The Harts Honeymoon in South Africa: That Safari Life

Safari. The word alone is exotic, conjuring images of savannas awash in the glow of vivid sunsets, herds of wild animals, lots of olive and khaki clothing. There is truly nothing quite like it. If you’re thinking of your own safari vacation, there are a few tips we picked up along the way.

Be prepared for lots of sitting. With the exception of the bush walks, our game drives were just that - driving, lots and lots of driving. I think I knew that before our trip, but I didn’t know that. All that sitting was a little uncomfortable at times. Just take this picture, for example…

This picture was taken by our Canadian friends, but so perfectly illustrates how much fun everybody except the guy with the back pain was having. Brandon looks miserable.

Especially on the day we went to Kruger, we spent a lot of time not moving. In an open air vehicle. On hard seats. While driving on unpaved and bumpy roads.

I say none of this to deter you. It was an incredible experience and more than worth any discomfort. I just want to make sure you’re prepared to do all the sitting. And potentially for getting stuck in a ditch right at twilight when, you know, the predators are feeling especially predatory and prowly.

Thankfully, my Oregonian husband jumped right into action. It’s like he’s been in this situation before or something… (well, minus the lions and leopards).

Dress in layers. It will be warm sometimes, even in winter. It will also be cool/cold and windy/rainy sometimes, even in summer. The drive to Kruger from Katekani was about 45 minutes. Even though we were enclosed for the drive, it was still cold and windy. We huddled together under the provided blankets, but even then I was kind of miserable for parts of the drive. The one thing I wish I had packed was a pair of gloves. At other, sunnier times, I was thankful for the short sleeved shirt I was wearing under my jacket. Basically be prepared for anything.

But don’t overthink it. Or spend $500 on an all new “safari wardrobe.” I may or may not be speaking from a place of minor hypocrisy. I will be doing a full post on my packing list in the future, but for now I’ll keep it simple. Yes, there will be times where neutral clothes will be important. Olive greens and khakis are great for walks. But, remember the first point. You will spend most of your time in a vehicle, so the neutral colors are not strictly necessary. Definitely avoid stripes and in some places, although not South Africa, the tse tse fly is a concern, so blue should be avoided as well. Otherwise, do not spend a lot of money or make it more complicated than it has to be. Stray away from anything especially bright and you should be fine. One thing I did not regret purchasing was a cute jacket, which was versatile for both the safari portion of our trip and for our time in the city (and has continued to get use with cooler fall temps at home), but I probably could have made do without any other new clothes. Of course, I already have hiking shoes and other outdoor clothing in regular rotation, which may not be the case for everyone.

Also, bring snacks. Long days mean that some biltong will come in handy. As will water. On the private safaris, we were able to purchase other beverages at the lodge, which were kept in a cooler until we were ready to imbibe. There are places inside Kruger National Park to buy coffee (glorious coffee) and other necessities if you don’t come prepared.

Choose your safari carefully. The number of people you are with and the skill level of the guides will make a difference. Take, for instance, our guide Nico. He was our guide for most of the game drives and really made our trip that much better.

He had a great sense of humor and put up with our group, which was not always the easiest crowd (there was a lot of sarcasm to go around) while also going out of his way to ensure we had a fantastic time. Our vehicles comfortably held 9 adults and often we only had 6. While in Kruger, we saw buses with much larger groups, which is personally not something I would enjoy. We also saw super fancy safari vehicles with just one or two people, which is personally not something I could afford. Take some time to read reviews if you can, because the guide and the vehicle can make or break your experience, as can the number of people with whom you are sharing that experience.

Kruger is a must. If there is any way to fit Kruger into your South African vacation, you really should. I know it may be more of a challenge if you are based in Cape Town for a shorter jaunt, but Kruger is worth the extra time and effort if you have the opportunity. For the especially adventurous, there are campsites within the park. Kruger was established as a national park in 1898 to protect South Africa’s wildlife from shrinking habitats and other threats. Spanning almost 2 million hectares (over 7,500 square miles), the park is huge and could not possibly be explored in a single day. It is also incredibly diverse. All that to say, our one day in the park was just the tip of the iceberg. One of the unique things about Kruger compared to the nearby private reserves is that they do not cut off rhinos horns, meaning that the rhinos are still a target for poachers. With horns intact, other efforts are required to protect the diminishing rhino population. This is one of the main reasons why there are so many rules to follow while in the park. Everyone must sign in and out, with the lists of entries and exits studiously reviewed at the end of each day to ensure there is no one inside the park overnight who should not be there. You are not allowed to post any pictures of rhinos that could be traced to a location and using drones is strictly forbidden. Even the guides, who spend all day communicating with each other about wildlife sightings, are not allowed to share with each other when a rhino is spotted. I feel lucky that we got to see two of them while we were there.

But so are the private reserves. As an added bonus, many of the private reserves that border Kruger do not have fences, so animals can move freely among the parks. The private reserves offer a nice balance to Kruger. Because they are private, our game drives in the reserves were less crowded. There are also fewer restrictions and rules. Some of our best sightings (including the infamous lion video - no the giraffe is not “sleeping”) were in the private reserves near our lodging. A good safari will include some combination of both. Of course, if you’re doing a self-drive safari, access to a private reserve is likely to be restricted unless you’re planning to stay a night or two at a lodge outside of the park. Speaking of sightings, bring a pair of binoculars and the best camera you can afford because the zoom function will come in handy. After all, how close do you really want to get to those lions? From personal experience, 20 feet away was more than close enough for me.

Be open minded and enjoy every minute. Because it will be even more incredible than you can imagine. Of course everyone wants to see the Big 5 - lion, leopard, elephant, water buffalo, and rhinoceros. But this is by no means guaranteed. These are wild animals and over focusing on seeing these animals will take away from the overall experience. You will see what you see. A great guide will do his or her best to track animals, but each day is unique. If you go on a safari, just enjoy the experience. Put down the camera every now and then (don’t worry, you will have approximately 1 million giraffe pictures by the end of the trip) and simply be in the moment. We did not see any leopard in the wild on our safari. Rather than being disappointed, I just think it is the perfect excuse to go on another safari in the future.

So there you have it - a few insights into the safari experience and more than a few pictures. What questions do you have? I know I was overwhelmed at times planning this trip, so I would love to help anyone else who is planning their own adventure.