Before you take a leap of faith

In preparing for your once in a lifetime safari into Africa you first need to establish what you want to see, how you want to travel, the amount of time you have and your budget. Africa is a very large continent with 54 countries. We trend to assume that Africa is just one big country and travel from one to the next is easy. This is not the case and establishing a cost effective travel route is a challenge, if you are trying to include loads of destinations over a short period of time. I like the KIS principle, Keep It Simple!

When most people dream of Africa they think of its magnificent mega fauna. Those large fearless creatures that languish in the vastness of the African bush. The assumption, then is to go to as many wildlife parks as possible to see as much as you can. This I think is the wrong way of making the most of Africa. Pick your most highly ranked animal of choice and base the rest from there. For example, if you wish to see Elephants, head to the best place to see them. This can be Botswana and Zimbabwe at the right time of the year. Make that location your focus and trim it back. If you are a lover of these massive creatures than I am sure seeing them multiple times is all you can wish for. The other experiences are only going to compliment your dream. Don't try and pack so much in as you will limit your time in the bush with unnecessary travel time instead. Remember this, you can head to the same national park a hundred times and experience 100 different experiences. Venturing into a wildlife park is a completely different experience each time you visit. Don't think that you have 'seen it all' because you went to that national park once!

Game driving in Africa is vehicle based and you will spend hours in a vehicle. Based on this knowledge and my experience, cut back on your travel time in a vehicle as much as possible. You will spend most of your time in a vehicle viewing wildlife, cut out the travel time in a vehicle with another form of transport. If you can fly!

I have spent years in Africa and designed and tried many different itineraries in that time. Africa is an ever changing and evolving place and it takes time to plan a once in a lifetime experience. If I can pass on one piece of advise to anyone considering a safari in Africa. Take it slowly. You are on holidays. Africa moves at a different pace than what you are used to. Take a deep breath, a step back, relax and enjoy. Whatever, the hurdles that may come your way, you will come back will a wonderful experience. One you will remember for years.