With its swamps and trails, Akagera is a prime destination for new safari perspectives. Lions watch on and rhinos trample the bushes. An elephant blows his trunk like a trumpet. Wildlife gathers around the water. First you will explore by boat, crossing the swamps for some very close-up perspectives with the big animals. Then, away from lion country, you’ll walk upon the savannah to gain a new appreciation of antelope and smaller creatures. While Akagera doesn’t have the same volume of wild animals as parks in Kenya or Tanzania, an opportunity to try different activities makes it a very worthy safari destination.

Paddling silently you travel through Lower Zambezi National Park. Elephants seem to be everywhere. So do the hippos.Along the riverbanks you can get close to lions and buffalos taking a drink. In a canoe you are silent and you don’t interrupt the animals. But you are also safe.With this adventure safari you can spend three hours paddling in the park’s game-rich heart. Or a travel designer can tailor a multi-day canoeing safari that includes camping out in elephant country.

Hippos bellow as you approach. Their wheeze-honks fill the air and their antics cause chaos in the water. From the riverbank a zebra herd watches on. Elephants play nearby, using their trunks as snorkels. Now there are more elephants, hundreds of them emerging from the trees. Plus antelope and a warthog scurrying along. You can get very close, as you cruise on the water and admire life along the banks. And looking up you will find these animals to be much bigger than you imagined before. A Chobe River safari is an iconic Botswana experience. You will have a private boat and guide, for a slow cruise through wildlife paradise.

Join an expert team of guides for a safari by vehicle, boat, and canoe around Gorongosa. Settle in for a day of big-game actions. Its diverse landscapes of savannah, woodland and wetlands are home to many of Africa’s most-loved species. There are elephants and lions, as well as kudu, leopards, and even highly-endangered African wild dog. All these animals live in a setting that puts as much emphasis on sustainable tourism as it does luxury. They’ve rehabilitated the landscape here and the animals have returned. You will first explore on a game drive, in search of the predators and elephants. A walking safari brings close up encounters with ungulates. Then a boat or canoe ride provides a completely fresh perspective.

Through the trees you hear an elephant. It’s approaching slowly, hooting its trunk in advance. Your trackers were expecting this. They have maneuvered you into a safe position, away from the giants. Kwando is one of Africa’s most exclusive concessions and the safari program is fully customised to your interests. It’s a place where you can get really close, even frighteningly close. And it seems so much more real when you’re walking. Yes, you can safely walk in lion and elephant country, just like the locals have done for centuries. They’re your guides on this walking and mokoro safari.After the walk you will continue by water, in a traditional dugout canoe that can navigate the concession’s narrow waterways.

Encounter the most dangerous animal in Africa in and out of the water. Experience males demonstrating their immense might with giant noisome yawns. Feel their presence on the lake. Witness females gently guiding their young to fresh pasture along the banks, as giraffe disappear among the trees. Black and white colobus monkeys chatter from the safety of the upper branches.Now here come more hippos, for if you visit Lake Naivasha you will always see these magnificent giants.

Slowly you paddle down the Zambezi River. A hippo pokes its snout above the waterline. A zebra herd drinks from the banks. Keep paddling.Elephants show up along the shore as well. And paddle clear of those crocodiles! You’re traveling through wild Africa, through an animal kingdom, just you and your guide in canoes. Disembark and take a walk in elephant country. Guides know how to keep you safe here, so you can sidestep dangerous animals and get close to smaller species and antelope. Walking and canoeing in Mana Pools are the luxury highlights of Mana Pools - these are travel moments you will struggle to find anywhere else, as you explore the animal world without a vehicle in sight.

Waterways play an important role in any ecosystem, and the South African plains are no different. Not only are they home to species including duelling hippos and African spoonbills, but they also attract animals from miles around.Relaxing on the ten-person vessel you’ll cruise the waters of Python Dam either at sun up or sun down, eagerly hoping for the arrival of elephant, rhino, lion, and leopard.You’ll discover that a safari from a boat provides a completely different perspective.

Slicing through Southern Africa, the Chobe River travels thousands of miles from modern civilization. Elephants rule the landscape here, along with lions, wild dogs and hippos. Getaway into this surreal world, on a private multi-day river cruise. It’s safari all the way, as you will be traveling on the source of life for millions of wild mammals. Itineraries can be three to five days and it’s luxury all the way as well, not just on the boat but enjoying the landscape. A houseboat is your insight into a world of animals that is inaccessible by road or even from the air. Where you will be going, few have ever ventured before.

Hear the roar as you take a boat to the falls. Hippos line your route and perhaps an elephant drinks from the shore. Sometimes the elephants go swimming, using their trunks as snorkels. Far in the north of Uganda, Murchison Falls is a combination of big-game safari and a really impressive waterfall. Oh, and it’s one of Africa’s best birding destinations. Note that it’s a long drive to get here, so it’s more a destination if you have lots of time, or plan to utilise safari flights. Don’t come here for big wildlife drama. Just roll up, relax, and feel nature’s beauty slowly surround you.

The world’s greatest oasis is yours. Waterways twist between animals. The banks are filled with life, filled with herds taking a drink in the morning sun. And look closely, for you will see the predators that stalk these herds. A mokoro is a traditional dugout canoe, used by local tribes for generations. It’s a silent mode of travel and the closest you can get to big animals. An expert will gondolier you down the waterways, this silent mode of travel ideal for not disturbing the animals. A mokoro is an unmissable part of any Okavango safari. It’s your intimate insight into this otherworldly oasis.

The Okavango Delta is most easily explored by motorboat. Every year the floods arrive, washing away all the tracks and roads, creating a network of islands and enclaves. With a motorboat you can travel freely and follow the animals on their continuing migrations.A motorboat is the best way to explore the scale of the Okavango. Cruise between lush islands of reeds and trees. Stop besides large pods of hippos. Explore an endless expanse of blue and green colours. Admire all the animals drinking along the banks.Most Okavango camps include motorboat safaris as standard in their programs. You will have a private guide and can tailor the safari to be a few hours or a few days, in this great animal-filled wilderness.

The greatest oasis on earth. You, a team of guides, and some kayaks. Think camping out on the banks, navigating around hippos, and a complete immersion in a wilderness packed with animals. This is not a standard safari, if any safari can ever be considered standard. This is an expedition, a very rare journey through the wild. You will use mobile camps and forgot standard luxuries, in return for a journey through otherwise inaccessible landscapes. There’s no other way to get to where you will be going. Not for humans anyway. The animals know how to get there and you will be alone with them.

Wildlife and wilderness appears very different from the water and Selous is the best place in East Africa for a boat safari. Cruise through forest and savannah, as elephants and giraffe greet you from the banks. Admire how lions snooze in the high grass, laying an ambush. Traveling serenely amid birdsong, until baboons shout of their presence. And feast your senses on an undisturbed wildlife world. A Selous boat safari is a great complement to other activities. In this large reserve you can safari on foot and in a vehicle, before drifting through the wild in a boat.