Nairobi National Park and Masai Mara.
If you are going to go on safari in Africa, you will inevitably be spending days on end in the car. Game drives are hot, dusty affairs where you are jostled over a collection of washouts, rocks, uneven terrain either in elderly car seats or standing with the top part of your body sticking out of the roof while the vehicle inserts every odd protuberance into any available flesh.
I honestly can't think of a more fun way to spend a day.
In spite of the discomforts and inconveniences, nothing equals the thrill of coming across an animal in it's own environment, going about it's life undisturbed by your presence. The ideal form of game drive appears to be to find a group of like minded people and split the rental of a car as we did in Nairobi. This way you can go at your own pace and stop to watch the animals that interest you. Organized group safaris are more affordable, but you are more at the mercy of the guide's patience, the pre arranged schedule and the weakest bladder in the group.
The animals are generally most active in the morning and late afternoon, but there is absolutely no way to predict when you will happen upon lions dozing in the shade, or a rhino concealed in the bush so well that you just have time to snap two photos before the massive creature vanishes like smoke. The African plains redefine your concept of vast in ways you simply cannot prepare your mind for. The golden-green plains roll on seemingly forever under an equally endless sky. To come across a giraffe or elephants here in the only circumstance where they can seem small is truly a wonderful experience. While the Giants get all of the attention a hammerkop (delightful absurd hammer headed birds) or slinking jackal are equally exhilarating to spot for me. I have been keeping a loose list of animals that I have seen so far. The tally is currently around seventy species. This doesn't even include special sighting like a minutes old wildebeest calf!
I can't imagine ever tiring of this.
If you are going to go on safari in Africa, you will inevitably be spending days on end in the car. Game drives are hot, dusty affairs where you are jostled over a collection of washouts, rocks, uneven terrain either in elderly car seats or standing with the top part of your body sticking out of the roof while the vehicle inserts every odd protuberance into any available flesh.
I honestly can't think of a more fun way to spend a day.
In spite of the discomforts and inconveniences, nothing equals the thrill of coming across an animal in it's own environment, going about it's life undisturbed by your presence. The ideal form of game drive appears to be to find a group of like minded people and split the rental of a car as we did in Nairobi. This way you can go at your own pace and stop to watch the animals that interest you. Organized group safaris are more affordable, but you are more at the mercy of the guide's patience, the pre arranged schedule and the weakest bladder in the group.
The animals are generally most active in the morning and late afternoon, but there is absolutely no way to predict when you will happen upon lions dozing in the shade, or a rhino concealed in the bush so well that you just have time to snap two photos before the massive creature vanishes like smoke. The African plains redefine your concept of vast in ways you simply cannot prepare your mind for. The golden-green plains roll on seemingly forever under an equally endless sky. To come across a giraffe or elephants here in the only circumstance where they can seem small is truly a wonderful experience. While the Giants get all of the attention a hammerkop (delightful absurd hammer headed birds) or slinking jackal are equally exhilarating to spot for me. I have been keeping a loose list of animals that I have seen so far. The tally is currently around seventy species. This doesn't even include special sighting like a minutes old wildebeest calf!
I can't imagine ever tiring of this.
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