“So, you just drive around?”
It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been to Africa exactly what it feels like to be on safari. Well, to be fair, it’s hard to explain what travelling to Africa is like at all, let alone just this one aspect. But still, the game drive is a concept that sounds foreign to most people. And so the question: “Do you really just sit in a car and drive around hoping to see something?”
Well, yes.
And also, no. Let us explain.
“Why is it called a game drive?”
This confuses some people right out of the gate. When we use the term ‘game’ we are referring to the animals you’ll see on safari. This comes from the historical hunting term for animals, but is largely no longer used in that context. As the idea goes, the only shooting you will do is with a camera. A ‘game drive’ therefore is a drive you’ll do to spot animals.
Some places have tried to rename it other things for clarity, like a ‘safari drive’. But, the word safari is a Swahili term meaning ‘journey’. A trip through East Africa (where the focus is largely animals) is already a safari, not one particular drive. And, if you are moving between national parks and reserves in Southern Africa, that’s also a safari. The word applies to the wildlife sections of an itinerary, not just the individual drives. Some places use ‘bush drive’, but that obviously only works if it is in a place that has bushes.
So, game drive it is.
“Doesn’t it get boring if you don’t see anything?”
When my young son complains that he is bored, I almost always have the same response.
“Things are only boring if you are boring.”
The idea that there is nothing to be seen on a game drive says more about the people taking the drive than the environment itself. There is always something to see. Some people get bored at a cafe, some involve themselves in conversation or people watching. The difference is what the intention of the activity is. Are you heading out on a game drive just to see a lion, and nothing else is really of interest? Then yes, you will get bored whilst you wait for your lion to appear. But, if you head out on a game drive open to the opportunities available then you always find amazing things to see. And, if you approach everything with a curious mind, then every drive is an eye opener. You can learn about the physics of termite mounds, about the sexual dimorphism of different birds and about how various plants are used in local medicine. And then, a lion is just the icing on the cake.
So, soak in the atmosphere of the area you are visiting and allow it to reveal its secrets. Africa is more than the Big Five, and the real gems are those that require a bit of effort.
“What do you do on a game drive?”
It doesn’t matter where you are in Africa, or what lodge you find yourself at, you almost always have just had an unnecessary slice of cake or muffin and a drink to wash it down. So, almost always, you will arrive to the vehicle a bit too full. The atmosphere is abuzz, as you are in Africa on safari doing something special. The big mystery of the game drive will be what you inevitably see, and that is the secret sauce that always keeps it interesting. It doesn’t matter how many times you have been on safari, it is the potential of a game drive that makes it exciting. Around every corner potentially lies something amazing.
If you have been on a game drive before, you might not have been on one here.
And if you have been on one here before, it might not be in this season. The seasonality of the environment changes, so you might witness mating behaviour or landscape differences or newborns or fruiting.
Or, if you have been on a safari here before, in this season, on this exact day last year, then you haven’t been on safari today. Today is all that matters, and no-one else will get the same drive as you do this day. Millions see the same buildings or paintings in Europe day after day, but only you and your travel companion get this game drive today, and then it will never happen again.
So, that’s the magic of it. I was recently on a private reserve staying at Kapama Lodge in South Africa where we stumbled across a rhino and her baby. Minutes later, we saw lionesses by the waterhole, who then saw the rhino and her baby, and then it started an old-fashioned standoff. After witnessing this drama (thankfully trauma free) for an irrelevant amount of time we stopped for some sundowners. The rest of the drive was a bit slow before we came suddenly across a pangolin, an incredibly rare sighting. And then, as we discussed that sighting in the car and only metres from the lodge gate, an aardvark (even more rare) crossed in front of our car. I don’t say this to brag (well, a little), but more to show that every moment in Africa on a game drive is potentially this moment. And if it isn’t, then it is something else amazing. And, the amount of times we have arrived back at the lodge only to have to lodge staff take us to the animal visiting the lodge is almost too many to count. Who even needs the car?
And then you spend the night discussing it all with your loved ones, or new friends, or fireside acquaintances.
Or, if you prefer fear based motivation, the one game drive you miss to get a few hours sleep could be the one where everyone else sees the rare animals (and you don’t). And then you have to live with their stories about that amazing sighting for as long as you know them.
Important note
We should point out that this applies to safaris focused on the wildlife and landscapes of Africa. At the end of the day, we love having these sorts of experiences and sharing them with our friends and families. And we also want to offer these amazing experiences with people who share the same mindset as us. That means both our partners in Africa, and you, our Society members. That’s why we do what we do, and its why we have been so successful. The idea is to visit an area to experience it and understand it more, not just tick it off a list.
So, this sort of game drive doesn’t really apply to the mass market “Ferrari safari” of East Africa or the “Jeep Jams” of Kruger. That’s why knowing where to go, how to do the trip and who to go with, is so important. And, being frank, if you want to zoom around on a surface level tour and just tick Africa off the list, then we are not the travel company for you.
But, if you want to go there and see amazing things, whilst also learning all about them, then that’s where we come in.
