Transcription
Come, so we recently went on a 3-week safari through Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. And in this video, we're going to give you 20 tips of things we wish we knew before going on a safari. These will range from big things like what time of year to go, to the smaller ideas of what you should bring with you on the day.
And prior to this trip, we've also been on safaris in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. And so we're going to bring all of that experience and knowledge together in this one video that should get you nicely set up for your safari.
All right, first up is The Great Migration. When do you go to see it? Uh, we were lucky enough to experience the Great Migration in Kenya in late July and August. But the migration, you know, it goes on a loop between the Mara and the Serengeti. Uh, it's a year-long loop because it's a migration. So there's actually a chart you can look at and it tells you where they'll be each month. So you want to plan your trip around that. So if you are going during Great Migration season, you can choose just to go to the country where the animals are going to be at the time that you're going. Or if you still want to do both, there are still going to be animals in the other country. But we ran into this problem where we saw the Great Migration first in Kenya, and then we went to Tanzania, which was beautiful, but it was kind of anticlimactic to be honest. So if you are going during Great Migration season, I'd probably say, say, try and visit the country where the Great Migration is going to be second, so you can end your trip with that big crazy multitude of animals, implausibility of animals, if you will.
The second tip is on dry season versus wet season. Because you may want to go at a different time of year that suits your schedule and your holiday. But if you're there during wet season, it means the plants have grown a lot more, which means it's a lot harder to see the animals. So if you can, always go in dry season.
Number three, if you have a favorite animal, figure out where it lives. Because not every animal lives in every place. So for example, we only saw rhinos once on our entire trip through Kenya and Tanzania and Uganda, and that was the first place that we were in, Lake Nakuru National Park. Or if you know that this is the last chance that you're going to be seeing your favorite animal, despite still continuing on your safari, make the most of it.
So most group tours in Africa come in two different budget formats. It's either the cheaper version where you're in a big bus together and you're camping, or there's the more expensive version where you're in Jeeps the whole time and staying in these luxury resorts. If you've seen our series through Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, ours was a bespoke tour that I designed. So we kind of had a mixture between the two. So sometimes we're in a big bus, sometimes we were in Jeeps, uh, but we're always at nice resorts. We didn't do any camping.
The main difference with between the budget and expensive version of these tours is the accommodation and the transport. But ultimately, you still see the same stuff. You still have access to the same animals. It's just how you see the animals and where you stay afterwards is the big difference between the two. I'm pretty sure it's sometimes in the Maasai Mara, we were parked up right next to a Four Seasons Jeep. So it really is the exact same experience once you're out in the park.
And speaking of transport, the major advantage of going in a Jeep is they can go a lot more places that the big ones can't. They can really get off-road and go and sort of track down the animals. Whilst in the big buses, you have to stick to the main road, so you can't necessarily get as close to the wildlife as you would with the Jeeps. The other problem with the buses sometimes is they can be very loud and noisy. Like our one had these lockers at the back which seemed like a good idea to keep your stuff in, but they just rattled around on those kind of bumpy Tanzanian roads. It made such a loud noise and was so distracting, and it was kind of like trying to hunt down wildlife whilst banging some pots and pans. So yeah, if you can, go for the Jeeps.
So this is from a previous trip that I did to Africa without Carl, believe it or not. Uh, I got the chance to do a little bit of safari in some private reserves as well as the big national parks. So these private reserves are areas of land that are owned by private individuals as opposed to the big national parks like Serengeti, Mara, Kruger in South Africa. The difference between that is the private reserves are a lot smaller, but they tend to have more animals concentrated into a smaller space. Not necessarily the best for their natural environment, but you do get to see a lot of animals very quickly as opposed to going on some really long drives in the big national parks that you have to get to to get to the animals. So if you've got a really short space of time or you want to see a lot of animals really quickly, consider maybe going to the private reserves. This isn't an advertisement for one or the other or endorsement of one or the other, but it is just something to consider if you're looking for sort of that concentrated safari experience as opposed to the grandiose thing. You will not get the Great Migration in a private reserve, but you will get to see maybe everything you want to see. So you'll see a lot of packing lists out there about what to wear on safari, what colors to wear on safari. First of all, other than style points, the colors don't really matter. You're going to be in a Jeep the entire time. You could even see some of our guides in Kenya wearing the bright colors of the Maasai Mara tribes. So it's not like that you really need to be wearing only olive green, brown, and cream the entire time. You look really cool, but it doesn't actually matter. So don't go out and buy a whole new wardrobe like I did. You look really cool though, I appreciate that.
The other thing to note is just to wear layers because especially the countries further south, like when I did safaris in Namibia, I was there in August. And so during the middle of the day, it got to like 30 degrees, but at nighttime, it was down to near zero. And so you basically spent all day changing clothes because it's like this huge kind of difference in temperature. And like at the start of the day, we were on a safari for sunrise, and I was wearing my jacket, my fleece, we had blankets, and I was still freezing to the bone. By the time we got back from the sunrise safari, it was 9:00 AM and we went sunbathing by the swimming pool. So it's like that big a difference. So remember to wear layers. And also, if you want more info on what to pack for safari, check out next week's video, which will go into full detail about what we brought on our trip. So subscribe, notifications, all that stuff, and you won't miss it. God, I hate it.
Number eight, bring binoculars. Yes, they definitely are worth bringing because, uh, sometimes you might be quite far away from the wildlife. So obviously binoculars are good to help you see better. But even when they seem relatively close, like having the binoculars can mean you can really get into see the details on their face and their expression. So yeah, if you're kind of umming and ahhing about whether to bring them, definitely bring some binoculars.
Bring snacks. Cannot state that enough. You're going to be out in Jeeps for possibly a really long time, and there is nothing better than while you're sitting and watching a herd of elephants to just be able to have like that one little potato chip that you've been that's been calling to you all day. The other thing to remember is sometimes the pack lunches that you get on safari are not great. The lodges do the best they can, but we found you can't count on getting a good meal when you're out in the wilderness. So snacks will definitely help with that. Also, like bring a beer. If you get about to say that, if you're doing a sunrise safari, no. Well, if you do a sunrise and you've got a problem. But if you're doing a sunset safari, yeah, bring a beer. Like once you sort of like parked up and you're just sitting there watching some lions or elephants, and it's like the sun's going down, it's like, what could make this better? Beer at the end of a safari drinking beer and watching lions.
And sticking with food for number 10, the dinners that you'll get at these resorts, most of them are always buffets. And he, Rosie, did you hear buffet? Did you hear about food? Did someone say dinner? Did you finish your treat? We'll be right back. So yeah, um, that's a lion. The dinners you'll get at the resorts most of the time, it's a buffet, and they vary from fantastic to just fine. But if you do get a chance on your trip where it's a la carte, then go for it. Because having buffets day after day can get a bit tedious, and so to be able to order what you want that's been specially made just for you rather than made en masse, uh, can end up being a really special treat. So jump at the chance of a la carte if you get. And also, if you're just booking a tour, try and look to see which meals are included. Because if some dinners aren't included, that means you can buy your own dinner and actually order what you want rather than just getting the big buffet. So to think about.
Speaking of food, number 11, bring a modem. Trust me, it's all you need to know.
Number 12 is cash. You're not actually going to need to have that much cash on you. Like, it's good to have for tips for your guides and drivers, but in terms of everything else you're spending, like most of the shops we were at will take cards. Most of the things you'll be buying, like either your meals are included, or if you're buying drinks at the bar at the hotel, they get charged to your room, and you just pay with card at the end. So we actually used very little cash on our trip. Have some with you, mainly for tips, but other than that, you don't need that much cash.
Number 13, make friends with your driver. We had such a great experience because we were chatting with our driver and got to know him a little bit, and we also tipped him well. But because we did that, we got to see some really cool stuff that I don't think he would have taken everybody to. If you have a good relationship with your driver, they will work harder for you. These are guys who have been doing this for so long, they know a ton of stuff, they have a ton of experience, and they can really spot these animals from miles and miles away. It was insane. So make friends with your driver, have a good little chat, give them a good tip, and they will work so much harder for you.
Number 14, everything is slow. And not in like a fun kind of just chill and go with the vibe, like a frustrating, frustrating slow. You can tell a rant's coming, uh, when you check into a hotel, rather than just saying, here's your key and here's the information, they sit you down for half an hour. They think it's value added by giving this big presentation explaining stuff, but it can be after a long day of driving, it can be very frustrating. Um, when you go to restaurants and bars, the service is incredibly slow. Like I've been at a bar at a hotel where there was no other customers but me, and it would still take the one bloke 10 minutes to get me a beer out the fridge. That's how slow it can be. So bear that in mind with just how things are out there. But also in terms of your scheduling, yeah, in terms of your scheduling, build that in. Very few things run on time. We ran into some real issues with flights, as you will have seen in the video of, you know, a 15-minute flight being delayed by 4 hours. So do not plan anything with a tight turnaround. I would even go so far as to say at least half a day of flex time if you're scheduling any sort of big transitions between countries that aren't part of your tour, if not a whole day of flex time before you start another tour. Because remember, at the start of every tour, you're probably going to have to do a big chunk of driving to get from a major city to any national park. So build that in, at when you won't have to end up driving through the night in the middle of Uganda like we did. Yeah, yeah. So we flying from Tanzania to Uganda, our flight got delayed by over 4 hours. We missed all of our connections, which meant we missed the start of the tour, which might have meant we have to get a later Jeep through the night to get to the national park. So allow room for error. And just so, number 14, just so you don't think, 15, uh, yeah, what are we up to? What are we up to, viewers? Yeah, number 15. Number 15. Number 15. Don't think that we're complaining about Africa too much. Yeah, it is slow, but it's also really cool.
So number 15 is get out there. Go to a local bar. I think some of the best times we had were sitting at a local having a drink with the guys. When you're in Africa, you tend to get kind of a sanitized experience. When you're on safari, you're just at these really nice lodges, and you're only with other tourists. Get out there with local people, make some friends, share some stories, and you'll have the best time. So don't be scared. Yeah, we had these like random moments on the trips in all three countries where we stop at a place just to get food or buy a souvenir or just to get a drink. And just those moments out of your kind of safari bubble was like, oh, I kind of want to experience a lot more of that. So any, any opportunity that comes up, just grab it because it's great to have just experienced the sort of true side of Africa that's not just animals the whole time. Or plan in a couple days at the end of your tour to stay in a city and just experience what's happening around you.
Number 16, despite that, always go on the safari. What we mean by this is like when you're doing a lot of safaris a few days in a row, you can get tired. And like, there's one where we did a sunrise hot air balloon ride and then a safari afterwards. Everyone got back to the lodge early afternoon, and we're going to go back again in like an hour or two. And a lot of our group decided just to stay back and relax by the pool because they were a bit burnt out. But we were like, no, we're here, let's make the most of it. Let's just, you know, sleep when you're dead, all those cliches. And so we went out on this evening safari, uh, kind of dragging our feet a little bit, but we went out and it was one of the best ones we had on the entire trip. We saw so many lions up close. So it's like, yes, you might be tired, but you're there, you've paid to be there. So if you have an option, if they say, do you want to go on this extra safari or not, just go for it. Always go on the safari.
The next one is the same. Always go on the safari. And that includes boat tours. Boat tours are some of the best ways to see wildlife in Africa because obviously the animals are attracted to the water. So not only do you get to see the animals that live in the water, but all the other animals that are coming down to the river, and you can see them from an entirely different perspective. It might be an additional cost, but it is so worth it. Yeah, one of the best experiences I had was actually in Botswana back in 2016, and we were at Chobe River and we went out this boat of late afternoon, just cruising on this river, and just it was like, it's it's a travel cliché, but it's like Jurassic Park, just with real animals. It's just as far as the eye can see, and you're allowed to bring your own booze as well. So like the sun was going down, you're just sitting there having a glass of wine whilst there's like elephants all around you. So yeah, boat tours are highly recommended.
And also highly recommended is number 18 for our tips, which is hot air balloon rides. We signed up for the hot air balloon ride at the Mara, and it was not just one of the best things we did on that trip, but one of the best experiences of my life. Yeah, it is amazing. You get again from an entirely different perspective. You get to see this beautiful sunrise usually, and also all of the animals from above. It's quiet, it's gorgeous. It is expensive, but do it if you can because again, it is so worth it.
Number 19, just two more to go. I don't know why I did that for 19. Number 19, uh, so this is just a general tip for any kind of wildlife experience is just appreciate what you get rather than focusing on like, I want to see the Big Five or I want to see this. If you've really focused on just one specific animal, you might forget to appreciate what's in front of you. So just be happy with whatever you get. Um, a safari is like a roll of the dice. You never know what's going to happen. So just enjoy what's in front of you.
And finally, look with your eyes as well as your camera. Now, I have a personal filmmaker to follow me around, so it's very easy for me to say that. But safaris can get a little bit competitive with yourself trying to get the best photo. So you end up spending a lot of time behind the lens. Always remember, once you've taken a photo, put the camera down and remember with your eyes as well. Yeah, what I do, because I'm filming, it's a bit different to photography where you want to take lots of trying to get the perfect photo. But sometimes I'll actually line up the shot and then leave it recording and then actually just look with my own eyes. You want your memories not to be looking through a lens. You want to be experiencing in the moment through your own eyes. So it can be tempting when you're there to sort of take another photo and get another clip because it's just such a beautiful sight what you're seeing. But just remember to try and put it down and just like be present in the moment rather than focusing purely on photographing or filming.
And one final extra tip that we didn't talk about, but I just remembered right now. You don't need a giant camera. If photography is your hobby and you want to bring all the kit, then go for it. But if you're just there to experience it and want some nice pictures along the way, then your phone will suffice. You don't need to buy the kit just to get a decent photo.
So that brings us to the end of our 20 useful tips for a safari. Hopefully, they were useful. I'm sure you'll let us know in the comments. Um, if there's anything blatantly obvious that we've missed out, then please let us know in the comments. Very possible, very, very possible. If you think we're wrong about anything, which I'm sure you will at some point, leave it in the comments. And like we mentioned earlier, we'll be doing a full video on packing for safari next week. So don't miss out on that. Make sure you subscribe, turn on notifications, like, all the usual things you've seen a YouTube video before, you know how this works. And if you haven't checked out our 3-week African Safari series already, then the link for that will be in the description. And you can enjoy, uh, it's three-hour-long films of our time in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. So hopefully it'll give you lots of inspiration, ideas, and a little bit of entertainment along the way. So we'll see you next week in the packing video. Bye. I don't know why I'm waving. Sweet.