What to expect while on an African Safari
For many going on an African Safari is a once in a lifetime opportunity as well a bucket list thing to do. This past year I got to experience that in several different parks in Tanzania. Each National Park has it’s subtle differences from more lush jungles, to dry plains, to very wet fertile green pastures, and lakes. However most animals can be seen in all the parks.
The Serengeti has the largest terrestrial mammal migration in the world. This is the reason for it being one of the top ten natural travel wonders of the world. The land mainly consists of grasslands, swamps and a few woodlands with the odd acacia tree scattered here and there.
The other draw in the region is Ngorongoro Crater. A Unesco World Heritage site and known for being the largest and longest inactive volcanic caldera. The flora and fauna that have since grown here provide the perfect environment for most animals to live and thrive. The crater itself is two thousand feet deep and is five thousand eight hundred feet above sea level. Making it a such a breathtaking place even without the animals. Then when you take into account all the animals within the crater makes this place a must see!
The other park I’m going to touch on is Lake Manyara National park. Its very lush and has more of a jungle feel making it more difficult to spot animals because of all the places they can hide. However for me it had more of an authentic safari feel and I liked the idea of trying to see and catch a glimpse of animals in trees either hiding to attack their prey or hide from them.
The main attraction of any safari is being able to spot the Big 5 (lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard, and the elephant) Jumping in the 4×4 jeep and cruising through Lake Manyara national park for the first time was exciting and thrilling.
My first animal encounter was seeing a baboon walk by me and stare me down which to be honest was quite intense and very unique. Before you know it we were surrounded by all whole troop of them. Some were extremely curious while others just lounged around. The weirdest part about being on a safari is just how close you come to the animals. These aren’t animals in a zoo with cages around them or distinct areas that won’t allow for such close proximity. Plus animals in a zoo are fed on a regular basis unlike the ones in front of us.
Look! Under the trees we spot our first Big 5 animal…Simba…king of the jungle. For the most part throughout your safari you’ll see lots of lions doing a whole lotta nothing. These animals are on the hunt at night or early mornings and the rest of the day they’re lounging around sleeping. When we came upon our first pride of lions chilling under a tree our jeep and driver decided to stop no joke a few feet away….you could almost touch them. The only thing running through my mind was when do you think this pride of lions in front of us has last ate? I kept thinking why aren’t they attacking us? The funny thing I wasn’t the only one thinking this. I quickly asked Matt beside me what’s stopping these huge magnificent animals from jumping in this jeep with us and having their way with all of us….his response was shit I was thinking the same thing! It blows your mind just how close you are to them.
Seeing my first giraffe was awesome…I think I like them the most. So elegant yet strange and awkward looking. The colours, spots, the funny head, long neck, even stranger frame and long tiny legs makes the giraffe so unique and special. There are no other animals like it.
The other big draw and exciting thing about a Safari is the accommodations. You can find basic accommodations like simple tents and guesthouses to luxury lodges and tented camps. The other incredible thing is just where these digs are located. So when we went from Lake Manyara to the Serengeti we where all very excited about our tented camp but also because of the legendary migration and the opportunity to spot the Big 5. On the way to our camp we got lucky and spotted one of the Big 5 and usually one of the more difficult ones to find. We spotted a leopard in the tree. After taking hundreds of pictures and as dusk quickly approached we were told by our driver that we needed to be in our camp by 6pm because of National Park regulations. The funniest and craziest thing was that we were only seconds away from our camp. As we took off to our camp and pulled around several trees we had arrived seconds later. I could still see and hear the leopard! We had two Maasai Warriors guarding our camp throughout the evening and they always escorted us to our sleeping quarters. However that still didn’t give me the biggest reassurance the first night. Hearing all the animals throughout the night was incredible. Getting up early the next morning and enjoying a coffee outside my tent I again realized why I was a little bit nervous. A gazelle flew by my tent and I swear I could feel the wind blow as it whizzed by. Again my thoughts going through my head were “what is stopping animals from coming into this camp and deciding this is the perfect meal for the day” Have I watched too many movies…..one in particular comes to mind “The Lion and the Darkness”! If a gazelle could whip through our camp why not a cheetah or lion? By the second night I’d come to relax and realize that we really weren’t food for these animals but it’s still very much on your mind and just so odd to think. Being able to place yourself right in the middle of these animals natural environment was absolutely awesome!
Odyssey Treks Serengeti Safari tour takes you to the best parks and has some incredible accommodations. It really does provide a little bit of everything. From a luxury lodge in Lake Manyara to an incredible tented camp in the heart of the Seregenti.
Tented Camp in the Serengeti
Then off to a rustic guesthouse in Ngorongoro Crater where you think you’ve just stepped into the movie Jumanji. When you check in they make it very clear not to leave the property after dusk and to try and stay in your rooms at night. We saw first hand when a herd of massive Buffalo walked by our room…incredible!
The other thing you need to consider when choosing a safari is how long to go for? The one difficult thing I found was sitting in a vehicle all day and not getting any exercise…but hey I’m a activity nut! I love being active and for me this was one of the big drawbacks…even after just climbing Kilimanjaro I still felt I needed a little exercise. As well once you’ve seen all the animals unless your seeing an elusive hunt you slowly become immune to the uniqueness and all the animals. I did a five day safari and I found that was too long. With Odyssey Treks 13 Day Serengeti Safari to the Exotic Spice Island of Zanzibar it offers a 4 day safari which I think is the perfect amount of days where you’ll get to experience the different parks and still have plenty of time to see the Big 5.
The last thing I want to touch on is seeing the elusive hunt, chase and kill sequence. We were lucky to witness leopards hunting gazelles and the ultimate Big 5 showdown….a pride of lions taking on a buffalo.
Now the build up for this kill was pretty amazing. The patience of this pride and the tactical way they went about killing the buffalo was truly amazing. However for many in our jeep and I’m sure others that were watching from the other jeeps. The true reality of what you were witnessing became evident. Charles Darwin’s philosophy of survival of the fittest and the whole King of the Jungle food chain was on display. This kill may have been easier to witness had the Buffalo not put up such a fight. Hearing the poor helpless shrieking animal was extremely difficult to witness. The buffalo was being eaten alive. So for many this is something you might not want to witness or will have to be able to deal with while on safari. Again you are not at the zoo.
With everything a safari provides from beautiful landscapes, epic sunsets, nature and animals in their natural environment to the incredible accommodations you will want to make sure this is on your bucket list of must do’s! An African safari and beach getaway provides the perfect holiday for any individual.
