IMAGES: ANTONIA WINDSOR; KARISIA SAFARIS; ONGUMA NATURE RESERVE; NATURAL SELECTION
ALTERNATIVE SAFARIS
Cycle safari in the Okavango Delta, Botswana “A multi-day cycling safari is a completely immersive experience and gives everyone a real sense of belonging,” says Kyle MacIntyre, lead guide for Natural Selection Safaris, whose tours follow ancient elephant highways that have shaped Botswana’s landscape for centuries. “When there’s no noise from vehicles, the animals can’t hear you and your senses are totally switched-on.” The thrill lies in the two-wheeled journey
from one camp to another. In a vehicle, it’s easy to switch off when no animals are immediately visible. On a bike, you are much more at one with your environment as you cycle through acacia woodlands and mopane forests, along wandering riverbanks and through grasslands. HOW TO DO IT: A six-night, guided Botswana cycling safari is available through Aardvark Safaris from £5,450 per person, based on a group of six. Includes all activities, accommodation, meals and local transfers.
aardvarksafaris.com
Sleep out in Onguma, Namibia Fancy experiencing the whisper of danger without any of the risk? Consider a night in the bush. On the eastern border of Namibia’s vast Etosha
National Park, you’ll find the family-owned Onguma Nature Reserve. This private park has five lodges, two campsites and 34,000 hectares of wilderness — and offers the opportunity to sleep under the stars on a custom-built Dream Cruiser. This suite-on-wheels is a converted Land Cruiser
game vehicle. On two levels, it boasts a bathroom with a shower, basin and toilet, and a terrace for lounging and dining, complete with a four-poster bed that is draped in nets and has a canvas roof. Park at a watering hole before sunset and enjoy a
bush picnic on your deck while watching the game come for their evening drink. Feeling brave? Leave the tent flaps open and wake at dawn for a chance of seeing animals drinking in front of the vehicle. In the morning, a ranger takes you for a walk
to examine the tracks. The park is home to more than thirty different species, including game such as giraffe, kudu, oryx, eland, hartebeest, zebra, impala and black rhino, and predators such as lions, cheetahs and leopards. HOW TO DO IT: Rainbow Tours offers a six-night trip to Namibia from £5,595 per person including the unique Dream Cruiser experience, full board for five nights, international flights and internal transfers.
rainbowtours.co.uk
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EYEWITNESS Hot-air balloon safari in Pilanesberg, South Africa “Look, over by that rock: it’s a lioness and her cubs. ” South African photographer Guy Stubbs lowers his camera and hands me a pair of binoculars. “See those thorn trees? Just to the right of them.” There is warmth on the side of my face — but
it’s not coming from the sun, which is only just beginning to rise from behind the mountains that surround the volcanic valley of Pilanesberg National Park. The heat on my skin is coming from the metre-high flame that’s gently roaring beside me. Because, as I focus my binoculars on a lion cub licking its belly, I’m not in a safari Jeep. I’m in a hot- air balloon. We’d got up in the dark at 3am to head to the
South African reserve, which is a two-and-a-half- hour drive from Johannesburg. As we entered the park, colour was just beginning to be painted into the sky. And on the hour-long drive from the gate to the centre of the reserve, where the hot-air balloon safari begins, we spotted a couple of rhinoceroses and an elephant. But now, watching this lioness and her cubs from
1,000 metres is completely otherworldly. We’re drifting hypnotically above the plain in nothing more than an open wicker basket, with swathes of brightly coloured parachute silk billowing above us. The air on the other side of my face feels slightly dewy with the cool of the morning This is the only hot-air balloon safari to launch
from inside a park in South Africa. It’s a once-in-a- lifetime experience and — at R6,000 (about £262) for a one-hour flight — it’s a relatively cheap way to potentially spot the ‘big five’ (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard) that lurk among the 7,000 creatures in Pilanesberg. In a hot- air balloon, you don’t disturb the animals and get a bird’s eye view of their behaviour. It’s also a more peaceful and sustainable experience than a helicopter. As I hand the binoculars back to Guy, I notice
a herd of hippos heading to the water, their grey bodies standing out against the golden dry grasses. This was definitely worth the early start. HOW TO DO IT: Africa Collection offers a five- night stay at the Palace of The Lost City at Sun City on a B&B basis. This includes a hot-air balloon safari in the Pilanesberg National Park, champagne breakfast on landing, return economy flights with British Airways and private transfers to and from Sun City. From £2,595 per person, based on two adults sharing.
africacollection.com
Clockwise from top left: A hot-air balloon safari in Pilanesburg, South Africa; exploring the Kenyan Serengeti; Dream Cruiser in Onguma Nature Reserve, Namibia; leopards are among South Africa’s “big five”
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