Safari activities: The Game Drive

Safari activities are plenty, they include game drives, safari walks, photography, hot air balloon, bungee jumping, horse back safari etc. Lets start with the very basic of the safari activities, the game drive.

Game drive

A favorite to many, the game drive has been popularized by the first ever jeeps to explore the African savanna, open top vehicles  offering a panorama of the natural beauty around you. Since then safari companies have made it a standard  to have a few of this open vans. The purpose of the game drive is game viewing.

 

Each camp has its own schedule for how often and how long  your game drive will be, usually its early in the morning, midday and in the evening. That being said, game drives will make up over 75% of your safari, it is basically what you will be doing on a day to day basis. Choose one of the high end camps located in private concessions and you can order game drives at your will, they even offer night drives.

 

 

 

One factor that makes (or breaks) how much fun you will have in your game drive is the driver and guide, these two are the information sources, the animal spotters, the pace deciders and the narrators of the foray of nature that will be getting unveiled in your front of your eyes. A high paced game drives sucks, an impatient guide is no good and if they both cant spot animals you will lose out on game sightings. That being said most of the guides and drivers are proud of their trade and love to brag about their knowledge this means that they understand well just how fundamental they are to your experience and they deliver very well (ok they also deliver well because they love your generous tips and they are actually monitored, its a career that relies heavily in referrals so crappy guides never last). Tip them well and you may spot every single African mammal, bird, reptile and insect around that camp!!

 

The only other thing that may ruin your game drives is a bad safari guests, yes you can be in a car with a snob, a loud individual or the amateur photography hogging his twenty lenses and feeling the silence with shutter noises. When this happens, endure it fully knowing that another game drive is around the corner and you wont be in that car with them again!

 

Most camps will offer refreshments alcohol even to you whilst on your game drive. They bring all kinds of food in those car, and its your to devour, remember, your are on safari, calories don't count.

 

How do backpackers get a safari drive?

The easiest way is to camp on a town close to the park you want to visit, e.g. stay in Maun if you want to visit the Okavango Delta, Kalahari, Moremi and Chobe. The next thing to do is book a day drive, there are specialist companies offering day trips into these parks as around $300 for an individuals. These trips are even better that those on bush camps because its basically a full day game drive. There are downsides to a day trip though, firstly you are going to have to wake up at very early and endure a fast paced journey from the village to the park. It does add to the experience but I cant recall anyone who likes waking up and an ungodly hour and doing a rally stage in an open safari van, its treacherous.

 

A day trip misses something very import, an overnight stay in the African wilderness. Now you can't come all the way to Africa and miss a night in the jungle, the dark skies with sparkling stars, the night howls and hunt sound, you can't. So, rather than book a day trip, book an overnight, mobile safari, at around $400 you'll be good to go. The company will do all the catering and will pitch your tents as well, you won't even need your back pack. I will cover most of this on types of mobile safari.

 

Game drive on a self-drive? 

Well a self-drive on safari is a game drive all the way through, you will be driving yourself. The only difference is that you won’t have as much freedom as the companies on private concession so you will be bound by park rules. The main one being limitations on routes, you can’t go off road (weird because you are already off-road!), this means that you cannot create a new track, you must at all times stay within that beaten track you find. Spotting a leopard a bit further from the path? Too bad, you can’t get closer to it, risk it you will get fined, evicted and banned from that park, yes the wildlife wardens are green on a whole other level.

Safety

Game drives are safe, follow the instructions given by the guide and you will be ok. the instructions are:

• stay within the car at all times.
• do not make rush movements whilst in the car.
• stay cool and collected when close to game.
• do not feed game.

 To further protect you, the guide has a gun to ward off attacks.

 

There has been a few occurrences  of guests being attacked by animals when on a game drive, some fatal but to ease you, these are few and far apart. Another fact to consider is to ask your agency if the camps you are going has had any such case. The reality of the matter is, these attacks are few and far apart and all have occurred of human error, so be cautious every step of the way, right from the camps you choose because you are trusting them with your safety in a place far from any medical assistance and even further your home. The issue of safety rings higher on those planning to bring kids with them on safari, we will cover that on another post.