For those who have never been to Africa or who have not been on safari before it is something that we would highly recommend. Africa and particularly its game is like nowhere on earth and really needs to be experienced both in the right camps and with knowledgeable guides to bring your whole safari to life. And don’t be concerned that just because the ‘camps’ are tented that it will be a similar to a school camping trip. Safari tents are more like large canvas bungalows with huge double beds and more often than not your bathroom comes equipped with a large free standing Victorian bath. In fact it is the sheer luxury of the camps and the amazing array of delicious food constantly provided that makes a safari so memorable. Most of us struggle to make a good picnic but to have such luxury hundreds of miles into the bush is one of the most memorable parts of your honeymoon.

Typically you will have two game drives a day, with your first at dawn when the game is becoming active but the heat isn’t uncomfortable and then again in the afternoon until dusk. The camps and lodges we use generally use 4 wheel drive open top vehicles for game viewing such as Landrovers. Unless you book a private vehicle you will normally share with other guests at the lodge. The camps try, wherever possible, to put you in the same vehicle with people who have arrived on the same day as you and with the same guide for your entire stay. This means that on your second day you won’t have anyone new and have to go through the same questions as you probably asked on day one. The camps also try to limit the people in your vehicle to 6 so that you have the row of seats for just you. The guides will ask you what you are interested in, ie seeing lions or elephants and then do their best to accommodate (bearing in mind that rarely does the wildlife end up doing what is expected of it!). Your guides keep you enthralled with tales of Africa, all the information you could possibly want on the animals you are seeing, which birds are which and even which tree to make a ‘Bush’ toothbrush out of .

If you are based outside of the National Parks on a Private Concession or in a National Reserve you are not restricted to National Park regulations and therefore have more flexibility in what you can do such as night drives, bush breakfasts, bush dinners, walks and bush sundowners.

During the heat of the day as the game is normally sleeping guests will generally relax in the tents or if your camp has one, lie around the pool. As many of our camps are in the big game areas which include lion and elephant it means that you can not wander out of camp on your own. However most camps have game walks which you can go on to stretch your legs and burn off a little of the vast amounts of delicious food that they always have on offer. Some of the smaller sit guests together to eat on one long table, which is a good chance to share stories about what you have seen that day. For those who are nervous about being with people you don’t know it is worth remembering that you all have at least one thing in common, being on safari. If you would rather not be seated with others then most of the camps are more than happy to set up dinner for you on your veranda or somewhere romantic and there are also a number of camps where guests sit separately.

Often a good combination of safari camps will be one in an area of heavy game concentrations where you will spend most of your time viewing game and then another camp in an area where the level of dangerous game is lower which allows the camp more freedom for other activities from walking, riding and cycling to quad biking and sleeping out under the stars.
There are also a number of different ways of doing a safari. These range from seeing game by foot, in a vehicle (the best way to get up close), by boat in certain camps and even by horse back or camel. Not all the camps offer all the options so please do ask us if there is a specific activity you would like to do and we will recommend the best camp for you. Different countries specialise in different safari style. For instance in the Okavango Delta in Botswana there are a number of camps accessible only by water. These camps view game by boat and native canoe, the makuru. Botswana has some camps that are totally water based and some that are both water and land based and other areas that are 100% land based. All the camps can be combined and a land based camp for a few days makes a good combination with a water based camp.

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa tends to have more cottage style accommodation with all the creature comforts and is often a great introduction to safaris for those people who feel that being in a tent is just a little to near to nature for a good nights sleep! The game viewing in South Africa is good, however with less wide open spaces than in East Africa it is often harder to find and the game tends not to be in the large herds that East Africa is famous for. Game viewing is best during the dry winter months in the Kruger which runs from May to October. The days are dry, clear and warm and the nights are cold.

KENYA & TANZANIA

Kenya is a wonderful safari destination with a good variety of camps offering plenty of activities in the private concessions and fantastic game viewing in the Masai Mara. Kenya is very easy to reach with direct 8 hour flights from the UK and has the benefit of its own coast. Tanzania also has its own wild coast and the beautiful island of Zanzibar. The north parks of Lake Manyara and the Serengeti and the Ngorogoro Crater have wonderful game viewing and lovely camps. For anyone interested in the northern parks it is worth noting whilst the Ngorogoro Crater is an incredible place to see it is also now extremely popular and you are limited to 4 hours in the park per day. It is also prone to attaching herds of minibuses that can gather in number around kills or good sightings. For those who have plenty of pictures of minibuses then the wilds of the Serengeti or the incredible Selous Reserve are the perfect place to feel remote.

In most itineraries which include a beach option and a safari your safari will normally be the most expensive part. Our camps are selected to be perfect for your hideaway holiday, they are remote, unspoilt and incredibly comfortable. The cost for them is reflected in the fact you are one of very few people in a huge area, the staff normally outnumber the guests, your food and wine needs to be flown in fresh, often hundreds of miles and the National Parks boards charge huge Park Fees. These fees pay for poacher patrols and the preservation of the game.

We would always recommend a stay of no more than 4 nights in any one camp or a combination of 3 nights in one camp and 3 nights in a different camp. Transfers between camps are normally by plane and these can be quite expensive. We would recommend, where possible, to keep the amount of travelling or moving between camps and beach lodges down to a minimum. It is also worth bearing in mind that following your longhaul flight you are likely to be tired on the first day of your holiday so it is not always a good idea to head straight off on safari, it is better to have a night or two relaxing before you have the dawn wake ups that form part of a safari.