The Where, the When, the How and the Who of Safaris

Safari is a Swahili word that means 'travel'. In the old days, that is how Safaris worked, You walked around with your bearers looking for game, probably hoping to shoot it. It is possible, though mistaken, to have a completely sedentary safari but, like most things, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

Some consider a Safari to be an African experience, but there are many other countries in which you can see spectacular wildlife (India, Sri Lanka, Canada, Scotland, Brazil, Nepal) and they are covered too.

There are many styles of safari, from the super Luxurious to the deep bush basic camp. Remember that for most people the important thing is the animals you see and the people you meet; comfort is great, but you won't necessarily see any more animals.

If you want to get the most out of your safaris, See below for guidelines to a good safari.

Recent Safaris news

More Safaris news

The chimps of the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary

safaris/october_2009/whale_southern_right_mask

Cape Town wildlife break - Whales, Great white sharks, penguins and game.

Adventure Company Wildlife Holidays

safaris/wildebeestrivercroddpgmediumlarge

Serengeti highway protests growing worldwide

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have both stepped into the growing controversy over the proposed Serengeti Highway (Published in Wildlife Extra in June).

world/Africa_nov_09/thomson_gazelle_torchio

Extraordinary mutation of Thompson's gazelle - or fake?

If it was April 1st, we wouldn't have been surprised by this story, but in August? These images appear to show a Thompson's gazelle that has been bred by crossing a gazelle with a goat or even a Scottie dog. We were immediately suspicious of the authenticity of the pictures as they seem just to extraordinary.

Wildlife photography - Uwe Skrzypczak

Uwe spends a lot of time in East Africa, especially following the great migration, and a lot of this book is based around that extraordinary event. This is a very detailed book covering all aspects of DSLR photography.
Read full review »

3 sites in India recommended for the reintroduction of cheetah

The Wildlife Institute of India and The Wildlife Trust of India have recommended three sites as the best places to re-introduce cheetah into India. 18 cheetah will initially be released on the 3 proposed sites; these cheetah will be obtained from the Middle East and Africa

New highway to cut the Serengeti in half?

Reports now circulating on the web suggest that the Government of Tanzania has given the go ahead for a road to be built right across the Serengeti, potentially blocking the migration route of the wildebeest, threatening the wildlife with a large amount of high speed traffic and providing easy access to many poachers.

First wild born cheetah for 40 years in Arabia

The last known Arabian cheetah was shot in Saudi Arabia in 1950, though they may have hung on in Oman until around 1970. Now 4 cubs have been born in the wild in a nature reserve on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

Elephant ivory imports allowed into the USA - Rednecks versus villagers

Wildlife Extra was under the misapprehension that it was illegal to import ivory into the USA. Given the very recent decision by CITES to prevent Tanzania and Zambia from down listing the elephants to appendix 2, Wildlife Extra is speechless to discover that it is perfectly legal to kill wild elephants in some parts of Africa, including Tanzania, and then import the tusks, skin and other disgusting mementos into the USA.

Tiger, gorilla and Serengeti safaris.

Explore run Tiger safaris in India. They also run a series of Gorilla watching holidays in Uganda, and Serengeti safaris in Tanzania.

Huge seizures of 1169 kgs of elephant ivory in Kenya and Ethiopia

The Kenya Wildlife Service has seized the largest haul of ivory in recent history at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, following on 2 days after a similar seizure in Ethiopia.

Legendary Mountain gorilla silverback dies of old age

Trackers at the Karisoke Research Centre found the legendary silverback gorilla Titus dead on his night nest in Volcanoes National Park.

Congo’s wildlife rangers launch offensive against armed groups trafficking charcoal in gorilla zone of Virunga

The Congolese National Park Authorities have sent the biggest ever deployment of armed rangers to strike at charcoal-making operations run by armed groups deep in the forests of Virunga National Park in Eastern DR Congo.

Brutal Namibian seal hunt caught on film – Journalists attacked

Secret footage smuggled out of Namibia has revealed the brutal reality of the Namibian seal hunt - and the subsequent attack on British journalist Jim Wickens and South African cameraman Bart Smithers.

Kenya wildlife down by 40% - Community tourism protects species better than National Parks

Wildlife populations throughout Kenya-inside as well as outside the national parks-declined by 40 percent from 1977 to 1997.

Mali’s elephants under threat from drought

The future of a rare herd of desert elephants in Mali is under threat from one of the worst droughts in living memory, which has left a key water source at its lowest level in a quarter of a century and is breaking down the usual peaceful co-existence between the elephants and local herdsmen.

Leucistic baboons of the Luangwa Valley.

Another reader, Steve Tolan, of the Chipembele Wildlife Education Centre has also seen some leucistic baboons inthe Luangwa Valley. There does seem to be a "leucistic hotspot" in the Luangwa, as we have had several reports of different animals from the beautiful part of the world.

Illegal quarry devastates vital wildlife corridor and local communities in Kenya

One of the Kruger’s largest tuskers has died

'Golden' lion of the South Luangwa National Park

One of our readers, Egil Dröge, has sent us photos photos of a very unusual young lion that is clearly much lighter than his siblings.

Knysna elephants – No evidence for more than 1 survivor

Rhino poaching- the poacher tells all.

The Van Deventer brothers were arrested in South Africa on charges of poaching rhinoceroses. Having entered into a plea bargain with the state, the brothers received reduced prison sentences. Shortly afterwards, they contacted investigative journalist and Africa Geographic columnist Ian Michler. They wanted to tell their story.

Read the full piece

In praise of the much maligned hyena – Needs a PR makeover

The hyena gets a bad press. Dan Beaton sings its praises.

Read the full article.

Leucistic impala photographed in South Africa

20th Rhino Shot in 2007 in Kaziranga: Poacher killed.

December 2007: Yet another rhino of Kaziranga National Park fell prey to poachers’ bullets on December 16, bringing the total number killed in 2007 to a record 20.

Safari with children

My kids were so excited about the thought of going on safari in Kenya, and we had a great time. A walking safari, 4 days on the Masai Mara seeing pretty much everything, the flamingos and rhinos at Nakuru, everything you want to see. And the abiding memories? Hiding under the seats of the open top landrover while watching lions hunting, (as all they have learned from years as armchair viewers is that lions will eat you.) and the hotel with a swim up bar and free coke!
READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Photo Story: Martial Eagle Attacks Stork.

Fantastic photos of a Martial eagle catching a White stork. Details.

Articles and advice about the wildlife, National parks and safaris in Kenya

Top African Safari Destinations (in no particular order)

There are many different styles of Safari to choose from, here are a few rules to help you choose.

A good guide/spotter. trust us, you will miss more than you see if you don't have a good guide with you. Not only do they see twice as much, they know ten times as much.
Dawn and dusk are almost always the best time, be prepared to get up early.
Be patient, the longer you are prepared to sit still, the more you will see.
Don't forget the people who live there. They often view the animals as pests, but your income will provide a living for them. Don't be ostentatious or patronising.
Size of vehicle. The bigger and the more people in a vehicle, the less you will see.
Spending £5000 on a safari doesn't guarantee you will see more than someone who spends £500.
There’s a lot more to Africa than the big five. Enjoy what you see and don’t go tearing all over to see a lion, thus missing plenty of fantastic but smaller game.

ELEPHANT BACK SAFARIS: CONSERVATION OR CRUELTY.

Shearwater Adventures, a tour operator from Zimbabwe, is under fire for capturing wild elephants for use on elephant back safaris. However Shearwater strongly defend their position by pointing out that the drought in Zimbabwe is devastating the elephant herds.
Read both sides of the argument.

In this section

The Where, the When, the How and the Who of Safaris

Recent Safaris news

More Safaris news

Related News Articles