to fascinating discoveries. Animals alert each other to danger, so knowing their signals could result in you finding a predator lurking just out of sight. Also remember to look up to the skies, many vultures circling overhead and perched together in trees are there by no coincidence!

3. Nature Doesn’t Judge

Nature puts everyone on a level playing field. Modern society and culture can put people on pedestals if they are successful or popular, rich or famous …… but nature doesn’t care about your status. There is no bypass ticket to see certain elusive animals or to watch animals on the hunt like in an Attenborough documentary. What you see and what you experience on a game drive will be whatever nature decides. It’s a game of chance and often patience too.

4. ‘Sleep-less’ Nights

With wake-up calls at 5am, you’re likely to have no problems sleeping out in the African bush but hopefully at some point you’ll be lucid enough to hear the songs of the night. No, not snoring from your fellow guests(!), but the call of wildlife. There is something truly magical about lying in bed under canvas, and being able to listen to the deep and guttural resonating call of a lion or the hilarious low to high pitched ‘ooooo-woww’ sounds of hyenas. It always makes me feel so connected to my surroundings.

5. Senses Overload

One thing you can’t photograph and capture for others to appreciate back at home is the fantastic scents you’ll come across. Every time I go back, I am reminded by how much I’d forgotten the importance of the sweet-smelling grasses and how much I missed natural fragrances like sage drifting through the air. During my recent trip to Botswana, I was particularly struck each morning by the soft aroma of smoky coals as I washed my face in water that had been heated over the camp fire. It made the experience feel so much more authentic and natural.

6. Immersion

A mobile tented safari means a 24/7 opportunity to become part of the environment. Rather than dipping your toe in for a quick game drive and then stepping back to a modern, glam hotel where the experience becomes rapidly diluted, living out amongst the trees offers a unique chance to feel the echoes of our ancestors and to really engage with the natural world. This is off-the-scale mindfulness; you can’t help but be present. So, shake off modern creature-comforts and enjoy life in its basic and simple forms.
(P.S. a word from the wise, who knew open-air, bucket showers were so liberating?! It’s something you’ve got to try once in your life.)

7. Off Grid

No internet and also no mobile signal = absolute heaven! When your phone has no connection to civilisation and is only good for taking photos/videos, it opens up a new world where you have real-life conversations and discussions with fellow guests. It’s a real bonding experience to re-live game drive memories. I also particularly like quiet times of reflection in between drives to let it all soak in because some spectacular sightings are ‘pinch-me’ moments that take a while to contemplate.
(P.S. star-gazing is the replacement evening tv, so take the time to look up and appreciate a dark sky spectacular)

8. The Joy Of Not Following The Crowd

If you have ‘fear of missing out’ and want to see what everyone else is looking at, then be prepared for the benefits of going in the opposite direction. My favourite sightings have been when we’ve been the only vehicle observing the wildlife. The atmosphere is calmer and it feels more special because you are witnessing something that only you and the companions in your vehicle have experienced.

9. There Is No Pause Button

Whatever happens on safari takes place in the moment. Wildlife will not wait for you to be ready and aimed with your camera on the right settings which is why it’s important to let go of any frustrations of not capturing the ‘perfect’ photo and instead, place significance in taking some time to SEE with your own eyes. There is extra value in experiencing rather than recording things that happen in a flash e.g. I don’t have photographic evidence to show people the leopard chasing impala and making a kill in front of our eyes, but I have the play-back memory that I can see clearly in my head – and that’s worth more than a grainy, blurred photograph and a disassociated memory from being behind a lens.

10. Nature’s Lessons

An impala doesn’t panic and run every time it sees a lion in the distance. It will be alert to its presence but will carry on its life. It won’t expend energy if it doesn’t need to. Equally, once it’s run for its life after being chased and is out of danger, it will resume its daily goings-on.
I find this metaphor fascinating. As humans, we often over-think and fret about things that might never happen and apply anxious energy to situations that are completely unnecessary. If we took more time to observe the lessons provided by nature, life would be a lot more simple!

Don’t hold on to the past – let it go.
Don’t worry about the future – live in the now.

And that’s what I love – nature has straight-forward answers to life’s complicated questions.

Milo Gammond