From Hot-Air Balloon to Horseback: Africa from a Different Angle
Your stomach drops and your breath catches as you are born up, up, upwards into the vast expanse of the African sky, which is lit with the first glow of sunrise. A rush of heat hits the back of your neck as hot air is blasted into the huge balloon that rises above you, throwing a silent shadow across the vast, tawny savannah below. You are a ghost in the sky, a watcher from above... viewing experiences don’t get much better than this.
Gone are the days when an African safari meant a trundle through the reserve in a smelly, noisy truck. Now, when the only shooting of animals you are looking to achieve is through the lens of your camera, it pays to ditch the hulking vehicles and admire Africa’s wildlife from a different, silent perspective.
If you’re working through your travel bucket list, grab our annual multi-trip travel insurance, clean off the lens of your favourite camera and prepare yourself for these alternative options for the ultimate African safari.
Balloon Safari – the Sky’s the Limit
Heights not an issue for you? Then there’s only one way to open your eyes to the ‘Circle of Life’ on the African plains. Not only does a hot air balloon safari cause as little disturbance to the wild animals as possible, but it also gives you the most incredible bird’s eye view of the entire landscape. Think David Attenborough documentary with you in the cameraperson’s seat.
The absolute pleasure of the view from on high is the chance to watch life in action. There’s no sitting hushed in a truck for an hour as you stare at a smudge of a lion on the horizon – you get an undisturbed front-row seat of the lion stalking its prey through the scrub. The phrase ‘once in a lifetime’ was invented for experiences like this one.
Interested? You can find balloon safaris that fly out over the Serengeti in Tanzania and the Masai Mara in Kenya.
Horseback Safari – Sights from the Saddle
There are some places – notably the Okavango Delta in Botswana – where the majesty of nature gives a resounding ‘not today, dear’ to mankind’s attempt to conquer it. When the delta floods every year, huge swathes of the area are made inaccessible to vehicles. And that means it’s time to go back to basics, cowboy style.
If you can stand the saddle sores, a horseback safari gives you a very different African experience. You can race alongside a herd of galloping zebra and giraffe as if you were one of them. The horses are your conspirators; once they’re relaxed, they’re trained to drop their heads and start grazing, signalling to other wildlife that there is no danger around. This allows you to get up close and personal with animals and watch their routines in the most natural way.
There are a number of luxury camps and guides around the Okavango Delta, but we recommend the Okavango Mobile Safari for a truly authentic bush experience on horseback.
Female horseback rider and horse ride to overlook at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in North Kenya, Africa at sunset
Walking Safari – Wandering into the Wild
Take away the balloon, take away the horse… take away every barrier between you and the African soil except your walking boots. You’ve got a walking safari. Forget bungee jumping or white water rafting – with nothing to hide behind, a tour like this could be one of the most sense-heightening experiences you’ll ever do.
Rather than barrelling around in a vehicle in pursuit of an elusive creature, your guide (or guides, depending on the likelihood of dangerous big game) will describe the ecosystem that you walk through and show you how to identify tracks on the ground, making the reward even sweeter (and your palms even sweatier!).
Discovering African wildlife on foot
Tip: pick your location carefully as walking is prohibited in some game reserves. We recommend Zambia for a range of high-quality walking safaris.
Be aware that a lot of annual multi-trip travel insurance policies may not cover you for alternative safaris. At Let’s Go Insure we admire the brave and adventurous – get in touch and we can sort out your cover for you.
