25 Places to visit before you die: No. 21 Big Five Safari

To see the 'Big Five' of Africa, the Lion, the Buffalo, the Leopard, the Rhinoceros and the mighty Elephant, in their natural habitat is a wondrous experience. A big game viewing safari to the Okavango Delta, Botswana, was a straight-forward choice for inclusion in afterabc's list of, 25 places to see before you die.

The term big five does not indicate the comparative size of the animal, but was used by hunters to describe the five most difficult of the great African animals to hunt on foot. 

As a result of over hunting, poaching and loss of habitat, today the Black Rhinoceros is 'critically endangered', the White is classified as 'vulnerable' as are the African Elephants, Lions and Leopards, and even the African Buffalo are currently classed as near threatened. Thankfully, it is still possible to see all the big five in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana, although it is increasingly rare to sight Rhinoceros in Botswana. Whether, such could still be said in twenty years time is becoming increasingly difficult to predict, huge animal conservation efforts are been hampered by national and cross boarder conflicts, corruption, poaching and changes in African lifestyles. However, the battle to protect these most magnificent of wild mammals is far from lost.

When I first saw a large male Lion lying in the undergrowth I could literally feel my heart beat and after a few moments I realised I was holding my breath, not through any fear, we were all safely in a Land Rover, but through sheer child like joy. We all in the party had a must see animal, for most it was the Elephants, but for me it was a mail Lion!!! I was hooked on Lions from the day I saw, 'Born Free'. Sometimes long held dreams and ambitions achieved can be a let down..... seeing my first Lion (I called him Mufasa) was not such an occasion. Mufasa paid me no attention, too busy with his afternoon snooze, and it was his indifference to us visitors that was so remarkable. No outward signs of fear or aggression, just the contentment of knowing he was King.

Information: Lions: Click here.

 

 

 

 

lnformation: Buffalo: Click here.

 

 

 

 

 

lnformation: Leopards: Click here.

 

 

 

 

 

lnformation: Rhinoceros: Click here.

 

 

 

 

 

Information: Elephants: Click here.

 

 

Botswana is one of the world's most exciting travel destinations for exploring wildlife and offers some of the best wildlife safaris.

The natural beauty of Botswana is found in its land formations, its wilderness, wildlife and its cultural diversity.

From the ancient baobabs of the Makgadikgadi & Nxai Pans, the vast open land of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, the sand dunes of the Kgalagadi, to the savannah grasslands of Chobe National Park and the mophane woodland of the Tuli Game Reserve there is a wide variety of wildlife in Botswana. However it is in the Okavango Delta and Moremi Game Reserve that afterabc recommends, for its great natural beauty an abundance of wildlife.

The Okavango is a labyrinth of lagoons, lakes and hidden channels covering an area of over 17,000 square km and the largest inland delta in the world. Trapped in the parched Kalahari sands it is a magnet for the wildlife who depend on the permanent waters of this unique feature.

Sometimes called a 'swamp', the Okavango is anything but. Moving, mysterious, placid, gentle and beautiful, from a wide and winding channel it spreads through tiny, almost unnoticeable channels that creep away behind a wall of papyrus reed, into an ever expanding network of increasingly smaller passages.

These link a succession of lagoons, islands and islets of various sizes, open grasslands and flooded plains in a mosaic of land and water. Palms and towering trees abound, throwing their shade over crystal pools, forest glades and grassy knolls.

The Okavango's water is remarkably clean and pure and this is almost certainly due to the fact that it passes through very sparsely populated areas on its journey from Angola.

The overall length of the Delta from the border to the Thamalakane River is a little under 300kms and so the core of the Delta is approximately 200km from end to end.

In the lush indigenous forests of the delta and its islands, and along the floodplains spawned by this great marriage of water and sand, more than 400 species of birds flourish.

On the mainland and among the islands in the delta, lions, elephants, hyenas, wild dog, buffalo, hippo and crocodiles congregate with a teeming variety of antelope and other smaller animals - warthog, mongoose, spotted genets, monkeys, bush babies and tree squirrels.

Transportation by elephant through the Delta's crystalline waterways provides access to areas that are otherwise impossible to reach. And because the elephants' smell masks your own, you can get close to the wildlife unthreatened by these gentle herbivores.  It also will stay in your memory forever.

"If you see 10 percent of what sees you, it's an exceptional day".

 

 

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