Typical Safari Activities

The landscapes are most active in the morning and late afternoon; predators prowling, herds moving, grazers grazing. The most typical safari day will include two guided daily activities, often coinciding with these more exciting times in the hinterland. The rest of the itinerary will be about relaxing at camp, where the safari sights invariably continue. In some destinations, particularly the larger national parks and reserves, an alternative is a longer full-day game drive, with a leisurely stop for lunch en route. This enables visitors to cover a greater area and can also be a preferred choice in a park of multiple habitats and ecosystems.

The mainstay of safari is a guided game drive, usually in an open-sided four wheel drive vehicle. The pace is slow and the roads probably rough and rugged. There are set trails through every park and reserve and driving off these routes is illegal. Preserving the wilderness depends on not trampling through native habitat and some national parks have name and shame boards of drivers who've been temporarily suspended. For every game drive, the guide will have an idea of the route to take, something that's often decided through conversation with the customer. Certain places are renowned for certain animals and the length of the drive will be dictated by the route. However, once the game drive starts, the unpredictability of the environment takes over. Watch a leopard out hunting or follow an elephant herd and a two hour loop becomes three hours long. Whenever something is spotted, the driver stops, cuts the engine, and waits until everyone is ready to continue.

Walking and boat safaris follow a similar routine, usually with a flexible yet partly predetermined route. The speed is dictated by the group and the variable nature of the environment. Like a game drive, there are rules on where you can explore and which areas must be seen from a distance. Private concessions and private game reserves usually offer more freedom. In some safari destinations, morning and afternoon game drives are the norm. In others, combining activities provides a more complete impression of the landscape, yet they can't cover the same distance as game drives.

Other options make the typical safari day even harder to define, like a hot air balloon or aerial safari. Nighttime game drives are vastly different, the eerie blackness increasing the intimacy and thrill of the experience. With a single roving spotlight, nighttime drives normally provide some close-up encounters that can't be experienced when the wildlife can see the vehicle coming. Nocturnal wildlife emerges from their hiding places and sights are enhanced by a greater focus on sounds. There are yet more potential safari activities dependent on the destination, like galloping on horseback or even mountain biking alongside zebra