The World’s Largest Safari Vehicle

May 14, 2015 9:36 AM

Twice a day you can join a live safari drive in the Djuma and Arathusa reserves of South Africa’s Sabi Sands adjoining Kruger National Park. The WildEarth Safari departs 9AM–12 Eastern Time and 12:30AM–3:30AM Eastern Time and also broadcasts on NatGeo Wild and UStream.

Join guides Marc, Brent, and Scott with Wium and Bryan (the Thumb) on camera and Nicki & Tara in Final Control. Interact live with questions sent to [e-mail] or tweeted to #SafariLive. If you missed the action, you can find archives at WildEarth.tv and YouTube and updates on their Facebook page.

posted by ReginaHart (9 comments total)

I was lucky enough to do a several-day safari in Sabi Sands several years ago. It was amazing, and this is a cool reminder of that experience.
posted by odayoday at 10:14 AM on May 14, 2015

I was unlucky enough to do a safari in Sri Lanka recently, and I can tell you, it is the worst. I harbour the same romantic images anyone does about the idea of a safari. The romance holds true for about an hour, and then it's just a hot dusty uncomfortable trial watching animals asses disappear into the underbrush as they spot you.

Seeing elephants in the wild? Pretty cool I guess. Urinating blood due the kidney damage from the Land Cruiser bouncing across the savannah for four hours? Not cool.

Get up at three AM, so you can complete the drive into the middle of the park by sun up when the wildlife is most active. Drive in the boiling sun looking for anything furry. Find deer, ohhh and aww over an animal you routinely see run over at home.

Here, I'll help with a spotters guide;

Mongoose = A big rat
Deer = Deer
Elephants = Cliched
Monkeys = The whole nation is inundated with monkeys, you see monkeys twenty times a day, but on safari, you see dumb monkeys eating ants, rather than clever city monkeys shoplifting at local retailers.
Warthog = Pigs with a deformity
Wildebeests = Wet Cows
Water Buffalo = Wet cows
Eagles = Vaguely bird shaped outline 200 feet up a tree.

Yeah, I'd get up at three AM and risk needing a urologist on retainer for the rest of my life to see a leopard tear off a tourist's leg, sadly that almost never happens, you instead get to see zoo animals but from farther away.
posted by Keith Talent at 10:56 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sri Lanka??

Talk about comparing apples and oranges. Not all "safaris" are created equal, even within the same country - let alone different world regions altogether. As far as South Africa's concerned, I have very fond memories of the excellent wildlife drives you could do at very affordable rates (with camping, etc.) throughout the region. It was typical to be up at 5, and back before the afternoon heat began, then out again at dusk. Super comfortable.

The knowledge of the guides was always incredible as well. :)

Great to recreate it a little with this feed.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 11:06 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Jeeze, Keith, sounds like you had a really unpleasant safari experience and/or safari is not the kind of experience suited for you. I was in Africa for the first time last summer (Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia), and it was incredible. Yes, there were some really early mornings and a considerable amount of kidney-jostling, but an excellent guide, good binoculars, and breathtaking wildlife made for memories that will last a lifetime. Elephants cliched? Faints dead away.
posted by ReginaHart at 11:22 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks so much for this post, ReginaHart, I will enjoy this immensely, I was in a neighboring camp in Timbavati for four days and it was the experience of a lifetime, so this will be a fun reminder. Our guides were wonderful and I feel so privileged that I got to see and learn about wonderful animals in their habitat. I'm sorry you had a bad time of it Keith Talent, because I leapt out of bed at 3 am to be ready for every morning drive. The private camps outside of Kruger are great because you can drive off-road into the bush, which you aren't allowed to do in in the park. We had one night that we followed two lions into the bush who were stalking an impala, which happily for me but much to the lion's consternation, escaped. I think one of the most memorable things was sitting in a jeep surrounded by hundreds of Cape buffalo, what awesome and intimidating creatures. I'm still amazed to think I had that experience!

Really, I'm quite a wuss - I used to identify with the Fran Lebowitz quote that the outdoors is what you pass through to get from your apartment to the cab, I'm probably the last person you would think would go on a safari, but I had the opportunity and it was fabulous. I hope to go on another someday.

I'm a wretched photographer, but I offer my safari album for any who might be interested.
posted by madamjujujive at 6:01 PM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

I've been glued to this twice a day, unless watching giraffes. It's fascinating.
The feed went down, so I checked in here.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 10:23 PM on May 14, 2015

Madamjujujive, your photos are incredible! I have a blog documenting my trip last year. Is it verboten for me to post the link here in the comments since its my own (obviously non-profit) content? If I can share, I gladly will.
posted by ReginaHart at 5:51 AM on May 15, 2015

ReginaHart, thanks! You can share your blog here in the comments so please do, I'd love to see your posts on the trip! It's strongly taboo (like bann-ably so) to include any self-promotion in front page posts but not in an an occasional comment when it is relevant to the topic being discussed. You can also list your blog in your profile. In fact, when you said you had been on a recent trip, I went to see if you had either a flickr link or a blog link in your profile, so you might add it there too ;-) .
posted by madamjujujive at 10:41 AM on May 16, 2015

Cool, I knew not to self-promote on the front page, and I didn't want to take any chances. My safari blog isn't that exciting! I've added a link in my profile. I've been very slow in writing as I was sidelined by "life issues." I'm getting back on track, so I should have a new entry soon.
posted by ReginaHart at 4:25 PM on May 16, 2015