Safari travel guide

Throughout the colonial era, hunting big game was safari’s raison d’être. European settlers, known as “white hunters”, facilitated hunting trips for trophy hunters from overseas, transforming Africa into a playground for the rich and bloodthirsty. President Roosevelt and his son famously slaughtered some 500 animals with a team of 250 African porters in 1909 – immortalised in his book African Game Trails. The original safaris could last months, reflecting the epic journey required to reach parts of Africa in the first place.

Game reserves had existed in Africa since the 1800s, but across the continent these began to be transformed into national parks, covering ever greater areas, and – crucially – establishing controls and quotas for hunting. By the 1970s and 80s, as colonial powers dropped away in Africa and the conservation movement gathered pace, the concept of the safari shifted into the form we recognise today: holidays to observe African wildlife. Cameras replaced rifles, and photos replaced ivory as the must-have African souvenir. The lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and black rhino are known as the Big Five as they were deemed the hardest to hunt; today, happily, most people are content to simply witness these powerful creatures in their natural landscapes.

Interestingly, since the earliest explorers, the aim was to make the journey through Africa as easy and comfortable as possible, with porters carrying all manner of items to make the hunter feel at home. Some of the most luxurious lodges today have evolved into virtual palaces – complete with gold taps, chandeliers and flat screen TVs – but in recent years the trend has reversed. Bush camps present a panorama view of the wilderness in a way that even the hugest of TV screens never could, while mobile camps offer the freedom to follow the wildlife – before you pack up and move on without a trace. Another huge step that has transformed safaris is the involvement of local communities. Traditionally excluded from national parks, the wildlife was protected at the expense of local culture. But conservation without community engagement can never be truly effective – and the increase in conservancies, in community-owned and managed camps, in native guides and visits to villages has not only boosted local incomes – but brought a whole new dimension to the safari experience.