Viewing Africa’s wildlife may have been piqued by a National Geographic documentary, magazine article, a visit to a zoo, or watching “The Lion King”. Due diligence by the Trail Heads Safaris turns endless choices into a successful safari. One option is contacting us to arrange the itinerary to see and experience on a wildlife safari.
Trail Heads Safaris safari involves several wildlife game drives, staying in remote locations, and observing the behavior and survival skills of Nature’s inhabitants. Each day on safari is a series of spontaneous, unexpected, natural events.
One never knows which game animals or wondrous sights one will witness. The encounters are: a bull elephant charging the 4 wheel drive (4WD) safari vehicle; thousands of wildebeests thundering away from predators; lions mating; a leopard family at play; baby elephants helping each other, unsuccessfully, climb out of a muddy watering hole; vervet monkeys stealing food and drink; hippos turning a pink hue in the noonday sun; and innumerable families of giraffes, baboons, lions, hyenas, leopards, monkeys, warthogs, zebras, wildebeests, elephants, cape buffaloes, hippos, mongooses, gazelles, vultures, and ostriches. Every wild animal plays a specific role in the ecosystem of Africa. Some animals are predators, others are prey, and still others are scavengers. Most predators attack the vital organs and soft tissues, while others consume calcium rich bone or tough outer hides, leaving few animal remains to blemish the landscape. Every safari is unique and exciting. The opportunity to view Africa’s wildlife and meet the indigenous people enriches one’s world. Knowledge acquired for Tanzania adventure ensures a rich appreciation of the safari experience.
After the ‘Long’ (April thru mid-June) and ‘Short’ (November and December) rain months, unpaved roads (translation = dirt tracks) become muddy quagmires. ‘Short rains’ do not last all day as the ‘long rains’ do. After the rains end, the grasses grow to more than 3 feet. Safari guides admit it is more difficult to spot wild game among the tall grasses.
Time of year is important in order to see the Great Migration in Serengeti. The large grazers (grass-eaters) and browsers (eat leaves, grass, bushes, and trees), and the predators (that hunt and kill them), consume the fields of new grasses following the annual long and short rains. The annual Great Migration (almost 2 million wildebeests and zebras) runs from late May through the end of October. The game mammals follow the lush new grasses and water sources in the Serengeti ecosystem in a clockwise direction
Late December through March is calving season for the mammals, another popular season to be on safari. 400,000 wildebeest’s herds alone are born during 3 weeks in February. The newborn herds are easy prey for the lions and many young are hunted and killed before the completion of their first migration.
At Trail Heads Safaris we recommend wearing earth tone color clothes when on safari. One does not have to purchase a new safari wardrobe. The Masai people wear bright colored cloth, especially the color red, from neck to feet. The Trail Heads Safaris safari guides explain the animals, especially the lions, are color-blind, so they cannot see the bright colors. Avoid the colors of black and dark blue which attract biting and disease-carrying tsetse flies. Also avoid white colored clothing - they will turn streaky brown from the ever-present dust.
The only clothing purchased is a 21 pocket safari vest (sometimes called a photographer’s vest). The vest has a hidden zipper pocket to carry cash; pockets with Velcro fasteners; pockets within pockets; D rings to attach straps to the vest; mesh pockets; etc. The safari vest organizes what is carried and leaves the hands free for the camera.
Natural fiber clothing, like breathable cotton, is most comfortable in tropical Africa. Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants from dusk to dawn when biting insects appear.
In the higher altitudes, a sweatshirt or windbreaker is good for the chilly early mornings and cool evenings, though the daytime temperatures can be very warm.
Surprisingly, a bandana is genuinely useful against the DUST that permeates the hair and skin on game drives. The bandana covers the nose, mouth, throat, ears and lower half of the face. It effectively functions as a dust mask, but covers a much larger area.
Note: Bought a head lamp to read and write in my journal nightly - Never used the lamp. Early morning game drives begin at 6:30.
While the 4WD is on the move, there is a lot of bouncing (Africa massage) motion because of the poor road conditions. Ask the driver/guide to momentarily stop in order to take photographs/videos.
Bring extra memory cards, flash drives (if a laptop is used to store photos/videos), and lots of BATTERIES – no convenience stores in the bush.