Safari’s.
The stuff of dreams. When you were a kid, you most definitely wanted to go on a safari. So now that you are an adult, why don’t you? This was a question I asked myself as I was planning my vacation and the answer was always “yea, why don’t I!”
My Africa trip featured a lot of safari’s. I think over in Africa, they call them game drives. My first experience with this was in Chobe National Park. Not only is it fun to say (pronounced CHOOO BAAAY), Chobe National Park is home to one of the highest concentrations of animals in Africa, making it a great destination to visit.
So basically what happens with these game drives is this: you leave your tour bus (if you are not doing a self drive) and enter an open air 4×4. Then the guide takes you on a tour of the area. Guides are important because you quickly realize a few things when going on a safari, mostly:
– Your vision sucks
– Animals have camouflage for a reason
– You haven’t a clue where to look
So guides are important. They can spot an antelope in a bush five hundred feet away while driving 30 km/h. This is something you cannot do. These drives usually last a few hours but feel like a few seconds. So what were some of the highlights of my Chobe safari?
Elephants – Chobe is home to one of the largest populations of Elephants in Africa, with an estimated 50,000 Elephants calling Chobe home. Seeing Elephants in the wild is completely different then seeing them at a zoo. When you see a herd of thirty Elephants, you can see how they interact freely with each other and who their leader is and what not. They are fascinating and you really never get tired of watching them.
Crocodiles – We also did a cruise on the rivers of the national park. Crocodiles are actually really boring. They just sit there on the banks chlling. If you get a bit too close, they might open their mouths and show you their teeth. If you go closer, they’ll slip into the water and disappear, further reminding you that Africa is not a place you jump into the water because it’s hot outside. It is one of the greatest shames of Africa, that you just can’t jump into a river, because it is really really hot in Africa.
Gemsbok, Springbok, Impalas, Orix, etc – Despite the fact that most of these are beautiful creatures, antelopes and other herbivores of that variety are also kind of boring. They are really skittish (for obvious reasons) and frankly, you spend most of the time wondering what they taste like (more on that in subsequent posts). I think the exception to the rule would be the Sable Antelope. We saw a few of these and they look motherfuckin royal with those horns and mane. Here’s a picture from the internet, because my iphone camera sucks.
Hippos
I used to think Hippos were pretty cool. I mean, they have the word hip in it, but then I found out they kill more humans then basically any other animals out there and suddenly, hungry hungry hippo takes on another meaning. From the safety of a large boat, these animals are quite fascinating, but you usually only see them with their heads peering out of the water, waiting anxiously for you to slip and fall over so they can kill you, probably. Fuck those hippos.
Giraffes
Forever awkward, there’s really no other way to describe a giraffe. They are everywhere too. You get pretty tired of seeing giraffes in Africa after awhile. It is always funny to watch them drink water though
Now I know you are asking, where are the lions?
I didn’t see any in Chobe, but they will come another time. Overall, Chobe was pretty amazing, there were a ton of animals everywhere and that’s all you can ask for.
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