A Day on Safari

There is no way to know exactly what a luxury safari experience will bring, as each day is an amazing and new adventure.

A typical day on your wonderful South African safari might go something just like this:

Your mornings will begin early. If the chatter of birds has not yet woken you, a friendly wake-up call will ensure you are ready for the morning game drive (you’ll be glad of the early start, we promise!). To prepare you for this morning's game drive, your guide and tracker will meet you with freshly brewed coffee and tea with rusks (the South African version of biscotti), fruit, and muffins. This is the magnificent beginning to a new day as you watch Africa awaken.

Game Drives on an African Safari

Your ranger will introduce you to some of South Africa’s most beautiful landscapes and its wonderful wildlife. Depending on the season, remember to take your camera and binoculars and a light sweater or warm jacket. The game awakens from the night in the early morning, and predators return from the hunt. Photo opportunities abound as you search for lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo. A myriad of other game also awaits – graceful giraffe feeding on the tall branches, hippos slumbering in the rivers, impala and zebra grazing in the grass, and fascinating birds.

A stop at a scenic spot for coffee, tea, juice, and home-baked biscuits will allow you to stretch your legs and chat with your tracker and guide to learn more about the surrounding bush and wildlife. 

On return to your lodge, you’ll be presented with a fantastic breakfast – juices, cereals, fruit, eggs, bread, and more to sustain you. Then it’s time to settle back and review photographs taken on the drive, share stories with other guests, or freshen up in your room.

Afternoon Game Drives on Safari

As the day cools and the afternoon turns into evening, the wildlife rouses from their lazy afternoon naps, and the predators begin to search for their next meal. Your afternoon game drive provides the opportunity to witness the bush in action. You may be lucky to follow a lion on the hunt or watch as a herd of elephants comes down to the river to drink and play. Perhaps keep an eye out for hyenas as they steal a kill from earlier in the day.

Nighttime Game Drives on Safari

Get your camera ready, ask questions, and put in your requests – no guarantees, but no harm in asking the ranger to find you an infamously shy leopard! Remember to take along a couple of layers of t-shirts and sweaters to protect against mosquitoes and keep you warm once the sun goes down.

Gaze at a vivid African sunset as you enjoy sundowners at a scenic spot. Then, keep a keen eye out for wildlife by the light of a carefully shone spotlight (so as not to disturb the nocturnal animals in the darkening bush).

Return to the lodge, where a welcome shower awaits. Then look forward to a multi-course meal served at an elegantly set table or in an open “boma” under the stars. After dinner, gather around the campfire to exchange stories of the day’s sightings, stargaze, or retire in preparation for another breathtaking day on safari in Africa.

Relaxing Afternoons on Safari in Africa

Lounge on your deck or in your tent with a good book, take a refreshing dip in the pool, relish the tranquility of the bush, or enjoy a siesta under an umbrella or tree, to make up for the early morning.

Around noon a delicious lunch awaits. Savor each bite of freshly prepared cuisine from local recipes and enjoy the surrounding landscape as you relax. If you would like to walk off your lunch, talk to your ranger about a bushwalk – usually for about an hour near the lodge – a time to look at trees, insects, flowers, and birds.

At roughly 3:30 pm, you’ll be invited to join the rangers for afternoon tea – a Colonial tradition with a South African twist. Iced and regular coffee, homemade lemonade, and tea are accompanied by cakes, cookies, and other savory snacks.

Africa Safari Guest Reviews

"I didn’t want to leave..."

The staff was so friendly and accommodating, and the safari drives were unreal. Barely needed the binoculars because the animals were so close! I didn’t want to leave (I may have cried on the last day). Our ranger and tracker were SO good! It was very exciting to find tracks or other signs of wildlife and be able to track them through the bush. And when we weren’t on the drives, we were being treated to the best meals made from all fresh and local ingredients and periodically treated to a giraffe or elephant sitting right at the lodge! I can’t say enough about how much we enjoyed the entire experience! - Halle & Scott C.

"Everything we dreamed of, hoped for, and more than we expected!"

Our Tented Safari in Style experience, with an add-on to Victoria Falls, was everything we dreamed of, hoped for, and more than we expected! The accommodations throughout the trip were outstanding, and the service at each was unparalleled. Our ranger, Allister, took us close for great pictures but always reminded us to enjoy the moment. He paced the game rides so we could enjoy each encounter and watch the animals engage in their environment. Our favorite memories include: giraffes fighting, a lioness eating a recent kill, an elephant herd on the move, and a baby rhino playfully approaching the bull. - Ivan and Leigh Ann B.