There is the big five: lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo. The beautiful and contemporary safari lodges for which Africa is becoming known. And that’s only the start.
Africa has a lot more than five famous animals and stunning places to stay. This is the continent where millions of large mammals run free.
You can encounter these animals on a game drive in a safari vehicle. Do you know there are many other safari activities that will give you a different perspective on Africa’s wildlife?
The best safari holidays combine diverse experiences. Which of these ten experiences do you want to do most?
Nighttime Game Drive
Safari feels very different in the dark. Nighttime is cooler, when most animals are at their most active.
Nighttime is when you’ll see big cats on the prowl, hippos and rhinos on the plains, and rare species away from their daytime hiding places.
Your guide uses a roving spotlight. You’ll stop and listen, to detect what is near. Of course you don’t have big open views. But animals may not see you either, so you can often come very close to them.
Just one nighttime game drive will give you a completely different perspective, on the same wilderness and animals you explored in the day.
Mokoro Canoe Safari
Silently and serenely you glide down a narrow river channel. Hippos are in the water. Antelope drink from the banks. Up ahead there are two baby elephants, playfully pushing each other under.
Mokoro canoe activities are a beautiful and relaxing way to get very close to a few special animals.
They’re a specialty of Botswana, especially in the flooded Okavango Delta, where waterways are sometimes the only way to get around.
You won’t see a lot. But animals don’t see your silent, slow-moving traditional canoe as a threat. Which means you can get very close.
Balloon Safari
Balloon safaris are all about embracing the scale of a wilderness area. And the incredible movements of different animals, especially large herds.
From a balloon you can’t get close. Nor can you stop. But in one hour you could float above tens of thousands of animals, sometimes hundreds of thousands in the Serengeti or Masai Mara.
Rise at sunrise, glide with the wind, then touch down for a Champagne breakfast, usually with giraffe and elephants along the horizon.
Some safari activities you’ll want to do again and again. A balloon safari is the unique activity you simply have to do once.
Horseback Safari
The drumbeat of hoofs…imagine cantering across the savannah, alongside herds of zebra, antelope and sometimes buffalo.
Horseback safaris are only for experienced riders. You must be able to confidently control a horse and react to the environment.
This isn’t usually a walk in the wild. It’s running with the herds.
Horseback safaris are possible in areas without large predators, or during the hotter part of the day, when predators are dozing. We love the multi day horseback expeditions you can do in Botswana.
Game Drive in an Electric Vehicle
Electric safari vehicles are more sustainable. And they’re silent. Which makes a massive difference to your game drive experience.
Traditional Land Rovers and Landcruisers are loud. Lions and elephants don’t mind them, but almost every other animal stays clear of this big and noisy vehicle in their vicinity.
A game drive in a new electric vehicle means you can get closer to many animals, without distributing them.
Cheetah Plains in South Africa is one private reserve where electric vehicles have transformed the safari for guests, especially the close-up encounters with leopards.
Walking Safari
Yes, it’s safe to go on a walking safari! Indigenous people have lived alongside dangerous animals for many generations, so they know exactly how to keep you safe.
Trackers evaluate the landscape and keep you clear of elephants and hungry cats. So don’t expect to meet a lion on a walking safari.
Walking safaris are the best way to get really close with smaller animals. And even the smallest antelopes don’t look so small when you encounter them from ground level.
A walk can be an hour, a morning or a full day. They’re rarely possible in national parks. Instead, the opportunity for a walking safari is another major advantage of staying in a private concession or reserve.
Boat Safari
Motorboat safaris are like the game drives of the Okavango Delta, and the only way to really explore other wetland environments.
Motorboats can take you far, in landscapes where vehicles simply cannot pass. You’ll explore some of Africa’s most untouched and unchanged animal habitats.
While every animal has their favoured place to graze, hunt or rest, every animal needs water. So there’s a lot to see from a boat.
At water level you enjoy rare behaviours too, whether herds joyously cooling off or predators setting a trap for the thirsty.
Photography Hide
How close do you want to get? How much patience do you have?
In some outstanding places across Africa, lodges and camps have established special photography hides. They’re the sort of places used by National Geographic and professional photographers.
Photography hides aren’t only for eager photographers. Spending two hours in a hide, overlooking a waterhole, provides a very real and raw insight into the animal world.
Our favourites are all located in private concessions and are completely exclusive, so this isn’t a wildlife experience you will share.
Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking
Gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking are different from all the other safari activities. They’re more like an expedition, as you track a predetermined troop, in a wilderness where walking is the only way to explore.
For gorilla trekking we recommend Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Chimpanzee trekking is spectacular in Rwanda’s Nyungwe Forest too.
There’s a moment when time stands still. You are eye to eye with a mountain gorilla. You stare. The mountain gorilla stares back.
The actual trekking can be challenging, but it can also be quite straightforward. We recommend you discuss this in more detail with your travel designer.
Cycling Safari
Cycling is an increasingly popular holiday activity, whether a mountain bike in the Dolomites or biking around a private island resort in the Maldives.
There’s the freedom, the thrill, the beauty of exploring nature. Now imagine that experience enhanced by wildlife.
Of all the world’s cycling experiences, nothing compares to riding along amid giraffe, buffalo, zebra, baboons and many different antelopes.
Cycling safaris are a highlight of areas that don’t have too many large animals.
A Private Safari Experience
There isn’t a single place in Africa where you can do all these safari experiences. They suit different landscapes and wildlife. Remember, Africa is a lot bigger than Europe!
However, it’s important you know the difference between private reserves and national parks.
National parks have public access and strict rules about what visitors can and can’t do. This often means you can only go on game drives.
In private and unfenced safari areas, the restrictions are on the number of visitors, rather than what visitors can do. It’s more exclusive, diverse, exciting and immersive.
With an African safari there are many considerations, not only which destination and where to stay. You have an incredible variety of options and our travel designers will create a safari holiday best suited to you.
