Wildlife
Bring your binoculars for the greatest show on earth
Summary
When you think of Africa, wildlife is one of the first things that come to mind, and for good reason. Where else on earth can you have breathtaking encounters with cheeky chimpanzees, tank-like rhinos, graceful leopards, mesmerising cheetahs and imposing elephants? Bring your binoculars and a sense of admiration as you get up close and personal with these beautiful creatures on an African safari.
Highlights
Chimps
Just a few strands of DNA separate us from our closest animal relative, the chimpanzee. Sadly, deforestation and hunting have taken a terrible toll on the population and there are few places left to see them in the wild, luckily Africa is one of them. Tanzania and Uganda offer the best trekking safari tours but be prepared to scramble through vines and hike rough terrain to find them. You won’t be disappointed.
Rhino
Africa’s black and white rhinos can be considered a conservation success story with national parks and reserves preserving a once critically threatened population. Rhinos can be found in Southern Africa and in Kenya and can be tracked in a traditional safari vehicle or on a walking safari, giving you the chance to come close to these majestic yet formidable creatures.
Leopards
This graceful cat is the most difficult of the big five to spot. Quiet and stealthy, the leopard is highly camouflaged and is as at home climbing a tree as roaming the savannah. You can find them across southern and eastern Africa in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Botswana and Zambia. Just keep your binoculars handy to explore treetops and grasslands on the lookout for this beautiful creature.
Cheetah
Watching the world’s fastest animal fly across the ground at more than 110 kilometres an hour is an arresting sight. Around 7,500 cheetah still live in the wild and are distributed widely (though sparsely) across Africa. They are one of the easiest animals to spot while on safari. You won’t be able to miss the cheetah as they race across the salt flats of Namibia’s Etosha National Park or through the plains of the Serengeti.
Elephants
Almost half a million elephants roam across sub-Saharan Africa. Botswana’s Chobe National Park and Okavango Delta is home to over 70,000 of the enormous mammals, the highest concentration in the world so is a great place to visit for an up guaranteed sighting on your safari experience. Amboseli National Park in Kenya is the place for stunning photographs of elephants with snowcapped Mt Kilimanjaro in the background or get up close with a walking safari in Zambia.
