…Long days in a sweat-box (car), adrenaline fuelled and anti- malarial induced mid-day dreams and the ability to hold your bladder for hours on end….if you think you’re up to it, read on! 🙂
A self drive is what you make of it. It can be as slow paced and relaxing or as hard-core as you like. That’s the beauty of it. Some people opt for it because they don’t like the idea of being awoken at 4am every morning when paying £250pp a night in a luxury lodge, others do it for the control it provides them with or for the money it saves them. Whatever your reason, you are in for a treat. One thing is for sure – you get out what you put in, so we opted for the hard-core experience and reaped the rewards.
In summary, when braving the african bush alone you have three main options:
a) Follow your nose and see where the road takes you…stopping to ask passing vehicles what they have seen and where
b) Plan ahead and ask the locals what roads offer the best sightings, but remain flexible to see where the mood takes you
c) Conveniently time your departure with the morning and afternoon lodge / camp game drives and follow their vehicles around.
We opted for option a) but quickly switched to b) on our first night after speaking to the incredibly friendly locals, but I cannot deny that we were not tempted by option c) on slower days when the game was seemingly spotting us at a distance and retreating. My advice is take the opportunity to join a communal braai at your camp and learn from those who have been safari-ing for years. They are more knowledgeable and sensible than you, as a newbie, will ever be. They will prevent you wasting time on roads with thick vegetation and no vantage points, and they can point you in the direction of how to beat the crowds and where to spot the more elusive animals. Of course nothing is guaranteed, but this advice is free and well worth heeding.
When setting off on your safari, drive pack more food and drink than you think you’ll need. It only takes one or two unexpected wildlife encounters and you can be out for three times longer than anticipated in the blistering sun and humidity. We found it useful to ensure that we always had a cool bag stacked with cooled water, fizzy juice, sandwiches, fruit and crisps / sweets. This ensured we had the kind of food and drink that you could ‘dip in and out’ of without the commitment of having to stop and cook or ‘formally’ picnic. We often had breakfast and lunch in our car by the side of a herd of ellies or a pride of lions….unadultered luxury. We also bought a Thermos cup to allow us to drink green tea / coffee on the move in the early mornings. This approach required us to plan ahead, often cooking the bacon for our morning sarnies the night before and ensuring that we were back at camp in plenty time to shop for the next day before the shops closed for the night. We’d also need to wake earlier to boil the kettle, make the bacon sarnies and compile the cool bag. The fairest apporach was for us both to wake at the same time, and whilst one person was in the shower the other would prepare for the day ahead (we’d take it in turns).
When out and about there are several picnic sites across Kruger. If you are with children, or have a weak bladder, you might want to plan your route accordingly. Some sites are (much) nicer than others so it pays to ask ahead. Some of the sites are in incredibly beautiful locations, with look-out points. All offer BBQ facilities and toilets (ranging from long-drops to sparkling, flushing facilities). They also sell cold drinks. Many of the SANParks camps also have day-visitor facilities ranging from dedicated picnic points, facilities, canteens and shops. Some camps are more flexible then others. The rule of thumb which I would suggest is that, unless you can be completely independent (i.e no children or health issues), fail to plan and plan to fail.
If hiring a car, consider a hatchback – that way you never have to leave the car to enter your boot (you are only allowed to leave your car at precious few designated points in Kruger). Having a back-seat also allows you to have the freedom to dash from side to side of the car depending on the wildlife. It also ensures you have plenty space in your car to store food and drink without it impinging on your freedom to move around in the car. Footwells, under the seat storage and seat-back pockets are incredibly useful for storing sweets, lens caps, memory cards, spare shoes, refreshing wipes etc.
Be prepared to get COVERED in dust. You’ll spend the entire holiday in a car with the windows down and you’ll get blasted with sand. Ladies, it is a a great exfoliator, but it is not at all glamorous. Therefore, don’t wear your D&G, instead wear sensible clothes which you don’t value and can wipe your brow on several times a minute, and be preprepared to get filthy! To this extent, be prepared for how much the climate can change as you travel from North to South or vice versa. It’s much hotter up north!
Have a decent wildlife guide and a pair of binoculars permanently in the car – preferably one each. You’ll spend your entire time trying to identify what, where and why – this is all part of the experience, and you’ll enjoy it more by identifying and understanding the wildlife you spot.
Finally – don’t be too seduced by the need to see the big five. It’s easy for me to say, having seen them several times over – but the experiences we find most enriching are with the birds and mammals we never expected to see, e.g painted wild dogs, jackals, spotted hyenas, night-jars, owls, honey badgers, ground hornbills, giraffes, zebra, hares, kingfishers, birds of prey and monitor lizards. These are the kinds of animals which people will drive past in search of the big five, leaving you free to spend a lot of time alone with these amazing creatures, providing interactions you never thought possible.
If you fancy it – give it a go! A self drive safari is one of the most rewarding experiences we’ve done. Above all – enjoy every moment and take nothing for granted.
Images from our South African self drive safari are available in our online Taraji Blue South African gallery.
