On safari, the temptation to keep moving can be hard to resist. With so much to see (and the nagging feeling that something extraordinary may be happening elsewhere) spending a whole day in camp can feel almost irresponsible. At a waterhole in Mana Pools, however, Mark Eveleigh discovered just how rewarding it can be to stay put.
FOMO is an overwhelming consideration on a safari holiday. For many people, the Fear Of Missing Out dictates every decision, from the list of parks or cities to be visited up to the final game-drive or activity.
In planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip, it’s easy to get obsessive about that urge to try to see and do everything. It takes real willpower to force yourself to slow down and take time to get to know a small area in real detail. But Africa often has a way of rewarding those who choose to take things pole-pole (slowly slowly).
A few years ago I worked on a Travel Africa assignment in Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park. My guide and I had averaged 10 hours each day, exploring on foot and by vehicle and Mana Pools had over-delivered… even by the standards of that incredibly rich wildlife area. So, for the last day, I hatched a radical plan: to do absolutely nothing.
The picturesque Kanga Expeditions camp was renowned for its pristine, and popular, waterhole, so I decided to spend the whole day in classic ‘couch potato’ style, just watching from the terrace.
Given the reputation of that particular viewing spot, I was surprised that a dawn-to-dusk census of animals that visited had never been conducted before, so my guide and I took up our positions at 7am. Within two hours the jostling herds, occasional small predators and abundant birdlife had already convinced me that I’d made a wise decision. I watched the tiniest elephant I’d ever seen slurping water sideways, around the edge of a wildly snaking trunk that he’d not yet learned to control.
By 7pm, when we closed the books on our day’s accounting, we’d totalled 1,118 animal sightings. The only disappointment was that the area’s famous wild dogs and big cats had not shown up.
Then, eight minutes later, as I crossed the terrace on my way back to my room, I looked down into the glowing amber eyes of a big male leopard about 10 feet away. Instinctively I froze… but not before I’d let out an involuntary squeal that surprised my feline friend just enough to convince it to dash for cover. By 7:20pm a second leopard (this time a female) turned up. There was a joyous greeting and — judging from the grunting that went on almost until midnight — the pair spent an amorous evening among the shadowy bushes at the far side of the waterhole.
In a continent as dynamic as Africa, there’s always some action nearby and it’s easy to get hung up on the thought that you might be missing out. Bear in mind, though, that sometimes the most memorable experiences happen when you decide simply to sit still and let Africa come to you.
Mark Eveleigh is a travel writer and photographer whose African assignments have ranged from Tuareg camps in the Sahara and anti-poaching work in Eswatini to undercover reporting in Zimbabwe and an expedition through Madagascar. Check him out here https://www.markeveleigh.com/
Around the campfire
What about you? Have you ever skipped a game drive, lingered in camp or settled beside a waterhole — only to find that the wildlife came to you? Or does sitting still leave you convinced that the sighting of the trip must be happening somewhere else? We’d love to hear about an occasion when doing less delivered far more than you expected. Let us know by email.
Explore further…
If Mark’s story has nudged Zimbabwe a little higher up your wish list, travel writer Phillip Briggs offers plenty more reasons to go. In Rediscovering Zimbabwe, he and photographer Ariadne van Zandbergen share ten highlights from six weeks on the road — from Mana Pools and Hwange to ancient ruins, rock art and the Eastern Highlands — along with some practical reassurance for travellers.
