Travel Guide
What a game drive is actually like
Long stretches of nothing much, punctuated by moments you will remember for years. Knowing that in advance makes the first day far better.
Last updated 15.08.2026
The shape of it
You leave early, often before sunrise, because that is when predators are still moving and the light is at its best. You drive slowly, stopping often, and your guide scans constantly for tracks, alarm calls and vultures.
Sightings are not evenly spread. You can go forty minutes seeing impala and zebra and then spend an hour with a leopard in a tree. The quiet stretches are part of it, not a failure.
Your guide is the whole experience
A good guide finds things you would drive straight past, explains behaviour rather than just naming species, and knows when to stay and when to move. Ask questions freely. Most guides would far rather talk than sit in silence.
Some practicalities
- You stand up through the open roof to look, and sit down while moving.
- Keep your voice low near animals. Sound carries further than movement.
- Stay in the vehicle unless your guide says otherwise. Animals read the vehicle as one large object and a person stepping out breaks that.
- Vehicles must stay on the tracks in national parks. If another operator drives off road for a photograph, that is a rule being broken, not a service you are missing.
- Bring water, sun protection and something warm for the first hour.
About photographs
A beanbag or a folded fleece on the roof hatch beats a tripod in a vehicle. Ask your guide to cut the engine at a sighting: the vibration is what blurs long lenses. And put the camera down at least once. The best moments are usually the ones you watched rather than photographed.
Ready when you are
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and what you would like to see. We take it from there.