Your day will start with an early morning wake up. Typically in summer at 5 am and  6 am in winter.

Wake up call will vary by lodge – mostly it is by a ranger/tracker knocking on your room door and wishing you a good morning. 30 minutes to get yourself out of bed and  dressed for your morning game drive.

Congregate at a designated area of the main lodge half an hour after wake up. Tea, coffee and some form of pastry/biscuit will be served. Very often, the pastry/biscuit will be in the form of a rusk, this is a traditional South African favorite! 

Now it’s time to set out on safari. The safaris take place in open 4×4 vehicles. Usually Landrover or Landcruisers. The vehicles will either be completely open as the picture to the right, or it may have open sides but covered top.

This is generally the best time to spot the wildlife, as the temperature is cool and the animals are still very active, including the big cats, which will be returning from a night of hunting. An early morning departure also  increases the chances of unusual sightings, as the majority of mammals are active at the beginning and end of the day when temperatures are lower.

Normally, about half way through the morning safari you will stop in an open area where you will disembark from the vehicle and your ranger will serve tea and coffee and something small to eat, like a muffin or more rusks. This is also the chance to answer the call of nature (usually behind a bush) and for those in need, a chance to replenish the nicotine levels in their bloodstream.

Feeling refreshed it’s back onto the vehicle to continue your safari. Most of the private lodges in South Africa are in reserves that are home to a very wide variety of animals, including the famed “Big Five” – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. All too often though, people get caught up in the hype of having to see the “Big Five”, try not to do this if you can, as tempting as it is to want to check them all off the list. The lower your expectations, the more enjoyable your safari will be.

Typically you will return to the lodge after around 3 hours on safari for a delicious brunch/lunch.

This leaves you with 4 – 5 hours in the middle of the day before your afternoon safari game drive.

Take a nap (especially after the early wake up), sit on your deck and watch the wildlife go by, lie by the pool, sit out of the desk drinking in the views, reading a book or taking a nap! Catch a few rays and don’t forget, at most lodges you will still need to find time to eat lunch, yes more food!

Gather for tea/coffee around 3:00pm. Then it’s time to board your vehicles once again, and head off for the afternoon safari. The first half of the safari follows along very similar lines to the morning safari. It will be conducted in daylight under the guidance of your ranger (and tracker if applicable).

Just as there will be animals that will run from the vehicle, there will be many others that are used to the safari vehicles and will pay little attention to you, and allow you to get incredibly close. Sometimes the animals will even be interested in you, and come up to inspect the vehicle, and really get up close and personal. More often than not, these tend to be elephants, and this can be quite a daunting experience, when 6 tonnes of pachyderm decides to come sniffing around the vehicle. It’s at times like these that you realize why you must listen and follow exactly what your ranger tells you. They understand the animal’s behavior and how best to react in any given situation.

As the sun dips low on the horizon you will stop for a break, this time, instead of tea and coffee, “sundowners” and snacks are on offer. What better way to celebrate the end of the day than with a gin & tonic, watching the sun set over the African savannah?

The late afternoon drive is often the best time to see the wildlife. The predatory animals begin to stir from their heat-of-the-day slumber, and similarly, their prey become ever more active and alert as darkness falls. 

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