There are two kinds of African safaris in my opinion: the first one being where you enjoy the overall beauty that is known as African nature, and the second, game-viewing.
Into the wild…
Zambia is known for its many open structures, which some might say allows for better game viewing. And that’s exactly why Ed and I came here, for one solid week of game viewing in Africa’s last wild kingdom.
We were staying at the Kafue National Park which is bordered by the beautiful blue-green Kafue River. With vast plains in the north to the woodlands in the south, Kafue National Park’s landscape proved to be more diverse, and even more rewarding than expected.
Plain and simple…
During our stay at the Kafue National Park we booked into one of their thatched huts. For the two of us this almost felt like fine dining since our accommodation on almost our previous trips was either the back of a 4×4 or a tent, and let me tell you this, neither comes close to the comfort of a simple thatched hut.
During our first few days, I booked us on a daily trip on one of the park’s open-back 4×4 vehicles. We saw almost everything on these trips. The great thing about Zambia national parks is that they truly do offer you the best of Africa’s wildlife. We saw everything from lions, elephants, two leopards, hyenas, buffalos, sable, a variety of antelope and then of course the elusive cheetah.
Ed bought a new camera the day before we left on our safari, so of course he was acting the part of a typical tourist taking more photos than anything else. He has been a wildlife photographer for a couple of years, but this was his first digital camera. Something he was dreading at first, but seemed to me was quickly growing quite attached too.
The grass is greener on the other side…
On the last few days we opted for canoing safaris down the Zambezi. Now this is not something I’d advise people to do if you don’t enjoy getting down and dirty, but nevertheless, it was an awesome experience.
My first and biggest fear was hippopotami that we might encounter, but the guide guaranteed me that I would not regret doing this. You would think that crocodiles would be my main reason for concern, but it is a well known fact that those fatties, those big mouth creatures are far more aggressive and quicker than expected. But since you only live once, I figured, why not?
So off we went. The tranquillity of the Zambezi River has a very positive relaxing influence over you while you lazily paddle your way through the park. We saw more wildlife while we were on the canoes than on the back of the 4×4’s. The nature seemed so lush, animals plentiful, and overall, felt like the best way to enjoy an African safari.
By lunch time we were absolutely ravenous. Going on a canoe safari was probably one of my favourite experiences since Ed and I started partaking in African safaris. It was a whole new way of appreciating and becoming part of what the African wildlife had to offer us and I accepted it wholeheartedly. I can’t wait to do it again and recommend it to anyone that is considering a trip to Africa. Be different, have an adventure that is close to nature.
