Our safari guide and host, Kevin, was amazing. I cannot say enough positive things about him. Kevin has been an experienced guide for years. He is also an amazing photographer, so he knew how to position the vehicle so that we could get the best shots.
During the trip, we went on game drives twice a day: early mornings and evenings. Our morning game drives began at 5:30 am and lasted for about three hours. I know. It’s vacation and that’s early. But early mornings are one of the best times to see some of the animals.
Our evening game drives began around 4:30 and lasted for the same amount of time as the morning drives.
Words cannot do justice to what you will experience on game drives. Being in nature and witnessing the animals in their natural environment is an amazing experience and one that you will remember for years to come.
Before your first game drive, your guide will review proper etiquette that you will know what to expect and know what not to do so that you don’t upset the animals.
If you have the opportunity to do game drives over multiple days, you have more of a chance to see the big five in addition to other animals. The big five are lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalos. We saw all but leopards.
For the most part, the animals are not bothered by the vehicles or the humans taking photos of them.
The only “scary” moment we had was the third time we were stuck in a herd of elephants.
Yes. The THIRD TIME.
We literally had nowhere to go and had to sit and wait for them to pass and try not to get in their way in the process.
In the herd, there were several baby elephants, and female elephants are very protective of their young. One of the elephants thought we were too close for comfort, and she trumpeted at us signaling that we needed to back up and move away from them.
The elephants were by far my favorite animals to watch. Over the course of the week, we had some amazing elephant sightings.
In addition to the game drives, we also went on a cheetah walk and a bushwalk. I opted not to go on the bushwalk. But, my husband who went said it was one of the highlights of the trip and had this to say:
“The bush walk was one of my favorite experiences. It’s a scary concept to be walking on foot where there are plenty of wild Elephants, Lions, Rhinos, Buffalo, and many other species. Not everyone in our party could go on the walk. If you are the type of person that feels overwhelmed being so close to the animals in the car, then going out on foot isn’t a good idea.
On the bush walk, you never know what you may come across. The guide went over the route we would take on the bush walk, and the route included areas where we saw a lion and a lioness earlier in the week.
It was a little nerve-wracking walking through the bush not knowing what you may accidentally stumble upon. Often, the animals are lying in the bush and you cannot see them until you are right on top of them. Our safari guides gave me the confidence to take the walk. The rifles they were carrying helped some with that too.
We didn’t see any lions on our bush walk, thankfully. I would definitely prefer to view them from the safety of the vehicle. We did come across a herd of buffalo who stared at us with curiosity. We redirected our path to keep a distance from the Buffalo herd. Our guide didn’t want us to scare the buffalo into a stampede and give away our location to every animal in the area.
As we walked a safe distance away from the buffalo, we found ourselves surrounded by rhinos on three sides. Our guide led us zig-zagging through the bush attempting to keep the rhinos from picking up our scent.
After about an hour of walking, we finally made it to a nearby watering hole which is where we were to be picked up. The sighting at the watering hole was a fitting conclusion for this particular walk. When we got to the watering hole, we sat down and enjoyed watching two Rhinos having a drink before plopping down in the water for a rest. Our friends picked us up right on time, and we survived our thrilling walk in the bush.”
Other Notable Moments
In addition to the game drives, two of my most memorable moments were a candlelight dinner in the African Bush and looking at the stars and constellations on one of the evening game drives.
The view of the constellations and stars was so clear. I have never experienced anything like that in the states.
If you get an opportunity to stop on one of your evening game drives, I highly recommend spending some time just admiring the beauty of the night sky.
Overall, I highly recommended visiting the African Bush. It truly is a trip of a lifetime, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to return.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. I’m happy to share more of my trip and to provide additional tips. If you missed the other parts of this series click here.
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller” ~ Ibn Battuta
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