What Nobody Tells You About Your First Safari

Let’s start with the honest bit…

The Early Mornings
You’ll have a morning wake-up call at an hour you normally associate with the red-eye airport run. You’ll climb into an open-sided vehicle in the dark, wrapped in every layer you packed, which is almost all of your 15kg luggage allowance.
 The comforts can be modest too. The bush loo is, well, a bush. Your shower might involve a bucket and the WI-FI can come and go like a shy gazelle.
And yet.
As the sky turns from black to golden yellow, the first rays of sunshine feel like a warm hug. With no signal and nothing to scroll, your mind settles in on the present moment in a way you haven’t felt for a long time.

2. Lions Really Can be Quite Boring

A paw print in the dust sends the vehicle into an excited chatter. A baboon sounds their predator alarm call. And suddenly an impala known as the ‘fast food’ of the bush, due to the distinct M shape on its rear (reminiscent of McDonald’s golden arches) bursts from behind a bush.

The excitement in the car is fizzing; your senses snap into focus, your guide is creeping the car forwards off-road now. And then there’s a twitch of a tail, your heart leaps. They are here!

Eight huge, beautiful golden big cats and they are.. well.. sleeping. Very soundly. One of them takes a courteous look around before flopping back down into a deep sleep.

Lions sleep a lot! When they do move its magnificent; if they start to hunt its heart stopping but these cats sleep for 20 hours of the day so you do have to have some patience or excellent timing.

3. You Will Constantly be Fed

Biscuits with your wake-up call. Breakfast in the bush. Lunch, afternoon tea, snacks with your sundowner, canapés around the campfire and a three-course dinner.

You arrive back to camp convinced you couldn’t eat another thing. But then you see the buffet spread…..

Maybe just a little more.

Bush breakfast on a Walking Wild womens safari - image ©Passport&Pixels

4. You Don’t Have to Pack all Khaki

Yes it makes you feel a little more like an explorer from days gone by, and neutral colours will help you blend in on a walking safari but then you step out and meet your Maasai Guide who’s head to toe in vibrant reds and oranges.

We humans are about as subtle as a brass band in a library pulling up to an animal in the diesel 4x4 safari vehicle. The animals know we are there. No amount of beige is going to help that, so don’t panic about going out and buying a new wardrobe; your normal clothes will do just fine.

Stick to subtle tones, be comfortable and make sure you take layers!

Clients on a walking safari with Karisia Walking Safaris - image ©KarisiaWalkingSafaris

5. Your Guide Will Make All the Difference

The camp is important, the food always a plus and the wildlife is what you’ve come to see. But the person who brings it all together is your guide.

They turn a simple leaf into a story about local traditions, remember your favourite gin, somehow remain cheerful at 5:30 in the morning and get just as excited as you when that elusive leopard finally appears.

It’s their knowledge, patience and love of the bush that turn a great safari into an unforgettable one.

6. You’ll Come Home a Little Different

Whether safari was a lifelong dream or you were dragged along on the family holiday, you can’t help but be touched by the wild. Sometimes it’s the reluctant ones who fall hardest.

You’ve watched elephants wander past camp, looked up at a sky so full of stars you wonder how you’ve missed them all this time. And somewhere along the way, you’ve stopped reaching for your phone and worrying about your inbox.

With no decisions beyond whether to have another cup of tea, you find yourself properly switching off.

And when it’s time to leave, there’s a little sadness at what you’re saying goodbye to.

The people, the place, the peace.