Photographic Safari: Self Drive Tips for Capturing the Big Five

There are pros and cons for paying to go on safari or do your own self drive. When you go on a paid safari, you have the advantage of a trained spotter usually and you don't have to worry about watching the road as you ride along; they are doing that (you hope!) You are also in a vehicle that sits high off the ground and so sometimes you can see things people in a regular passenger car cannot.



This being said, the freedom of a self drive is immense. When you find something, you can sit and watch to your heart's content. If if it something of everyone's interest like a lion for instance, my advice is to turn your vehicle so no one can block your view! If you in a busy park like Kruger during the school holidays there are pluses and minuses. One advantage of going at this time of year is that there are more eyes out spotting the game, though it can get quite hectic when one of the Big Five is spotted. People can get a little crazy so you have to assert yourself and hold your ground. This is one big advantage of a small car: you can quickly zip into a space or move around some big clunky 4 x 4's as needed.

When out driving, and you see a car stopped, backing up etc., slow down and start segmenting the viewing field and looking for it. We were able to spot a leopard in a tree by slowing down, stop, go forward six feet, look around, go forward six more feet and so on. It allows both the driver and passenger to look for what has been spotted.

We also if possible, see which direction the people are looking so we can both be looking in that direction. Before setting out on a game drive, it is advisable to look at the sightings board, and if you can talk to others at the board to see what and where they have seen anything. We go a cheetah report from a man who had seen two cheetah that very morning. We went out looking but were not successful. We did the game drive at about 10-15 km where the cheetah had been spotted which did allow for both of us to be looking.


Another tip is to not just look on the ground; look in the trees especially ones that look like a likely place to find a leopard. Look ahead, something could be crossing the road--the elephants can just suddenly appear on the side of the road. Lions seem to enjoy lying around and if you are lucky it is on the side of the road!

Vultures circling usually indicate a kill somewhere and you can try to follow their path or if they are in a tree, look around so see if you can find something nearby. Prey animals like the impala are worth watching if you see them "alert." They may be sensing one of their predators is in the area and may show themselves!

For more of our pictures of Lions Mating, see
Vicious Lovers: Lions at Dusk, Mating, Then Stalking Off For Their Nightly Hunt at http://www.traveljournals.net/stories/30097.html

More Adventure with Safari Mike: Luangwa Lions Lounging, Male Giraffe Necking

Lounging Lions of Luangwa

Because the park entrance fee is good for 24 hours, we were able to do both a late afternoon and early morning game drive with Mike. He had been working for Born Wild Foundation in Malawi. According to Mike, this organization was founded by the actors from the classic movie.

When we set out on the early morning drive, Mike informed us if we saw lions, be prepared to sit and watch them for a couple of hours. We said that would not be a problem for us. He had been on several safaris at Flatdogs and had yet to see any lions. And, afterall, since he had been working for Born Free wildlife conservation in Malawi for several years, we simply had to help him study his lions! We had noooo problem with that idea at all!

We drove through parts of the park we had not been to but were not finding any lions. We would get hopeful when we would either see very little in the way of wildlife and what looked like an animal alerting as if there might be a lion around.

Finally we came on a safari vehicle and stopped and asked them if they were seeing anything. They said there were lions right back where they had been. As we approached the area where they had been, we saw a giraffe sitting on the ground. We wondered if the lions were still there because the giraffe did not seem concerned. We drove into the clearing and there they were! It was 10 lions in two groups sitting on the ground.








Suddenly, they got up and looked like they were getting ready to start hunting. Some began to move out and others went plunk, back down on the ground! They moved into several groups and began to do what according to Mike they do 80% of every day------resting! Mike hopes one day to become a safari guide and has a book with facts and figures about the various animals.

Mike drove from the open area where some were resting, "off road!" ,to a place where another vehicle had gone. They turned around and left, we saw nothing, turned around barely missing trees and such, when Laura cried "look", two lions were coming up behind us. They, too, went plunk, and began to rest. We watched them for some minutes up close and personal, and it was thrilling, I tell you.

Then off stage, we heard a thundering of hooves. What was that?
Later we learned from the folks in the Flatdogs game drive vehicle that the lions all of sudden got up and chased the giraffes! No luck, though.

Just after we heard the hooves another self drive vehicle drove up, this one carrying people in muslim dress, one man driving, three women passengers. Laura commented that the back window had been broken out, and she wondered if by elephants. As if the man read her lips, he began telling us that they had been in a lodge near Flatdogs and had left oranges in the back. Oops, seems that "Wonkie Tusk" had been busy....

We then spent the next two and a half hours ,moving between and watching the resting lion small groups. Many times they were very "cat-like" in their behavior--rolling over and stretching, preening and cleaning and yawning and stretching. It was all very entertaining!





Male Giraffe "Necking"
We also came up to three male Giraffe doing the strangest thing. According to Mike, the males were "necking." They were butting each other with slow but great force, apparently in preparation for the mating season. Mike told us that male Giraffe are distinguised in part from females by the hair being worn off their horns.