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What to expect when on a safari trip in Africa

Having returned from a wildlife watching trip to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, I have to break this to you: It’s not like a David Attenborough documentary. I never witnessed males in epic battles for dominance, or predators stalk, much less kill their prey. There was never a point of the forced reckoning of the cold, hard realities of nature. In fact, it’s quite unlikely you’ll get to spot the Big 5 — a term that refers to the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros, or the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot — on a single game drive.

Having returned from a wildlife watching trip to South Africa, Botswana and Zambia, I have to break this to you: It’s not like a David Attenborough documentary. I never witnessed males in epic battles for dominance, or predators stalk, much less kill their prey. There was never a point of the forced reckoning of the cold, hard realities of nature. In fact, it’s quite unlikely you’ll get to spot the Big 5 — a term that refers to the lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhinoceros, or the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot — on a single game drive.

But as things turned out, the moment I got over what I thought my Africa trip would be, how it turned out was utterly spectacular.

THE FIRST ENCOUNTER


My first stop as part of my trip with African tour experts, Thompsons Gateway, was the Lion Park in South Africa. The Lion Park is home to more than 85 lions including the highly endangered white lions, hyenas, wild dogs and cheetahs, and I was excited by the website’s guarantee to get super close-up animal views.

I just never imagined my virgin step into the wild world of African animals would be into caged areas to pet a cheetah and put my face next to a lion cub’s. The experience was surreal but it also felt contrived. Thankfully, the drive through the rest of the park changed my mind. It taught me my first lesson of wildlife watching: a good guide is sometimes more important than good scenery.

Most people think seeing a wild lion will be mind-blowing. And it is. City life never prepares you for going that close to a 250-kg beast, hearing the deep, visceral and astoundingly loud roar of a lion. But strangely, the excitement wavers after you’ve snapped all your photos or you’re passing yet another pride of lions just chilling in the shade. That’s when a good guide can make a world of a difference.

Enter Alex Larenty, world-famous lion trainer, entertaining showman and passionate educator. At one point, he dangled bloody meat from an opening in our caged vehicle. A male white lion lunged towards the vehicle with a massive thud, his paws the size of a human face and his mouth open to expose massive teeth. It was the drama everyone was seeking. But every orchestrated moment of drama was used as context to demonstrate and talk about different aspects of the lion. I left entertained but also with a newfound respect for the animal.

MAN VERSUS WILD


Lion Park hadn’t given me the “authentic” game drive experience I’d hoped for. Luckily there was the guided tour in an open top bush vehicle in Pilanesberg National Park and Game Reserve. A three-hour drive from Johannesburg, this game reserve is home to the Big 5 and is approximately three-quarters the size of Singapore.

Pilanesberg National Park was originally an intensely populated commercial farmland. The 7,000 animals that live in the national park today are a result of one of the most ambitious game stocking and land rehabilitation project ever undertaken in any African game reserve.

Don’t make the rookie mistake I made of thinking that because the wildlife isn’t native to Pilanesberg National Park, the wildlife-viewing experience is somewhat less “real”. Due to over-poaching and a whole range of man-made factors that disrupt eco-systems, wildlife relocation and resettlement programs are common and necessary to protect endangered animals in existing national parks, and create new healthy environments for wildlife to reproduce and thrive.

And boy, does wildlife thrive at Pilanesberg National Park. Our first sighting was one of the Big 5: a female elephant and her baby. That set the mood for an exhilarating game of “Spot the animal”. Along the way, we saw giraffes, zebras, ungainly wildebeests and graceful impalas—the most common type of antelope in Africa. Of all the animals we saw, it was the sheer number of rhinos that was testament to the success of rehabilitation and conservation efforts.

By the third hour and no lion, leopard or buffalo in sight, I asked the guide for tips on spotting animals in the wild. He told me to put away my camera. It was good advice because when I didn’t have to worry about missing a good photo, I was able to take in the panoramic sights of wide-open grasslands, clear blue skies, steep hill slopes and ridges that are part of an alkaline ring complex. Formed 1.2 million years ago by volcanic eruptions, this vast circular geological feature is one of three in the world, and the most well preserved.

Second lesson learnt about safari drives: Animals aren’t the only sights worth seeing.

A WALK IN THE PARK


So I didn’t get to see any big cats at Pilanesberg National Park. Illegal hunting and the fact that most are nocturnal, make them particularly hard to spot in the wild. I began to understand why attractions like The Lion Park in South Africa were popular and important in spreading awareness of these animals.

At the Mukuni Big 5 Safaris in Zambia, we had the unique experience of walking lions and cheetahs. Walks are an important part of these animals’ rehabilitation program —they encourage animals to hone bush survival skills. Having a cheetah on a leash felt strange, but walking a lion by holding his tail was simply weird. Who would have thought you’ll be able to do something like that?

Another strange thing occurred when we checked into our hotel, Royal Livingstone Hotel in Zambia. Two zebras were right in front of us grazing on the grass area around the pool area. Turns out, the luxurious hotel is located within Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, and its long-term stay residents include wild zebras, giraffes and impalas. I’m told a hippo once even strolled onto the hotel grounds and took a dip in the pool. That’s just life in Africa.

All that excitement in the day left me in the mood for something relaxing, and an evening sunset cruise along the Zambezi River was ideal.

Spotting animals on a river safari is one level up from land safaris. There are a lot more areas for untrained eyes to scan. Go for a less glamorous 
propeller-free safari boat where the guide is close enough to point out the sights you shouldn’t miss—like bloats of hippos that are usually almost completely submerged in water.

The other advantage is that you can get close, sometimes too close, to the animals. At one point, a hippo emerged to the surface next to our boat, and let out a huge yawn. The guide immediately drove away and told us that the seemingly innocuous yawn is the hippo’s most aggressive sign of dominance. A year ago, a territorial hippo damaged one of their boats when the guide relented to the tourists’ requests to get even closer to the animal. Next lesson learnt: You rank very low in the food chain so understand and respect your boundaries.

ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM


My next stop, Chobe National Park in Botswana, was my last chance for game-viewing on the trip, and I was determined to get the most out of it. With over 460 species of bird recorded in the park, Chobe National Park is one of the best spots in Africa for bird watching. From the Lilac Breasted Roller with its rainbow of the pastel feather colours, the majestic African Fish Eagle with a wingspan of up to two metres to the silly-looking African jacanas with their disproportionately long and skinny legs, the variety was mind-boggling and the action relentless. Bird watching wasn’t the drama I went to Africa for, but I loved every minute of it.

Chobe National Park also has the largest continuous surviving elephant population on Earth, estimated at 120,000. On the land safari, I got to see hundreds of them right next to our vehicle and dotted as far as the eye can see on the vast flatlands. At one point, we stopped to watch a herd of elephants take a mud bath. Using their trunks, they flicked mud all over their bodies while making gleeful high-pitched trumpeting noises. The baby elephants decided it was easier to roll in the mud. After a while, the camera clicks stopped, and everyone watched silently till they’d left.

Final and most important lesson of the trip: Relax and watch the scene unfold itself. That’s usually always when the magic of Africa happens.

This trip was made possible by Thompsons Gateway (Tel: 6344 9866), South African Airways and Sun International.

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