Africa & Middle East > South Africa > Mpumalanga & Kruger > Kruger National Park > Articles > Safari Style

Entering the new millennium, the range of safaris to choose from has never been larger or more tempting. There are options to suit every taste covering a sliding scale of wildlife experiences in varying degrees of wildness, comfort, adventure and budget although it is only fair to point out that going on safari is rarely a cheap form of holiday. Most safari itineraries take you to a number of different national parks, flying or driving between each and using a combination of lodges and camps.

Lodge standards and styles vary enormously. Some are flights of architectural fantasy providing unimaginable luxury for as little as six guests, others are huge hotel style abominations that disgorge legions of the dreaded zebra-striped minibuses. In recent years, sense has begun to prevail and there has been a growing requirement from governments for operators to build lodges that blend in to their surroundings and make the minimum possible environmental impact. At the same time, rising standards throughout the tourism and hotel industry world-wide have lead to a far greater emphasis on design, comfort and service. The result is all to the benefit of the visitor.

South Africa probably leads the field at the luxury end of the small private lodge market although Kenya, Zimbabwe and Botswana could all put forward strong contenders. Around the western side of Kruger National Park are a number of private concessions whose lodges vie with one another for the greatest degree of opulence. Singita Boulders, possibly the ritziest of the lot, boasts air-conditioned suites each with their own swimming pool, a spa, gym, and an underground cellar holding 13,000 bottles. Those hedonists and honeymooners (who account for a significant proportion of the safari market) who are seeking comfort first with a backdrop of wildlife will welcome this level of pampering but traditionalists may find the ambience out of kilter with a wilderness experience.

There are many lovely small lodges and both permanent and seasonal camps throughout Africa which have a great atmosphere, good guides, charge a reasonable amount and provide a perfect base from which to explore. Many are highly individual in their design ranging from rustic tree houses, to grass roofed rondavels or elaborate tents set under permanent thatched canopies. Some are themed such as Cottar’s Camp in the Masai Mara where you stay in dreamy white marquee tents, furnished 1920’s style with canopied four poster beds and ancient trunks to put your clothes in. Cottar’s has canvas baths, a wind-up gramophone and a reconstructed charabanc to take you out game viewing. The effect is impossibly romantic.

Kenya has produced another genre of safari camp which are proving extremely popular- the bush homes. A number of large private ranches have opened their homesteads to guests. These provide a house-party ambience in comfortable surroundings with the opportunity to walk, ride or drive to see game in total unmarred privacy.

To my mind there is nothing to beat a mobile camping safari led by one of Africa’s top guides. There is a tremendous sense of adventure in travelling from place to place through true wilderness areas, watching as the drama of nature unfolds before you and camping at night far from any other human presence. Mobile camp set-ups vary, but generally you can expect a high level of comfort with walk-in canvas tents, proper beds, lanterns, hot showers delivered by bucket & rose suspended from a convenient branch, evenings spent talking and drinking around the camp-fire and dinner served on white table cloths under the stars. Sleeping in a tent makes you feel very much part of the wildlife tableau as you lie in bed listening to the night-time chorus of crickets and frogs and lions roaring in the distance. Recently, at John Stevens’ camp in Mana Pools, I watched from my bed as an elephant wandered quietly around my tent in the moonlight feeling on the ground with the tip of his trunk for fallen acacia pods. What more could you ask for?

The way that you travel on safari can be every bit as varied as the accommodation. The most common way to view game is from a vehicle. Any good safari operator will use high quality, four wheel drive vehicles, normally open sided to provide the best game viewing platforms. The biggest advantage of a vehicle, on top of the obvious benefits of being able to travel substantial distances carrying large amounts of equipment and photographic gear without fatigue, is that animals do not seem to recognise people in a vehicle as posing a threat and so you are able to approach much closer to wildlife without disturbing the animals than you would be able to on foot.

Most professional safari guides are keen to encourage their clients to get out of the vehicle and savour the more immediate experience of walking amongst game. For many this is limited to an occasional walk during a mainly vehicle borne safari but others, like John Stevens, prefer to concentrate on walking and tracking animals. Portered walking safaris that take you right back to the days of the old hunters, with all equipment carried by long lines of bearers, are coming back into vogue. The specialists in this field are Richard Bonham in Selous from his camp at Sand Rivers and Robin Pope from his network of camps in South Luangwa. Some National Parks do not permit people to leave their vehicles.

Those seeking water-borne activities should head to the Zambesi Valley. The best canoe safaris are on the Lower Zambesi where you can do trips from 2 to 10 days. You paddle your own 2-person open canoe, camping on the river bank each night. Canoe camps range from fully catered varieties with luxury tents and crystal glass down to more basic operations where you put up your own mosquito net and join in with the cooking. At Lake Kariba some of the lodges have accommodation in luxury house-boats from which you go game viewing along the Lake shore in small speed boats or on pontoons. Alternatively, in Botswana, one of the attractions of the Okovango Delta is being poled along peaceful papyrus-lined channels in a dug-out canoe watching for the iridescent flash of a malachite kingfisher whizzing past or a glimpse of the short spiralled horns and shaggy head of a sitatunga hiding amongst the reed-beds.

The excitement of riding amongst herds of plains game has lead horse riding safaris to become increasingly popular. Horses are vulnerable to sleeping sickness and so horse-riding is only available where tsetse flies are not a problem. The Botswana’s Okovango Delta and Kenya are the two main locations. Riders need a reasonable level of experience and competence as some safaris will have you in the saddle for up to 8 hours a day and you must be able to confidently control your horse in areas where you may encounter predators such as lion that can spook horses or rhino who have been known to put in mock charges. Some of Kenya’s bush homes also offer camel safaris up into the wilds of the far north.

The biggest recent safari fad, is for game viewing from the back of an elephant. Pioneered by the American showman Randall Moore at his specially constructed Abu’s Camp in the Okovango Delta, using African elephants brought from zoos in the United States, elephant back safaris take guests amongst the wildlife on the flood plains and wetlands of the delta. Two guests are carried in custom made saddles on the back of each adult elephant who are accompanied by their young on half and whole day walks. Other camps now offer a similar safari using orphaned elephants. The use of African elephants in this way and the message that it sends out about the acceptable treatment of wild animals seems ethically extremely questionable but there is no denying the popular demand that this form of safari has achieved. It is not a cheap option however: Abu’s camp is currently the highest priced safari operation in Africa - a minimum stay of five nights will cost from £4,000 per person.

There are an increasing number of speciality safaris. Artists such as Julia Cassels and Sarah Elder lead groups on painting safaris, renowned naturalists take bird-watching safaris and for fishermen there are fly-fishing safaris to do combat with the legendary tiger fish of the Zambesi. Those wanting to take to the air can fly over Luangwa Valley in a micro-lite piloted by guide John Coppinger or drift over the Masai Mara in a hot-air balloon.

Whatever safari you decide to opt for, it is vital to get advice from an experienced, reliable travel agent who has actually been to the places and lodges that they are promoting. Price is by no means a guarantee of quality. Find out what is and is not included in a safari. Many supposedly budget trips turn out to be anything but good value when you discover that you have to pay your park entry fees and all game drives as extras once you get there. My personal advice would be to avoid lodges which accommodate more than twenty people and don’t entertain anything which involves minibuses. If your budget is tight rent a safari-equipped vehicle, camp in recognised campsites and hire a guide when you feel that you need one.

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