A morning safari drive usually involves leaving the camp around 6.30 am and returning at 9.30 or 10.30, depending on what animals have been located and where. It is in no way an organised system of locating the animals as they are completely wild and have no tracking devices on them. So it’s rather more hit and miss.
Singita has around 5-10 cars driving around on approximately 350,000 acres. So if you can work the maths on that one, you will see my point. We almost never saw another vehicle. The only communication was between trucks – if someone spotted an unusual animal such as a cheetah then the guides would communicate the rough region of the sighting and another truck may appear.
Our general approach with our guide Kim was to drive around a new area of country following tracks and scanning the terrain. He also used other methods to identify animals. For example, if we spotted a large group of impala and their behaviour was agitated or stressed, such as stamping their feet or running erratically, it was often a sign that they were aware of a predator close by, such as a leopard or serval cat. Other signs we looked for included birds flying over head alerting the other animals to trouble or hyenas moving across the plain perhaps following a pride of lions to scavenge on the remains of a kill.
Driving around, we saw so many different animals. Such as elephants, impala, warthogs, leopards, lions, giraffes, baboons, hippos and buffalos , just to name a few. Not all of the sightings are gruesome or frightening.
One day I recall coming upon a huge group of predominantly female elephants with the matriarch as head of the group. They were clustering together and watching our truck closely.
Suddenly we spotted a tiny new born elephant which Kim advised us had been just born that morning. The entire group were working in unison to protect the baby. It was so beautiful to watch. Often at these times Kim would stop the truck and we would just sit amongst them watching their behavior and listening to their noises. He would tell us about elephants and their tusks and their mothering behaviours and we would invariably while away half an hour just co-existing for a moment with these magnificent creatures. Then they would wander away, protecting the new baby and pulling shrubs and trees to eat. It is awe inspiring and incredible being so close to such magnificent animals.
It is also incredibly beautiful spending time in the African bush. The scenery is so picturesque. The huge open plains of the Serengeti with long pale golden grass waving in the breezes, occasional plain trees dotted across the horizon, then huge expanses of sky, so blue and so vast.
We were there in the short wet season. This means occasional showers and lovely geen grass. The smell of the country during the rain is beautiful and channeled straight into my childhood memories of thunderstorms rolling in from the west over our property. The smell of the first drops of rain hitting the dirt and trees is truly beautiful and something I will always hold close to my heart.
At the end of a safari Kim would drive us back to the camp. We would be met by the staff at the truck. I’m embarrassed to say there would be silver dishes with damp hand towels to welcome us back. Such old world luxury. Then we would settle down for a superb breakfast usually out on the grass with animals wandering past. It definitely felt like we were extras in the film ‘Out of Africa.’
The days were hot and I spent much of the day swimming in the lodge pool or relaxing under a fan watching the bush. The monkeys jumping around the lodge honestly kept me entertained for hours.
At 4.30 pm we would head out again on another game drive with Kim. Ever hopeful of spotting something rare and amazing, and never disappointed. We would arrive back at the camp filled with energy and stories of the drive. What we had seen and what they were doing.
I had mentioned to Kim early on that my favorite animals to see were the leopards and lions. Not easy to find but so incredible to watch. An odd mix of that engaging can’t look away magnificence tinged with fear that we were in their presence .