The best safaris to get up close and personal with
WHO doesn’t dream of a thrilling safari in the heart of Africa – and of ticking off some, if not all, of the so-called Big Five from their bucket list? Whether it’s lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos or elephants you’ve set your sights on, here is our expert guide to the very best places to find them – and all the advice you need for the ultimate safari holiday…
LIONS
Where: South Africa.
Check in: The Shambala Private Game Reserve, 120 miles north of Johannesburg.
Sighting: Not for the faint-hearted – you’ll get up close at Shambala. On an escorted walk in the bush there is no fence, no barrier, not even a vehicle door between you and a pride of lions.
The reserve was designed to be different by South African insurance billionaire Douw Steyn (the man behind comparethemarket.com), who crafted it out of an old watermelon farm and cattle ranch 30 years ago.
He started by bringing in lions, followed by the rest of the Big Five, and added wildebeest, giraffes, zebras and cheetahs to the mix. Steyn didn’t want a zoo, so he left them to it. He wanted nature in the raw, where animal numbers rise or fall according to the law of the wild.
The rooms: Luxury-lovers can choose from eight main honeycomb-shaped chalets with king-size beds, swanky bathrooms, outdoor showers and personal butlers.
If that’s not enough, then blow the budget and rent the six-bedroom lodge Steyn built for his friend Nelson Mandela, who finished writing his autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, here.
Zulu Lodge is where guests join the camp’s chefs to discuss the day’s menu before enjoying fine-dining around a fire pit, eating the latest fresh, South African food from local markets. It’s also a perfect place for star-gazing before a midnight game drive.
Stays at Shambala (shambala privategamereserve.co.za) start at €800 a night for two people sharing a chalet, with all meals, game drives and bush walks included. Scott Dunn (scottdunn.com) has five-night packages, including flights, from €4,000pp. Gareth Huw Davies
LEOPARDS
Where: Namibia.
Check in: The Okonjima Nature Reserve, halfway between the capital Windhoek and the renowned Etosha National Park.
Sighting: Leopards are the most elusive of the Big Five as they are nocturnal, so they doze rather than race around in the day.
Leopards are also superbly well camouflaged and masters of disguise, so you need an expert guide to help track them down.
At the family-run Okonjima, home of conservation charity The AfriCat Foundation, you set out in small groups on rough-terrain vehicles and can be out for as long as it takes to snap your prey.
Staff use radios to share sightings and suggest spots to approach. Then they use their experience to target types of vegetation where leopards are known to lie. When guides spot them, you’ll need patience to do the same. What looks like a patch of bare scrub may be hiding a gloriously languid leopard.
The rooms: Inside individual villas, double beds are set in front of vast picture windows, so you never lose the theatre of being in Africa. The big bathrooms could come from a five-star hotel and most villas have steamer chairs on private terraces.
There’s a barn-sized communal area for meals, drinks and downtime where the scattering of sofas look like an African Soho House.
Staff do presentations on the charity’s conservation efforts and guests can buy local handicrafts in the shop, or sponsor a leopard, then receive updates once at home.
Freedom Africa (freedomafrica. co.uk) has seven-day self-drive tours of Namibia, including the Skeleton Coast, Etosha National Park and the Okonjima Nature Reserve (okonjima.com), with car hire and accommodation, from €1,011. Neil Simpson
RHINOS
Where: Swaziland.
Check in: The Beehive Village in Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary (big gameparks.org), a four-hour drive from Johannesburg.
Sighting: A group of rhinos is called a crash. And a crash is what you can see and hear in a muddy waterhole in the heart of Swaziland, the landlocked country between South Africa and Mozambique. It’s at the forefront of efforts to conserve wild rhinos – poachers are said to kill two dozen a week across the border near Kruger National Park.
Here you can watch white rhinos wallow in the shallows, lumber on to land and break wind in the loudest, longest-lasting explosions anyone in our Land Rover has had the misfortune to be downwind of. But with huge, effectively armour-plated
frames and surprisingly sharp horns, a rhino should not be laughed at. So we sat in silence taking photos from a safe distance.
The week-long holiday also includes an hour-long drive across country to a sister camp in Hlane Royal National Park, to see the critically endangered black rhino.
The rooms: In Mlilwane camp, you sleep in what look like giant beehives but these traditional dome-shaped huts are made largely from grasses and mud. Inside they have high ceilings, proper beds and bathrooms but low doors and no windows, so those with claustrophobia may want to steer clear, although it’s perfect for those who like to sleep in total darkness.
For a touch of luxury there’s a swimming pool, and meals are often enjoyed outside around the communal fire pit.
Explore (explore.co.uk) has an eight-day Kingdom Of Swaziland tour including accommodation, flights and most meals from €1,810pp. Bridget McGrouther
ELEPHANTS
Where: Kenya.
Check in: The Sasaab Lodge in the Samburu National Reserve.
Sighting: You can see elephants splashing around just feet from your riverside room – and frame the perfect Big Five photo with the jagged peak of distant Mount Kenya. Elephants love to play in water, so being on the banks of the muddy, glacier-fed Ewaso Ng’iro river should offer front-row seats to several impromptu but entertaining shows a day. Better still, you don’t need to leave the Samburu Reserve to see the other members of the Big Five club as they are all out there – somewhere.
For those seeking more emotionally charged encounters, consider a trip back to Nairobi to stay at the wonderful Giraffe Manor (where you can feed giraffes by hand from your terrace). Then visit the nearby David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a sanctuary for orphaned baby elephants that have lost their mothers to poachers, hunters or illegal animal traps. Watch them squealing, gambolling and tussling for gigantic bottles of milk as their keepers try to maintain order.
The rooms: At Sasaab Lodge, the luxurious, ‘tented citadels’ include open-air showers, four-poster beds, plunge pools and viewing decks. And while the roof above you may be thatched and the walls absent (to allow for a constant breeze), you can still Instagram your time using the lodge’s wi-fi. There’s a spa for sunset massages and an infinity pool for candle-lit swimming.
On early morning safaris your guide stops to brew coffee and cook eggs, bacon and pancakes. Back at camp, the chef uses produce from the on-site vegetable garden.
Stays at Sasaab Lodge or Giraffe Manor (thesafaricollection.com) start at €500 a night with all meals. John Nichol
BUFFALOES
Where: Kenya.
Check in: The Porini Mara camp in the Serengeti-Mara wilderness.
Sighting: Dubbed ‘the widow-makers’, buffaloes are arguably the most deadly of the Big Five and reportedly kill 200 people a year. In a pre-safari briefing, guides explain what to do if a buffalo charges: lie flat on the ground, face-down, so they can’t gore and toss you on their horns.
The ones we found were too busy rutting and sparring with each other to charge. But the sense of danger makes it feel all the more real.
The rooms: Ideal if you long to sleep in a tent for a fully immersive, Out Of Africa-style safari. At the tiny Porini Mara camp, there are only six full-height, permanent tents, all with hot showers and flushing loos.
They also have comforting beds with rustic wooden frames, bedside tables and lamps. Lounge on sofas in your openfronted living area and move to the mess tent, where there’s a communal dining table for 12.
Africa Sky (africaskysafari.com) has a seven-night safari, featuring three nights at Porini Mara (porini.com) and nights at other camps, including all meals and park fees, from €3,270pp. Sandra Howard