Guest article written by Amanda Evans, Hills of Africa Travel’s CEO
My first time on an African safari tour I thought I was going to have to be some adrenalin-seeking junky to enjoy it. To allow myself that close to wild predators like lions and leopards and to sleep in a remote region of the bush, I thought – I’m not so sure I’m going to enjoy this. But really, you just need to enjoy being able to be in the moment to love being on safari!
I was so nervous the day before my first game drive. I am NOT a morning person and the thought of getting up before dawn just was not sitting well with me. Being awake before the sun is up is my worst nightmare on any other day. But this was different.
The evening of our arrival into Zimbabwe we settled into our rooms and got ready for our first game drive and sundowners. Not having any idea what to expect, but already running into elephant and giraffe on the ride from the airstrip to the lodge, I knew this was going to be awesome. As the sun slowly started to duck below the earth lighting up the entire prairie in oranges and yellows, we headed out to search the watering hole.
Within seconds we were surrounded by elephants bathing themselves in the shallow pond and white rhino nibbling at the little patches of green grass along the sides. The watering hole looked like an oasis in the desert. Zimbabwe in dry season takes on an almost monotone background of red clay earth, making it very easy to spot game and very easy to spot patches of water. Good for us and the game!
We then climbed out of our game drive vehicle while Tyme, our beautiful Zimbabwe safari guide, prepared a beautiful set up of sundowners for us. Gin and Tonic is a must for safari, so we all enjoyed those while snacking on biltong (South Africa’s version of jerky) and biscuits, made fresh from the lodge. You are merely feet from these prehistoric looking beasts and you feel certain you’re in a scene from Jurassic Park. It’s totally surreal. That rhino with a horn longer than my arm just cannot be real.
As we were watching the mother rhino she put her baby boy in line with a nudge from behind with her horn and he let out a thunderous yelp. Everyone was paying attention now, including the young rhino.
As I took in a sip of my gin and tonic, I took in a deep breath. The deepest I’ve ever taken in my life. It just felt like there was endless fresh oxygen to breath. Like it was the freshest air ever. And right then was when I decided to not take any photos on safari. My friends and family with me would be clicking away the next three days and there was nothing I was going to get on my iPhone that would be better than what they would be getting with their very nice Nikons. So, I decided to simply remember every single thing I saw and experienced—everything I smelled, heard, touched, and thought. That felt like a better plan than taking a few photos (no offense to my travel companions who are brilliant photographers and were generous enough to share their beautiful photos with me!).
Above is a photograph of Tyme – our safari guide
I was present for every moment of our safari tour and wouldn’t trade that for any photos. In fact, I spend so much time remembering the safari that I don’t remember much else. Did we have meals? Wine? Did I take a trip to the small “gym” at our lodge or swim in the plunge pool? I honestly don’t remember though certainly I did.
After packing in our snacks, it was dark and we set off to look for predators. They typically hunt at night so it was our best chance to see lion and leopard. Within moments we got a call from another game drive vehicle that they had spotted a female leopard with a fresh kill. We began racing off to see the leopard, flying down the dirt road in our uncovered game drive car with dust flying. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, possibly because of Tyme’s deft yet quick driving through rough terrain, but also because we were going to see leopard with a fresh kill!
If you felt any ounce of jet lag from the long journey there, it was gone now. Adrenaline had totally taken over. We arrived to a very hushed scene as we spotted the female leopard feasting on what was likely a small hare she had caught moments before. She seemed hardly aware of us, as if we were merely another tree or rock or termite mound. I couldn’t believe how close we were to this very large cat. We stayed mesmerized on her for what must have been at least 30 minutes; nobody in the truck saying a word, until she finished her meal and slinked out of view of our night vision lights. She was so beautiful.
As if there was any way to top the night, on our way back to the lodge from where we spotted the leopard, we came across a young male lion and a lioness. Tyme explained they were “on honeymoon.” The very diplomatic way of saying they were obviously mating since the two were separated from their pride. The lions and lionesses do this when it comes time to mate.
When lions are on honeymoon, they mate every 15-20 minutes so we stuck around knowing it was just a matter of a few minutes before we would actually witness lions mating in the wild. After a few awestruck minutes of just watching them sleep (again totally unaware or either not caring about our existence), the lions mated. It was incredible to experience that much circle of life in only a few hours.
We returned, exhausted to dinner and immediately retired to our rooms to go to bed. The 4:30am wake up call would come early. All the adrenalin from earlier in the evening was gone and I crashed hard. I fell asleep almost before my head hit the pillow and when we woke up at 4:30am I was totally awake. Not sleepy even a little. After you have a taste of game drives the night before, you wake up so excited for the next adventure, there is no time to think about hitting the snooze button.
After a hot shower, tea and scones await you in the morning before the game drive. And as you set out, the most gorgeous sunrise on earth starts creeping its way through the trees.
We first came across a large male elephant, lazily eating bean pods from the ground that had fallen from a tree. We literally could’ve watched him for hours. It was fascinating, as he ran out of bean pods on the ground he gently placed his head against the tree trunk and used his massive body to shake this enormous tree as if it were a twig. As he did, more bean pods fell and he kept eating. I couldn’t believe how clever he was.
We saw tons more game after that, including elusive black rhinos, wild dog, hyena, and more. But what amazed me most was how none of it ever got boring. We saw so many impala and elephant you would think by the end of three days they would be old news, but I could spend hours watching that elephant eat bean pods everyday. That was the beauty of my safari experience. To feel that connected to nature and present in the moment is the greatest memory of my life.
