Wildlife and Safaris

About this kind of travel

Safari means "journey" in Swahili, and the modern version ranges from a self-driven weekend in Kruger to a fly-in camp in the Okavango. The experience differs more than the marketing suggests.

Wildlife viewing is generally best in the dry season, when animals concentrate around water and vegetation is thin. The green season brings newborns and migratory birds, lower prices and thicker cover.

Worth asking any operator directly: who owns the land, how the community shares in the revenue, how many vehicles are permitted at a sighting, and whether guides are locally recruited and professionally accredited. The answers vary widely and they tell you a great deal.