What does a day on safari look like?
Most days start early with a game drive in a Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof, where everyone has a window seat. Lunch is a picnic in the park or a meal at the lodge, the hottest hours are for resting, and the afternoon drive runs until the light turns gold. Evenings are at the lodge or camp, where dinner is served.
Every journey is different, but most safari days follow the rhythm of the animals: busy in the cool of the morning and late afternoon, quiet through the heat of the day.
An early start
Animals are most active in the cool early hours, so most days start early. In the Serengeti our early drives often begin at a hippo pool on the Seronera River, arriving as the hippos come back to the water after a night of grazing.
Out on the plains
You travel in a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser with a pop-up roof for game viewing, and every passenger has a window seat. Your guide drives, finds the animals and explains what you are seeing. Drinking water is on board, and the vehicle can charge cameras and phones while it is moving.
Lunch
On a full day in a park, lunch is a picnic, sometimes in remarkable places such as the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater. On other days you eat at your lodge or camp.
The midday rest
The middle of the day is hot and the animals rest, so you do too: at the lodge or simply in the shade. In some places a village visit can take its place.
The afternoon drive
The afternoon drive runs as the heat goes out of the day, until the light turns gold.
Evenings
Breakfast and dinner are at your lodge or camp. Evenings can be cool, especially on the Ngorongoro rim, so keep a warm layer to hand.
Not every day is a game drive
- A walk with an armed ranger in Arusha National Park, through grassland and forest to a waterfall.
- A morning in a Maasai village, and lunch with a family in Mto wa Mbu.
- A stop at Oldupai Gorge on the road between the crater and the Serengeti.