Best African Safaris:
Far from the Crowds

The best African safaris I've ever been on were unplanned.

In Durban, South Africa one day, I called the chief executive of the Natal Parks Board, the country's second largest, for an interview. I was writing a feature story on South Africa's parks.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to see you," said Dr George Hughes, "I'm off to the north early tomorrow morning for the rest of the week."

"Can I come with you?" I asked immediately. Dead silence.

Twenty minutes later he called back to say he'd pick me up the next morning at the Durban airfield, where his tiny single-engine four-seater swept me up to the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park, made up of a number of smaller parks, which together form one of the biggest protected areas in South Africa.

After a pit stop in St. Lucia itself, we landed in Mkuze, a flat bushveld reserve known best for its birdwatching. On the short drive back to the airstrip, I saw my first real African sunset, as brilliant as a movie backdrop. A huge orange globe slowly drifted across the sky, with reeds swaying in the breeze, the reflection in the lagoon, ducks swimming nearby, and hippos playing in the water, yawning with their huge silly mouths. I saw so many animals - duiker, elephant shrew, nyala, baboons, a funny little white monkey, impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe. Little did I realize how much more closely I would soon get to see them...

This is what you can expect to see many nights
Photo: Dilman via Flickr

After a night in Mkuze we then drove up to Hluhluwe Umfolozi, a hillier park, with more wildlife than birds. As we drove along the dirt roads, we had to keep to a speed limit of below 40 kph, because wildlife is so abundant it kept jumping out on the road and trotting towards us. Fine when it's impala or nyala, not so fine when it's rhino.

Dr Hughes continued his journey and I stayed behind for a few more days, something I eventually regretted because the storms prevented the plane from landing to pick me up. I had little food and stocked up on candy from the curio shop. One day I found bananas, but had to hide them from the baboons, who can smell them from across the park.

With no lights, one night I tried to find my way to the outhouse, but I tripped over a zebra.

That was one of my best African safaris: away from it all, close - very close - to nature, with no end in sight.

What are the best African safaris?

Lions get sleepy too
Photo: yaaaay via Flickr

I've been to many of Africa's game parks and most safaris have a few things in common. The wildlife and scenery, of course, but often the tourists as well. Plenty of African safari tours compete with one another for the most popular parks, and at times it's hard to see any wildlife at all without seeing crowds of Range Rovers as well. If you want more than a simple safari trek, you can also book thousands of all-inclusive African safari holidays, which is fine if your time is limited.

But the best African safaris in my opinion are those that you organize yourself - a bit like backpacking. Just choose your point of departure, plan as best you can, set yourself on a course, and go! Put plenty of emphasis on the planning, because a safari trek isn't something you can take lightly, not with wild animals all around. There are plenty of rules and regulations, and you'll have to abide by them.

If you find this do-it-yourself approach appealing, my friend Bruce Whittaker - who has visited just about every reserve in southern Africa - has written a wonderful and practical book called Guide Your Own Safari and he's kindly agreed to give Women on the Road readers a special $10 discount. Just enter the code number 400 when asked if you have a discount code.

He looks at game parks throughout the region and explains everything in detail: what to pack, transportation and vehicle rentals, best routes and viewing spots, wildlife checklists, accommodations, and even menus from the main lodges.

As far as I'm concerned the best African safaris are those that are from the crowds and close to the animals. But that's my own opinion.