My Top 5 Wildlife Experiences

My Top 5 Wildlife Experiences

I am sometimes asked what my favourite wildlife experiences are in Africa, which is like trying to choose your favourite child, but I have managed to narrow the list down to my Top 5, which I hope will inspire you when you start planning your next African adventure.

1. Greeting the Gorillas - Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

In first place comes trekking the mighty Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Billed as one of nature’s most remarkable experiences, the hour spent with these gentle giants will be an hour which will live with you forever. Take a camera but don’t spend your whole time looking through the lens – look up and into the eyes of these extraordinary creatures, and then round off the perfect day in style by staying in luxury at the nearby Bistate Lodge. 

2. Witnessing the Great Migration – Serengeti, Tanzania & Masai Mara, Kenya

In runner-up spot is an experience that needs almost no introduction – viewing the thousands of wildebeest which risk life and limb each year crossing the plains of the Serengeti & Masai Mara in search of pastures new; the Great Migration. Particularly spectacular are the river crossings, where the herds are at most risk from the crocodiles which patiently patrol the waters. Bag a front row seat to all of the action by booking a mobile safari. 

3. Hunting for Hippos, Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not one for the faint hearted here – getting up close to a hippo amongst the waterlilies of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Although plant-eating herbivores, they sometimes don’t take kindly to intruders, meaning that those enjoying a leisurely and silent cruise by mokoro canoe need to be on full alert if something stirs in the nearby waters. Retire to the sanctuary of a lodge such as Kanana Camp to share your story around the campfire.   .

4. Looking for Leopards - Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Forever elusive, the leopard is often the last of the Big 5 to be ticked off, but these wonderful animals can almost be guaranteed to be spotted in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa. Skulking along a dry waterbed or sunning themselves on a rock koppie, the first sighting of a leopard often just draws a gasp and a look of admiration, with many of the safari lodges in the area featuring the creature in their names or logos. 

5. Enjoying the elephants, Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Elephants have always been a long-time favourite of mine, and nowhere does them better than in Zimbabwe, in the Hwange National Park. Home to over 40,000, they roam serenely in this wonderful reserve, and lucky guests staying there in Camelthorn Lodge can even join the staff on the pump run as they travel between waterholes dropping off fuel and supplies for the pump attendants and witnessing vast numbers of these pachyderms.