A safari experience can be as varied as nature herself. Therefore, it is impossible to predict the specifics of any given adventure. Here are a few highlights of what a typical day on your Wilderness Encounters safari might look like.
6 a.m. - After a few quick cups of coffee and some rusks, you're off on your very first game drive. Before long you spot your first herd of impala. Brendon stops the car and explains the fascinating breeding cycles of impalas and why there's only one large ram in this particular group. After a good look and lots of questions answered, you meander along as the sun begins to rise in a burst of pink and orange. Over the next 3-and-a-half hours you'll see your first yellow and red-billed hornbills, a Blackbacked jackal, more impala, of course, a lilac breasted roller and then a huge herd of elephants with every size and shape pacyderm imaginable! They're drinking and frolicking at a water hole! It's impossible to explain the feeling of being so close to wild animals of such grandeur and grace, enjoying such mindless freedom.
10 a.m. - You sit down to a behemoth-sized breakfast of yogurts, granola, gooseberries, almonds, fresh fruits and muffins. And that's only the beginning! Out comes your steaming hot plate of banana pancakes and sausages.
11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - You thought about heading to the waterhole to watch for animals drinking, but it turns out the weather is cool enough for a robust bush walk. Along your way, Brendon teaches you the secrets of tracking animals. You learn why termite mounds are important, and also discover the medicinal uses of various trees and plants. Conservation and ecology suddenly take on a whole new meaning. Frankly, you're surprised at just how fascinating you're finding even the smallest detail! You return from your walk just in time for a hot shower and a nap before lunch. Reading, relaxing by the pool or chatting takes you to departure time for your second game drive.
4 p.m. - Having received a tip from "the bush telegraph," Brendon heads straight for what just might be the most memorable sighting of your trip, a female leopard in a tree along a dry riverbed! Beside her, dangling lifelessly from a thick branch is a female impala whose keen senses were outwitted by the stealth and speed of the leopard. To the left, slumbering on a nearby branch, a leopard cub no more than 6 months old, rising and stretching, about to make his way toward his mother for another snack! After an hour of watching, taking photos and asking questions, you decide to leave the leopard for now, perhaps to return after dark, once you've seen what other mysteries Mother Nature has in store.
5:30 p.m. - It's the perfect spot for sundowners! Gazing down a steep cliff, onto a sandy waterway, the sunset has never looked more beautiful, as soft light casts a golden hue on the forest of trees meandering along the riverbanks. This feast of the eyes can only be made sweeter with savory homemade snacks and your first sample of a South African beer or wine.
6 p.m. - Hopping back onto the Landrover your game drive has now become a night drive. As Brendon moves the spotlight back and forth while driving slowly through the blackened bush, you cannot believe that amidst all those huge trees he's managed to spot a tiny chameleon! Over the next 90 minutes or so he spots a genet, an African wild cat, a jackal, a Nightjar and two Spotted hyenas. Watching the movements of these nocturnal creatures gives you new appreciation for night vision!
7:45 p.m. - Wow, what an appetite! After a nightcap or two, you sit down to a delicious menu of butternut soup followed by marinated beef fillet (prepared on the fire) with gorgonzola sauce, baked potato, roasted seasonal vegetables and freshly baked rosemary rolls. For desert, South Africa's beloved Malva Pudding! Amidst the fireside chat of the evening emerges your pen and paper. It's time to start picking Brendon's brain for help on what will be your daily list of special sightings. You can't believe that after just one day in the bush you're far into the double digits! "What's lies ahead for tomorrow?" you wonder, as Brendon chirps suddenly, "Everyone SHHHH! Listen! Hear that? Lions!"
Now the dilemma of the evening; go look for them now? Or hit the sack and start the hunt come daybreak? At Wilderness Encounters, it's all up to you!
