Going on a "Trip"

Most people come to East Africa excited to go “on safari.” What many people don’t realize is that “safari” is just the Swahili word for “trip” or “journey.” 

Of course, over the years “going on safari” has come to mean a wildlife watching trip in a national park or game reserve in Africa.

Driving through a national park and spotting a “zoo” animal on the side of the road is a thrill!

Of course, some animals give a bigger thrill than others. . .

But, what most people want to be sure to see is the “Big Five” (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, and leopard).

The Big Five are Featured on South Africa's Money

Safaris weren’t always about spotting wildlife and shooting a picture. Originally safaris involved spotting wildlife and just shooting. The “Big Five” were the five most dangerous animals to hunt. These were the animals that gave hunters bragging rights. Today, most people are shooting with cameras instead of guns, but they still want a shot of these animals! Here are some of my favorite pictures of the Big Five:

Elephants are huge and regal and never cease to amaze me. I could watch them for hours. . .

The ”King” is really just a big kitty. A rather scary and dangerous one. . .

Being up close and personal with a rhinoceros is incredible. It makes you realize how small humans are!

Mother White Rhino with Calf

Black Rhinos

All of the hunters and park guides I’ve met in Africa are most afraid of the buffalo. I hear they are unpredictable and incredibly aggressive when threatened. I never saw this side of them. To me, this guy looks like a cow wearing a bad hairpiece.

Then there’s (in my opinion) the most beautiful member of the Big Five. . .the leopard. A solitary animal but an incredible hunter. Not always easy to spot, but so stunning!

The Big Five can be found in many places in Africa, but the quintessential place to go “on safari” is the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. Its vast, acacia-filled plains have come to symbolize Africa in the minds of many.

I was fortunate enough to visit the Serengeti at the start of the annual “Great Migration” -- the largest movement of land mammals on the planet. For a few months each year, over 1.5 million wildebeest (as well as half a million gazelles and zebra) travel 500 miles through the Serengeti, up to the Masai Mara in Kenya, and eventually back to the Serengeti in their quest for water and fresh grasses.

Interestingly, the annual Great Migration only began in the early 1960’s. In the late 19^th century, East African cattle was inoculated against rinderpest, a disease that killed both cattle and wildebeest. After the inoculations, the wildebeest population boomed, from 260,000 to 1.5 million in the Serengeti area. These growing herds were forced to migrate to find fresh water and ample grasslands.

It is amazing to see so many of these animals gathering, all heading in the same direction, led only by their survival instinct.

Just one of hundreds of incredible, memorable, moments a trip through an African game park produces. Memories I’ll never forget.

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