A safari is a safari - or is it? For many who have travelled in Botswana on a mobile safari the experience is more than a mere safari in Africa - it is a life changing time. Few travellers on a mobile safari fail to be moved in some way as the hidden emotions of our past surface at the scent of dust or the roar of a Lion.
It may seem silly to wax lyrical and philosophise about life-changing times but in reality the mobile safari is known to be an overwhelming experience - unlike any other travel experience, and quotes from guests who have travelled in Botswana on a mobile safari are the best way to put the point across.
'It was only after a mobile safari is Botswana that I realised what was missing from my previous visits to Africa. Although spectacular my three previous visits had left me unfulfilled, something that was corrected by the experience of dusty feet, bucket showers and the incredibly satisfying scent of the wilderness at all times. This is a feeling of contentment that you cannot hope to find in a luxury lodge'.
'It is great to see an area from the air, but to get a sense and feel of a place there is no better way than from the ground, where you can feel the bumps in the road, face the heat and get a sense of rural living'.
'A Lion roared close to camp in the early hours of the morning, and I felt the vibrations from where I was lying, feeling very insignificant in my tent. It was an exhilarating experience, terrifyingly exhilarating'.
A mobile safari in Botswana ensures that some ancient thoughts and emotions will surface at some time, forcing a re-evaluation of the fears that have plagued humanity for centuries. The choice is to embrace the experience or seek solace in the forgotten memory of our time when we were part of the wilderness.
Evenings around the camp fire under the wide star-filled African sky, with only the sounds of the Botswana night as accompaniment, were the most memorable moments of my life and were times that I shall never forget, times that I will as life lessons in my future endeavours'.
The camp fire has been an integral part of the psyche of humankind since the beginning of our time and sitting around the burning logs without the protection of a building, whilst lost in wild thoughts, is possibly the most dramatic ideal of a Mobile Safari in Botswana
by Leigh Kemp