Well prepared for your trip
Safari from A to Z
Game drive, sundowner, the Big Five: on safari you hear words you never use at home. Here we explain them calmly, so you know exactly what to expect.
Safari - Journey
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Simba - Lion
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Twiga - Giraffe
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Tembo - Elephant
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Pole pole - Take it easy
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Travel with meaning
No question is too small
A first safari raises questions. What exactly is a game drive? Can you get out of the vehicle? Why is it called the Big Five? Our guides love answering them along the way, but it’s good to know what to expect beforehand.
On this page you’ll find the main safari terms, explained just as we would tell you in the vehicle. Calmly, honestly and without jargon.
Missing a term or want to be sure about something? Just ask. We answer personally, not with a template email.
Roof hatch open
Term in focus
The game drive
The heart of every safari: heading into the park with your guide in search of wildlife. ‘Game’ is the old English word for wild animals, so a game drive is simply a drive to see wildlife.
You travel in a 4x4 Land Cruiser with the roof open, so you can look all around you and take photographs. Your guide knows the park inside out: reading tracks, listening for alarm calls and knowing where the animals are at that time of day.
A morning game drive starts early, around sunrise, when it is cool and the animals are at their most active. Sometimes you make a full day of it, with a picnic lunch in the park; sometimes half a day feels better. You only get out of the vehicle where it is safe and permitted.
We shape your days around who you’re travelling with and what you want. Travelling with young children? Then we plan shorter drives with time by the pool; photographers, on the other hand, want to be out at sunrise and stay until the last light. Your safari, your rhythm.
Good to know ✦
06:30
The morning drive starts around sunrise: cool, golden light and active animals.
Half day or full day
A full day with a picnic or a shorter drive: we shape it around who you’re travelling with.
Binoculars
Bring a pair, plus a camera, sun cream and a warm layer for the early morning.
Your pace
Twenty minutes watching a single lion? On a private safari, that’s your call.
Safari explained
Six terms you’re going to hear
From the Big Five to your bed under canvas: these are the words you hear most often along the way.
The Big Five
Lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. The term comes from the hunters of old: these were the five most dangerous animals to approach on foot. Today it is every photographer’s bucket list.
In northern Tanzania you can see all five. The rare rhino above all in the Ngorongoro Crater.
The Great Migration
More than a million and a half wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra move in a great circle through the Serengeti all year round, following the rain. The river crossings are world-famous.
Where the herds are depends on the month. We shape your route around it.
Sundowner
A safari classic: late in the afternoon the vehicle stops somewhere beautiful and you have a drink while the sun sinks behind the savannah. The moment the day stands still.
Many lodges and camps organise one. Do ask your guide about their favourite spot.
Walking safari
Into the bush on foot, accompanied by an armed ranger. Not a hunt for the Big Five, but an eye for the small things: tracks, plants, insects and the sounds of the savannah.
Not possible everywhere. Your guide knows which areas are suitable and safe.
Lodge or tented camp
A lodge is a permanent building with rooms; a tented camp consists of roomy safari tents with a proper bed and en-suite bathroom. In a tent you hear the savannah at night: for many people, that is the safari feeling.
Both are comfortable. We choose together what suits you, or combine them in one trip.
Off-road & park rules
In most parks you stay on the marked tracks: driving off-road damages the landscape and disturbs the animals. You may only get out at designated places.
Our guides stick strictly to the rules: good for nature, and therefore good for your safari tomorrow.
A short glossary
From pole pole to park fees
The smaller terms, short and clear. Click a word to open the explanation.
And remember: you don’t have to know any of this. Your guide explains everything along the way, in English, and with a great deal of patience. Pole pole.
Pole pole
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Swahili for “take it easy”, perhaps the most important word in Tanzania. It is the rhythm of the country, and the best advice on safari: whoever looks slowly, sees more.
Golden hour
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Park fees
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Full board
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Tsetse fly
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Boma
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Game
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Concession / private reserve
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Hakuna matata - no worries
You’ll pick up the rest along the way
The best explanations don’t come from a web page, but from a guide who grew up in Tanzania. Tell us what you dream of, we’ll arrange the rest.