From a young age I was able to spend time in some of Africa’s big and famous parks. I learned to enjoy being alone in the bush by spending time in some of the forgotten and less frequently visited parks of Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Malawi.
I knew for certain that I wanted to spend my life sharing the incredible wildlife, stunning landscapes and beautiful cultures of Africa with people.I have countless memories of experiences in Africa, each one special in their own way. It is always difficult to highlight the best ones, but just off the cuff I am spontaneously thinking of…
“∼ Coming face to face with a massive male Silverback Mountain Gorilla in Uganda followed by a short charge to assert his dominance and then sitting peacefully with his family group for an hour;
∼ Watching a baby Gorilla sit in an ant nest throwing a tantrum and his mom putting him on her lap and carefully remove all the ants;
∼ Driving through a million strong Blue Wildebeest herd grazing on the short grassy plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya;
∼ The excitement before driving down into the Ngorongoro crater and then being stunned by the incredible diversity of life seen during the rest of the day;
∼ Following the fresh tracks of a male Black Rhino on foot in Namibia’s spectacular Kaokoland and then rounding a corner watch him browse on one of few plants found in this desolate landscape and knowing this plant is poisonous to most other creatures;
∼ Sitting predawn on a platform in Kasanka National Park in Zambia waiting for more than a million Straw-coloured Fruit Bats coming to roost. Two days earlier you spend the full day with a pack of Wild Dogs in Zambia’s Kafue National Park without any other vehicles;
∼ Being surrounded by Ring-tailed Lemurs in Madagascar and later that day set off with a torch looking for the most stunning Chameleons and Gecko’s.”
“∼ And then there was this unforgettable afternoon in Botswana’s Kwai Area…
…Our slow afternoon game drive suddenly burst into life when a male Leopard crossed the road in front of us to drink, only to be disturbed by a pack of Wild Dogs chasing a female Impala in our direction. Both sightings would be enough to make any day in Africa a great one but the sequence of events that followed is something that could not be scripted.
The Leopard just saw the Impala running in his direction, leapt up to catch the antelope only to look up and see the Wild Dogs chasing down at him. He let the Impala go, which jumped into the river, and ran for the nearest small tree followed by two dogs with the other two thinking about going after the Impala. A Hippo tried to nudge the Impala to get her out of the water, but things did not look good on the shore, so she stayed put.
The small branch on which the Leopard was sitting broke and he fell to the ground immediately picking a scrap with the Wild Dogs and eventually made it to a bigger tree flushing a roosting Vereaux’s Eagle-Owl. All the dogs focussed on the Impala, but a massive Crocodile eventually brought an end to unlucky Impala and when a large female Spotted Hyena pitched up they all went their own direction. Nobody said a word while driving back to camp and after a few beers and recapping this story a hundred times it was nicknamed ‘The Documentary’.”
——————————
These are just a few of my personal highlights while exploring the African continent I have been fortunate to call home. I live in Namibia which I still think is the most diverse country in Africa and am fortunate to be able to contribute to conservation by working as a wildlife veterinarian on amazing projects, giving us the chance to offer you a real behind the scenes experience.
It is so easy to get trapped into just visiting the famous parks with a rushed standard safari, like a few million other tourists will do that year.
We focus on and pride ourselves on looking for that unique of the beaten track experience, to slow everything down until you relax and just enjoy being in the African bush.
Off course we look for and see the creatures that we all want to see, such as the magnificent male Lion, that Leopard sleeping in the tree, the thrill of seeing Wild Dogs on a hunt, watching a Cheetah sprint across the open plains, getting that photo of a Hippo bull with an open mouth, but in between we enjoy the smaller things as well. Appreciate the smaller things and the big things will take care of itself!
For me the perfect safari is one where we chat with you to find out exactly what you are looking for and the type of experience you are expecting and then planning your dream African safari. To share the incredible sights and sounds of this continent and then going home as friends to start dreaming and planning our next trip.
This is your safari and we would like to have the privilege of being part of your adventure.
We look forward to welcoming you to Africa. See you soon
Nick Buys and the Nature Travel Africa team