Prelude to a Cruise 2: Safari

Often called infinitely fascinating, Africa is unexpected and exciting in a million different ways.  If you’ve finally decided to go on a safari and live your fantasy, there’s many ways to do so.  Most people choose conventional accommodations that include a comfortable bed, hot meals and showering facilities when they book their lodging.  More intrepid travelers can choose to place themselves in closer proximity to the landscape and nature.

Promoting the concept of one stop shopping, most cruise lines contract with local concerns to offer guests excursions that include extended experiences like safaris.  The cruise line becomes the single point of contact for guests who derive comfort in knowing precisely who to call if they have questions or if things go awry.  When traveling, the fewer points of accountability you have to deal with, the better. 

Prior to your trip, your travel agent may advise that you look into vaccinations that would be appropriate to your destination.   There are numerous malaria free safaris offered in Africa. The Cape area has been malaria free for years now.   However yellow fever and other types of infections are still potential dangers.  Checking to find out what your doctor or travel clinic recommend regarding vaccinations is highly advisable.  If shots are required, they can run into the hundreds of dollars and are not generally covered by insurance plans.  Some travel agents are comfortable enough to even advise skipping vaccinations all together based on guest feedback from previous bookings.  Generally, however it’s always best to err on the side of caution.     

In South Africa’s Eastern Cape, land once used for farming and livestock has been converted to game reserves. Approximately a one and one-half drive outside of Port Elizabeth, Amakhala game reserve is the end result of eight families combining their land to protect their own economic well-being.  Sustained losses in agriculture prompted them to look to tourism to re-establish ongoing fiscal viability. 

Typically the number of guests being served by any given safari lodge is relatively small; often consisting of ten or fewer people.  At the Safari Lodge on the Amakhala’s northern edge, a clutch of solid round thatch-roofed structures simulating the look of huts are part of an enclave. A small and attractive welcoming space with couches and a serene view is linked to an open-air communal dining area that can be enclosed on cool evenings.   Some units even boast personal watering holes effectively enticing animals like Norman the elephant to your “backyard”. 

Staff is lean with a driver for the daily outings, a cook and a host who also acts as the server during meals.                                                         

Safari Lodge is one of eight lodges scattered throughout the reserve’s 20,000 acres.   Hundreds of tourists from around the world travel to it and other game parks throughout the region to see the big five (elephants, lions, water buffalo, leopards and rhinos) as well as scores of other indigenous wildlife unique to that part of the continent. 

In January, during the areas peak season, roads crisscrossing Amakhala see plenty of traffic with rugged oversized all-terrain vehicles from several lodges rumbling down paths in search of game.  Even with heavy activity, “bunching” at specific sites never occurred.  To optimize guests seeing as much wildlife as possible, tours start early, include a lunch break and then you’re out again until dusk.

Though living quarters run from the comfortably rustic to the luxurious, excursions out into the reserve may test your hardiness.  Even in their January summers, mornings and evening can be quite cool.  A warm jacket could prove an asset on some drives out into the bush and although a broad brimmed hat is also recommended to protect from sun exposure, a good baseball cap works fine too. 

Because Amakhala is so well stocked, there’s always plenty to see during a day’s outing.  Giraffe seem to be everywhere, as are zebra, wart hogs and orecks.  There are lions lazing after a morning kill, and water buffalo late in the afternoon rushing to a watering hole to drink and loll in the cooling water.  A springbok might whiz by reacting to the presence of some unseen danger and rhinos move slowly in the distance exuding the formidability of a slow-moving tank. 

Safaris are far more than open air zoos.  They are stages where life and death are in a constant dance.   Much of it conducted in total silence.  It’s also in this natural environment that you clearly detect the innate intelligence programmed into every species.  In natural settings, you can sense animals making decisions based on the degrees of safety or danger they feel in the instant.   Life becomes the twin constants of watching and listening.

Gaining a renewed knowledge and understanding of the natural world through an African safari is a gift that would thrill at any age.

Next:  High End Cruising