I’ll admit that I wasn’t all that excited about going on another safari (okay, do I sound jaded?) but then, my friend reminded me that it was springtime in South Africa… and there would be lots of baby animals. And who, who (not I), can resist the cuteness of baby animals (I’m jaded but not a monster!)?
Going on safari entails not just the bit where you see the animals but also the “hotel” bit of the stay. The part where you see the animals is called the “game drive” because you drive out to see game. Most safari places have two game drives per day, one for sunrise and one for sunset. Depending on the place, you may have to get up at 4 in the morning. Others it’s 5 am. Our driver/guide told us that he would call us at 5 am and he wasn’t kidding. Every day for four days. We went on a four day safari so we went on eight game drives. There are also walking tours to see the animals. We did not do that, but you can if you want to. Each game drive lasts for three to four hours. Usually with a “pit stop” for a breakfast snack or a sunset cocktail snack. We were back at the safari lodge by 8:30 am every day, just in time for breakfast. Then again from 4 pm to 7 pm, back in time for dinner. After a lunch and a “tea” — going on safari is like a land cruise. You eat all the time!
One’s safari experience depends heavily on where you have the experience. When I mentioned that I was going on safari, friends said, “oh, like glamping” — no, absolutely not. There is no tent involved. At least not for me. Some people like the idea of sleeping in a tent. Out in the bush where the warthogs and hippos roam…
I prefer to be separated from the animals when I am sleeping. We stayed at Madikwe Hills in the Madikwe Nature Reserve. Our place was fancy. The rooms are separate houses and ours was the size of an apartment. We had a sitting room, fireplace, large bathroom area with bathtub, shower, separate toilet room, and an outdoor shower. Outside, we had a wrap around balcony/deck and a private dipping pool. Our pool and deck had resident “rock wallies” which are a type of native rodent, like a guinea pig but slightly bigger. They moved away when we went outside and were not aggressive. Below is a slide deck of lots of the animals.
I liked the game drives at Madikwe. The guides from all the lodges are connected via radio and they make sure that no more than three vehicles are at any animal siting. This keeps it from being a circus. Often, it was just us and the animals. Our tracker sat on a chair on the front grill of the safari jeep (a nine seater + driver and tracker) and spotted animals and animal tracks for us. The driver/guide knows how to use a rifle and takes that with them when they go on walks (a “bush walk”). It takes a different sort of license. The truck is kitted out with blankets (they do safaris all year round) and the crew take well care of the guests (it is just like a cruise). They even fried up a “venison” meat every night, although the game venison was always sourced from a food source and not from the reserve.
What does it cost? Well, that depends on how lux you want. Madikwe Hills cost around $900 per night but we used one of their last minute deals that was 55 percent off. There is also the cost of tips, game drives, park fees, and park conservation fees. Don’t visit Madikwe if you are trying to do this on the cheap. Madikwe Hills is one of the most luxurious of the safari lodges. I chatted with some South Africans who were at the lodge and they mentioned this.
Most people go on safari in Kruger National Park. It is a bit more exclusive at Madikwe and the crowds are smaller. One night there was a cultural performance by the staff and a buffet “boma” which is a dinner around a campfire. The word, “BOMA,” comes from “British Officers Mess Area” and that factoid was my favorite part of it. Okay, not really, but I am a bit of a word nerd.
As for clothes, one reads about not wearing blue clothes or anything too bright. In Madikwe, that was not necessary. I had brought lots of lightweight long pants made of linen but in the end wore shorts and a linen shirt. It was hot. Like an oven hot. And in the early morning when it was cold, they provided blankets which were two layered with a fleece side and a windproof side.
The animals in Madikwe do not include hippos or large elephants (in Kenya the elephants are much bigger than the ones down here) as those are not native to this part of South Africa. The lingo around safaris is different — there is the “big five” (African lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalo) which refer to the types of animals that you hope to see to check off your bucket list. We did not see a leopard.
I had never heard of the “little five” (Elephant Shrew, Ant Lion, Rhinoceros Beetle, Buffalo Weaver and Leopard Tortoise) which are related in name to the “big five.” The big five originally was a phrase used for big game hunting, but now the hunting involves camera shots only. Also mentioned was the “ugly five” but beauty is in the eye of the beholder so we had fun debating that list (warthog, vulture, wildebeest, Marabou Stork, and hyena).
In Madikwe, the baby animals are allowed to spend their first six months not being watched by tourists which may make for less cute photos but is better for the animals. We did get to see cheetah “teens” who had just turned six months old so we were allowed to look at them. There are also a lot of birds. Lots. If you are a birder, then this is a joy. Take a huge camera lens. Otherwise, you will see the birds, but may not have photographic proof. The lodge gave us a little booklets so we could mark off what animals we had seen, including birds.
Even if sitting in a dusty hot open air jeep is not your idea of a good time, you kind of get into it. I did. It was fun to learn about animal droppings. And to learn that lions pretty much just sleep all day.
Was it dangerous? No and yes. No, because the animals are accustomed to the vehicles. So far, no tourist has been harmed (in 2018, a lion mauled a woman to death) recently. Yes, dangerous, because the vehicles have no windows. The animals are wild. We were told not to lift our butts off the seats because if the animals see a different profile in the normal “jeep” shape that they are accustomed to… as our guide said when one of our group started rising up to get a better photo… “that lion can get here in three seconds” — got it!
Let’s just say that we looked out for each other (as in we all yanked him back down onto his butt!). Because none of us wanted a lion attack. If you do get attacked by a lion, the advice is to face the lion and look as big as possible. The key is to not act like a source of food so no running like a gazelle. And, try to find well-fed lions.