Only three hours from Johannesburg, often fondly referred to as Joeys or Joburg, there lies a slew of game reserves, or privately owned land that offer game drives, scenic lush landscape, and troves of South African wildlife. I have always called this game drive thing "safari" but I think the word safari is reserved for American lingo. As a devout yoga practitioner, I found this area of South Africa to be more still, more about not just connecting with the incredible Animal Kingdom and landscape that can bring you to tears, but connecting within oneself in a meditative state. There is no TV, no telephone ringing.....just the stillness of the topography where you have to stare with razor sharp dristi to actually see the babboon looking right back at you.
Before getting too philosophical, I can say that the accomodations are sickly laden with ammenities. The staff dotes on each and every person while also keeping you safe, especially walking at night as the lions hunt nightly, and often tourist go missing walking back to their rooms after dinner. Yes, we were told a story from one of the African ladies about some Japanese men that wanted to take pictures with the animals as if they were in Disneyland. These Japanese men went missing.
Game drives are only contrast to Disney. The crowd there are primarily European, many British, and the game drives run every morning at 5am and in the evening at 4pm for three hours. You basically bundle up (even in warm Africa) for the cool mornings and cooler evenings, hop in a open air jeep-like Range Rover, and go bumping through endless unmarked trails that weave all over this privately owned land. The goal of most is to visualize the Big Five---the Big Five was coined by white hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. Having no interest in hunting these spectacular animals, I enjoyed seeing the Big Five minus the Cape water buffalo. The collection consists of the lion, the African elephant, the Cape Buffalo, the leopard and the rhinoceros. The members of the Big Five were chosen for the difficulty in hunting them and the degree of danger involved, rather than their size.
All in all, the game drive experience is amazing. I don't think it is a vacation that all would fall madly in love with as it is NOT for sissies. If you delight in the outdoors, don't mind all the critters, and plentiful bug spray while sipping a nice Castle Lager or a South African pinot noir, you'll love it. You will find peace in the mesmerizing sunsets, indigenous vegetation, and the haunting song sung by the African people.
