Читать книгу (101 things to know when you go) ON SAFARI IN AFRICA - Patrick Brakspear - Страница 7

The word ‘safari’ originates in East Africa from the Arabic verb safara meaning ‘to make a journey’, with implicit connotations of discovery. The derived noun safariya – a voyage or expedition, becomes the Swahili synonym safari.

Once long and arduous, fraught with danger and requiring both stamina and a significant amount of time and money, today’s safari is now within the reach of many, is safe, and is considerably more luxurious.

The modern safari has evolved to offer a vast array of possible styles; from the more basic participatory camping safaris through to privately guided fly-in safaris where your every comfort is catered for. Yet the modern safari still incorporates many of the features from its long and exciting history...for a safari is at its heart an adventure.

This will not be like any holiday you have had before – and it is certainly not your sleep-in, lie-about-at-the-beach style holiday. It is more akin to the adventures of an intrepid explorer - prodded awake at 5am, made to walk, paddle or suffer countless miles of bumpy tracks in order to look for what? No one can say exactly! Each day brings its own rewards and excitement – and learning too.

A safari is about getting close to nature …and simplicity. You will either be enthralled by its simple comforts - or you may just be appalled. This depends on how adventurous you are! If you cannot bear the thought of not being able to get your favourite caffeine hit, or you miss the closeness of your mobile phone…then perhaps a safari is not for you.

A safari, especially the more rustic mobile tented or bush camp variety, can teach you much about how to reduce life to its more simple components…a hot shower, comfortable bed, hearty food, a cold beer and some good conversation around the camp fire. Revel in the clean, crisp morning air, the heat and the dust, the clear night skies, the cooling comfort of a shady tree at midday, the stark beauty of a panoramic sunset, the silence of the nights, and the sense of wilderness all around you. Then there are the sights, sounds and smells...all around you.

“What is a safari but the recreation of a dream, an intangible journey into the past and into the mind where this uncluttered world still exists, alive, harsh, vital, as it should be, and perhaps we all understand that deep down because we are all, each one of us. Children of Africa.” - Dereck Joubert (National Geographic film maker)

'Going on safari’ is the backbone of the tourism industry in many parts of Africa. In recent years, wildlife tourism has become an increasingly important industry in several African countries. This has brought with it an increasing awareness of the economic benefits from tourism, which in turn is driving a resurgence in conservation, employment and community involvement. Tourists bring much needed funding to wildlife areas and the people who live there. In this way, each safari goes some way to providing the economic justification for maintaining vast tracts of land in its original state, and for protecting animal and plant species for future generations - both Africans and visitors alike.

The essence of a safari is not just about seeing the bountiful wildlife – it should also be about the dramatic landscapes unique to this continent, its people and its cultures. For those who value getting closer to nature and being in the great outdoors, Africa is something special, something quite unique.

Africa combines the richness of its wildlife, its peerless landscapes and distinctive cultures with the added spice of adventure!

“All I wanted to do now was get back to Africa. We had not left it, yet, but when I would wake in the night I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.” - Ernest Hemingway, Green Hills of Africa