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9 African big cat safaris holidays. Forget about the big five on your holiday and check out our collection of African big cat safaris instead. Cat lovers will adore these lion, leopard and cheetah holidays. Find out about lion research, follow radio collared cats or visit the Africat Foundation in Namibia. Whether you want to volunteer as a research assistant or watch the big cats from a 4x4, these African big cat safari holidays offer a great way to see Africa’s carnivores at their best.
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These full and frank independent African big cats safari holidays reviews are from travellers who have booked directly through responsibletravel.com. They are not edited by us or any of the companies we work with. Find the real story, from real travellers below.
The most memorable part of the holiday was the private walks with the Masaai and night drives in the Ol Kinyei Conservancy where we saw lions hunting & mating, a leopard on a stroll, porcupines, springhares, hyenas, etc.
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"It was nearly six years ago that when I was asked what my ideal job would be and I replied ‘I’d love to work for the BBC on Big Cat Diary’. It wasn’t the best response considering I was in an interview for a telemarketing job, but last week, there I was, six years later in the Masai Mara watching a cheetah stalking a Thompson’s gazelle. OK, I don’t work for the BBC but the cheetah was a matter of metres away and the thrill of sitting silent, in the pouring rain, watching the cheetah’s muscles twitch as it hunched down ready to hunt was exactly, if not better than I’d dreamt. I didn’t know at the time but the Big Cat Live team must have arrived in Kenya about the same time as I did. It’s probably for the best that I didn’t see them or star struck I might have embarrassed myself."
Read the rest of Holly's big cat diary experience in her big cat article.
The White Lions are South Africa's pride and joy, our living national treasure. Or so they should be. All over the African continent, from Egypt in the North to Bushmanland in the South, legends of the White Lions existence grace ancient oral traditions and cave paintings. From the distant Nile culture in the North to Zululand's Valley of a Thousand Hills in the South, storytellers spoke of the arrival of these legendary animals. In Senegal in the West, and Somalia in the East, legends proclaim the White Lions magical powers. Yet there is one place only on earth where these mythical creatures have come to life - and that is Timbavati, a wildlife region bordering on South Africa's Kruger National Park. The name Timbavati in the ancient Shangaan language means "the place where something sacred came down to earth - like a bird or angel from the heavens!" So the site of their origin echoes the White Lions' mythical status - a place which saw the birth of a unique breed of snow- white lions with blazing solar manes, and laser eyes! My great Shangaan teacher, the indigenous healer known as the Lion Queen of Timbavati, Maria Khosa, first introduced me to the mystery of the White Lions. This amazing woman proved her own lion-hearted courage by rescuing me, on foot and at night, from a resident pride of angry lions in the Timbavati bushveld. Maria's ancient knowledge, and her lion-hearted actions, changed my life. Maria believed that the White Lions are "Lions of God - who came from the stars." Like that other sacred site, Great Zimbabwe, the clue is embedded in the word Timba-vati: Tsimba - means 'lion'. Accordingly, this is the site where angelic winged lions were believed to have come down to earth.
Read more about lions and big cat safaris in this big cat article.
