(101 things to know when you go) ON SAFARI IN AFRICA. Patrick Brakspear
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the world’s last wildlife sanctuaries at a time when we seem powerless to halt the progress of our own destruction.
Why do people go to Africa?
News out of Africa is seemingly always bad. We read of starvation and disease, of tyrants and dictators, military coups and diamond smuggling. This is the Dark Continent with its history of corruption, famine, AIDS and death – why would anyone want to go there?
The late actor, William Holden, who was to devote much of his life to conservation in Africa, once wrote: “In the vast savannahs of Africa there is a dimension of space and time that is an echo of our own beginnings and which reminds us that we were not born initially to live in the concrete jungle.”
What is it about Africa that so fascinates and captures the imagination? This National Geographic article has one answer:
“Well, let’s see – it boasts 3 big cats (lion, leopard & cheetah), seven smaller cats (such as the caracal and serval), two species of elephant (African and forest), two rhinos (black & white), two hippos (pigmy and regular), two giraffes (the tall one and the okapi), three species of ape (gorilla, chimp & bonobo), three zebras, nine gazelle species, nineteen duiker, dozens of monkeys, five species of baboon, a gaggle of genets & civets, six different pigs, four pangolins, three reedbucks, some horsey antelopes, some dwarf antelopes, nine species of spiral-horned bovine (including the bongo, sitatunga and the eland), two wildebeests, the aardvark, the aardwolf, the drill and the mandrill, the rhebok, the blesbok, the gemsbok, the African buffalo, the nubien ibex, three hyenas, three jackals, the Ethiopian wolf, the wild dog, and many other mammals, not to mention the ostrich, three species of crocodile, the African python, plus sharks and other sizable fish and other terrestrial animals of every imaginable sort….that’s why!” (Source: National Geographic – September 2005)
Yes, Africa is blessed with the most amazing abundance of wildlife, its landscapes are much celebrated and the incredible sounds and smells of Africa will forever bring back wonderful memories of being on safari in this seemingly timeless land.
Then there’s the fact that all that natural wonder and wildness is so accessible. No longer is it the preserve of the very wealthy, nor do you need endless amounts of time or have to endure miles of bumpy tracks and suffer heat and dust – modern tourism has opened up Africa to all, in comfort and style, and under the watchful eye of the many dedicated safari guides that call Africa home.
Beryl Markham, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and author of the memoir West with the Night, is reputed to have remarked: “Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home’. It is all these things but one thing — it is never dull.”
For many, Africa gets under your skin too – whether you call it home, or travel there seeking adventure. This letter by Cam Fergus from Melbourne in Australia (courtesy Travel Africa magazine) sums up the feeling rather well –:
“Surely everyone who has had the honour of setting foot on African soil understands how difficult it is to answer the question: “Why Africa?” I’ve often found it impossible to do Africa justice in words.
In the past I’ve felt that my answers never conveyed the joy I feel when I hear the word Africa, see a glimpse of her on television, or hear African people talking in the street. My answers are most often unsatisfying and frequently leave my audience unconvinced. But of late I’ve found a much simpler way to explain it.
Africa is a feeling. Africa is an emotion.
Of course it is much more detailed than that, but also just as simple.
Africa is the awe-inspiring landscapes, the beauty in the people, the wild creatures that inhabit the land and the seas, and it’s the speed in which the sun leaves in the evening and comes again in the morning. The feeling of Africa waking up is indescribable, dramatic and incomparable.
Africa seems to breathe life, into itself and into all things. And death. And the cycles in between. Africa is the longed-for lover, the oft-missed friend, and the trusted elder.
Africa is all of these things but maybe none of them. Africa affects us in a deep, personal, individual way. It comes to us in an instant, inhabits our being, and never leaves.
I long for Africa. I miss it every day. It embodies all that I believe about life, space and freedom, even though such things are often scarce commodities on the ground. Africa is a memory, a constant presence and is all future possibilities. Africa is old and wise, new and dynamic, and I will be there again.”
Enough said…
What is a safari?
The word ‘safari’ originates in East Africa from the Arabic verb safara meaning ‘to make a journey’, with implicit connotations of discovery. The derived noun safariya – a voyage or expedition, becomes the Swahili synonym safari.
Once long and arduous, fraught with danger and requiring both stamina and a significant amount of time and money, today’s safari is now within the reach of many, is safe, and is considerably more luxurious.
The modern safari has evolved to offer a vast array of possible styles; from the more basic participatory camping safaris through to privately guided fly-in safaris where your every comfort is catered for. Yet the modern safari still incorporates many of the features from its long and exciting history...for a safari is at its heart an adventure.
This will not be like any holiday you have had before – and it is certainly not your sleep-in, lie-about-at-the-beach style holiday. It is more akin to the adventures of an intrepid explorer - prodded awake at 5am, made to walk, paddle or suffer countless miles of bumpy tracks in order to look for what? No one can say exactly! Each day brings its own rewards and excitement – and learning too.
A safari is about getting close to nature …and simplicity. You will either be enthralled by its simple comforts - or you may just be appalled. This depends on how adventurous you are! If you cannot bear the thought of not being able to get your favourite caffeine hit, or you miss the closeness of your mobile phone…then perhaps a safari is not for you.
A safari, especially the more rustic mobile tented or bush camp variety, can teach you much about how to reduce life to its more simple components…a hot shower, comfortable bed, hearty food, a cold beer and some good conversation around the camp fire. Revel in the clean, crisp morning air, the heat and the dust, the clear night skies, the cooling comfort of a shady tree at midday, the stark beauty of a panoramic sunset, the silence of the nights, and the sense of wilderness all around you. Then there are the sights, sounds and smells...all around you.
“What is a safari but the recreation of a dream, an intangible journey into the past and into the mind where this uncluttered world still exists, alive, harsh, vital, as it should be, and perhaps we all understand that deep down because we are all, each one of us. Children of Africa.” - Dereck Joubert (National Geographic film maker)
'Going on safari’ is the backbone of the tourism industry in many parts of Africa. In recent years, wildlife tourism has become an increasingly important industry in several African countries. This has brought with it an increasing awareness of the economic benefits from tourism, which in turn is driving a resurgence in conservation, employment and community involvement. Tourists bring much needed funding to wildlife areas and the people who live there. In this way, each safari goes some way to providing the economic justification for maintaining vast tracts of land in its original state, and for protecting animal and plant species for future generations - both Africans and visitors alike.
The essence of a safari is not just about seeing the bountiful wildlife – it should also be about the dramatic landscapes