Оглавление
Patrick Brakspear. (101 things to know when you go) ON SAFARI IN AFRICA
ON SAFARI IN AFRICA
Map of Africa
CALL OF AFRICA
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Author’s note
DEDICATION
Why do people go to Africa?
What is a safari?
Africa - looking back
Archaeological significance
Early Man
Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
‘Lucy’ & ‘Ardi’ – Hadar, Ethiopia
‘Little foot’ & ‘Mrs Ples’ - Sterkfontein, South Africa
Turkana Boy
Jebel Irhoud, Morocco
Early Civilisations “Adam’s Calendar”
The Early Explorers
The Scramble for Africa
Africa - today
Mountains, rivers, lakes, deserts & forests
Mountains
Rivers
Lakes
Deserts
Forests
The Great Rift Valley
African Natural World Heritage Sites
Africa - looking forward
The good news
The not such good news
To Do List (before you go)
Some safari travel tips
Dietary requirements
Cash & Credit Cards
Cash
Credit & debit cards
ATM machines
Electric current
Country Plug type:
Mobile (cell) phone & WiFi access
Check-in luggage
Hand luggage
Jewellery
Drinking water
Heat
Dust
Personal safety
Tipping
Tipping for gorilla trekking: trackers, guides + porters
Charity on safari
Keeping a travel journal
Tips for self-drivers
Dangers.
The African sun
HIV/AIDS (and Hep B.)
Ebola
Malaria
Malaria protection for younger children
Zika virus
Bilharzia (schistosomiasis)
African sleeping sickness (Nagana)
The Tsetse Fly
Rabies
Hepatitis A
Typhoid
Meningitis
Cholera
Tuberculosis (TB)
Polio
Tetanus
Yellow Fever
TRAVELLERS' DIARRHOEA (& PROBIOTICS)
MOTION SICKNESS
Vaccinations
Vaccination certificates
Vaccine recommendations for children
Considerations for families (& solo travellers)
Anti child-trafficking
General precautions
Swimming pools
Safety
Meals and meal times
Sleeping arrangements
Children’s activity programs
Age restrictions on activities
Pregnant Women (flying in small planes)
Tips for solo travellers
What to pack for your safari
Clothes and toiletries
Some suggestions:
Camera, video and binoculars
Phone, music, tablet or laptop
Passport, itinerary, travel insurance docs and etickets
Prescription glasses (sunglasses, hat, sunblock et al)
Prescription meds
Preventative pharmaceuticals
A ban on ALL plastic bags
Odds & ends
What to expect on safari
Be prepared for/to
Don’t expect
Do not be surprised/alarmed
Be sure to
Try to avoid
Think about…
Safari Jargon
Vehicle Etiquette
Safety on safari
A Warning:
Your safari guide
Guide styles
How to help your guide:
How to help yourself:
The difference between a safari guide and a driver/guide
Safari activity options
Thrill seeking
Active
Passive
So what types of activities are available ‘on safari’?
Safari camps vs. lodges vs. bush camps & fly-camps
So what different accommodation styles can you expect?
Wellness & Health Spas
What else you can expect on safari. Food & Wine
Beer is another story altogether…
Tea & Coffee
Meat & Veg
Shopping & Buying tips
Entertainment on safari
On the Breakfast Show
African Idol
On the Catwalk
Flower Power
The All Africa Games
African Opera
Ballet
Art Galleries
Circus Acts
The Night Life
Around the CAMP fire
The Sundowner
Final Check-List
Observing (& Questioning)
Standing, walking and running
Tails
Horns, tusks and teeth
Bills
Colouring & markings
Posture
Spoor (signs)
Habitat
Weather
Seasons
Smell & hearing
Smell
Hearing
Avoiding injury
Be pragmatic (survival is the key)
Sleep deprivation and dehydration
Life & Death in the African bush
Animal Behaviour
Who’s with whom?
Alpha pairs (dominance hierarchy)
Monogamous couples
The territorial male (or female)
Mixed herds
Bachelor herds (the lads)
Solitary (lonely hearts club)
Harems (polygamous)
Matriarchal and matrilineal (Mum rules)
Keeping a low profile
Who’s talking to whom?
Scent marking
Mutual grooming and greetings
Bulletin boards
Chemical signals
Vocal communication
Visual communication
Submission and aggression
The stare
Posturing
Size matters
More visual signs
Other behavioural traits
Nocturnal or Diurnal?
Terrestrial or Arboreal?
Browsers or Grazers?
How do they know to do that?
Why do they do that/why is it that?
Animal Physiology
Animal Senses (sight, sound & smell)
Sight
Hearing
Smell
Keeping out of trouble
Speed and deception
Sight, Sound & Smell
Early warning systems
Camouflage
Defence mechanisms
More anatomical specialisations and adaptations
Desert adaptations
Adaptations amongst birds
Melanism, Leucism and Albinism
What's in a name?
What's in a name?
Ungulates, Ruminants, Herbivores, Carnivores & Primates
Collective nouns - pod, herd, pack!
Rabbit or Hare?
Fireflies and Glow worms
Grubs, maggots and nymphs?
The African Elephant
African elephant ( Loxodonta africana )
Forest elephants
Desert-adapted elephants
The Ivory Story
Some Elephants of Distinction
The Big Cats (lion, leopard & cheetah)
Lion ( Panthera leo )
Leopard ( Panthera pardus )
Cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus )
Large Herbivores (buffalo, giraffe, rhino, hippo, zebra)
Buffalo ( Syncerus caffer )
Giraffe ( Giraffa camelopardalis )
Rhinoceros - Black (Diceros bicornis) & White (Ceratotherium simum)
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BLACK & WHITE RHINOCEROS
Hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus amphibious )
Plains zebra ( Equus quagga )
So why do zebras have stripes?
Canids (wild dog, jackal, bat-eared fox)
African Wild dog ( Lycaon pictus )
Jackals (Genus Canis )
Bat-eared fox ( Otocyon megalotis)
Smaller cats & other carnivores
Caracal ( Caracal caracal )
Serval ( Leptailurus serval )
African Wild Cat ( Felis silvestris lybica )
Honey Badger ( Mellivora copensis )
Mongooses, Genets and Civets (Family Viverridae )
Nile Crocodile ( Crocodylus niloticus )
The Big 5
The Little 5
Klipspringer ( Oreotragus oreotragus )
Dik Dik ( Madoqua kirkii )
Grysbok ( Raphicerus sharpei )
Oribi ( Ourebia ourebi )
Steenbok ( Raphicerus campestris )
The Shy 5 (aardvark, meerkat, porcupine, pangolin, elephant shrew)
Aardvark ( Orycteropus afer )
Meerkat ( Suricata suricate )
Porcupine ( Manis temminckii )
Pangolin ( Hystrix cristata )
Elephant shrew (Genus Elephantulus )
The Ugly 5 (hyena, wildebeest, warthog, marabou, vulture)
The Stately 5 (kudu, sable, oryx, eland, roan)
Greater kudu ( Tragelaphus strepsiceros )
Sable ( Hippotragus niger )
Oryx (O ryx gazella )
Eland ( Taurotragus oryx )
Roan ( Hippotragus equinus )
The Wet & The Swift. The Wet Ones (Tribe Reduncini)
Waterbuck ( Kobus ellipsiprymnus )
Sitatunga ( Tragelaphus spekeii )
Ugandan kob ( Kobus kob thomasi )
Lechwe ( Kobus leche )
Reedbuck ( Redunca arundinum )
The Swift Ones (Tribe Antilopini)
Thomson’s gazelle ( Gazella thomsonii )
Grant’s gazelle ( Gazella granti )
Springbok ( Antidorcas marsupialis )
Impala ( Aepyceros melampus )
Gerenuk ( Litocranius walleri )
The Mighty 5
The Ant Lion ( Neuroptera myrmeleontoidea )
The Mighty Dung Beetle ( Scarabaeinae coprinae )
The Formidable Termite ( Macrotermes sp. )
The Fearless Army Ant
The Flying Ace – the Dragonfly
Primates (gorilla, chimpanzee & baboon)
Mountain Gorilla ( Gorilla beringei )
Chimpanzee ( Pan troglodytes )
Baboons (Genus Papio )
Did you know...and it's just not true!
It's just not true!
That giraffe perform romantic ‘necking’ displays!
That hyenas are purely scavengers!
That the hippo kills more people in Africa each year than any other animal!
That male lions do not hunt!
That elephants get drunk from overindulging in the fruit of the marula tree!
That hippos kill more people than any other animal in Africa!
That hyenas are hermaphrodites!
That porcupines shoot their quills at their attackers!
That the Kalahari is a desert
That crocodiles store their prey under water until it rots!
That a cheetah's claws are more like a dog than a cat
That the source of the Nile is at Jinja on Lake Victoria
That ostriches bury their heads in the sand
That supporting 'lion petting' or 'walking with lions' helps research and bolsters lion numbers
That Rhino horn is considered to be an aphrodisiac
That China is the biggest importer of rhino horn, creating and continuing to drive the demand for poaching
Birding.
So what is ‘birding’ all about?
Some interesting facts about birds
Some other aspects of birding…
Colouration in birds
Avitourism
Grasses, flowers & trees
Grasses
Wild flowers
Africa’s Trees
Getting to know (a little) about trees on safari
Mopane (Colophospermun mopane)
Miombo Woodland
Acacia (re-classified as Vachellia or Senegalia)
Baobab (Adansonia Digitata)
African Palms
Medicinal uses of trees
The night sky.
Dark adapted eyes
Averted vision
Using binoculars
Star-gazing apps
What to look for… Stars
The Sun
Planets
The Moon
Constellations
The Celestial “Big 5”
Some Star gazing trivia
The impact of Man
The Impact of Man
Establishment of game reserves
Water points
Game fences
Country boundaries
Disease, fire, chemicals & Invasive species
Fire
Use of Chemicals
Invaders
Conservation in Africa
Some conservation issues for your consideration
Hunting – does it have a place?
Responsible Hunting
Fishing
Culling
The ivory trade
Wildlife must pay its way
Community based programs
Commercial attractions vs. orphanages & research centres
Responsible Tourism (Eco friendly)
The six principles of Fair Trade Tourism: Fair share
Fair say
Respect
Reliability
Transparency
Sustainability
A little about Ecotourism Kenya:
Carbon Neutral
Cultural interactions
Volunteer tourism
Plastic water bottles
Spotlighting at night
Educational initiatives
Philanthropic eco-investors
Why should we care?
The future of conservation
Africa - its people
The Peoples of Africa
Bantu, Khoisan & Pygmy peoples
Nilotic peoples
Arab, European & Asian influences
The Africans of today
Beliefs and practices
Greetings
Be aware
Keep calm (at all times)
Land Ownership
Time
Political Authority & Tribalism
Language
Religion
Marriage
Family
Names
Work
Cattle
Traditional healers
Cultural exchange (and the borrowing of beliefs and rituals)
Body decoration (& traditional attire)
African dance & music
African Superstitions & Folklore
African architecture
The Grande Mosque of Djenne
The Medieval Castles of Gondar & Rock-hewn Churches of Lalibela (Ethiopia)
Great Zimbabwe (the Machu Picchu of Africa!)
African rock art
Greetings & other useful phrases
Swahili (Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda)
Pronunciation:
Greetings:
Forms of Address:
Hodi:
Food:
Numbers & time:
Stores & shops:
Animals:
Common words and phrases:
People:
Swahili words from English:
Other East African languages:
Tswana (Botswana)
Pronunciation tips:
Some simple Tswana phrases
Other Useful Phrases
Farewells:
Nyanja (Zambia & Malawi)
Greetings:
Useful Phrases:
Zulu (South Africa)
Useful Phrases:
Digital photography
What to take on safari
Other suggestions
Photographic tips
Taking good photographs on safari
What makes a good image?
More advanced topics
Taking photographs from a safari vehicle
Country maps
Animal spoor charts
Animal check list
Primates
Carnivores & Omnivores
Ungulates
A last word.
About the author
About the artist
Appendix A - Africa's World Heritage sites
Deserts
Earth's Crust
Forests
Great Rift
Mountains
Savannahs
Strange Worlds
Wetlands
Woodlands
Appendix B - Scientific & common names
Appendix C - Naming conventions
National Parks vs. Game Reserves vs. Conservancies and Private Game Reserves
National Park
Game Reserves
Game Management Area (GMA) or Safari Area
Private Concession Areas
Private Game Reserves & Conservancies
Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ)
Wildlife ownership
Wildlife Corridors
Community Based Tourism Projects
Appendix D - What is the point in saving endangered species?
Glossary
