Topdeck Travel Blog

20. See Africa's 'Big Five'

“The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa - for he has so much to look forward to.” - Rich Mullins

So much has already been said of the powerful effect Africa has on a traveller’s psyche that it’s difficult to write anything without repeating the same clichés. Perhaps it’s the thought that the entire human race can trace their origins to this continent, or the vastness of the landscape which puts the significance (or more to the point, insignificance) of yourself into perspective. Whatever the reason, for almost everybody, a trip to Africa is an introspective and life-changing experience.

I come from Scotland where, if we had a ‘big five’, it would probably be squirrels, deer, badgers, otters, and voles. Sorry guys – you’re all lovely but you wouldn’t last long in Africa! The wildlife in Africa has evolved over millions of years to reflect the challenges of life in a continent with intense heat, a lack of water and vegetation, and most crucially - other extremely dangerous animals to protect themselves from. This has created, over millions of years, the most amazing animals on earth.

There’s no better way to immerse yourself in the astoundingly diverse wildlife of this continent than taking a safari through its national parks. Safari comes from the Swahili word for ‘journey’, and will take you deep into the natural habitat of the ‘big five’. This refers to the rhino, elephant, leopard, lion and Cape buffalo. The phrase was originally coined by big game hunters decades ago to refer to the difficulty in hunting these massive creatures on foot, but now, with huge efforts to conserve and protect these animals, it is more commonly used by safari tour operators to refer to five of the most incredible animals to spot in the wild. Africa overflows with a diversity of life and many other animals, such as the baboon, cheetah or giraffe, could easily be named on your own ‘big five’ list.

Some amazing facts about the ‘big five’ –

Lions –

• A lion’s roar can be heard up to 5 miles away.
• The lion is the only member of the cat family with a tasselled tail, which is often used to signal to other members of the pride. Messages range from directional "this way" commands to flirtatious "come hither" invitations!
• A lion's claws are not only very sharp, but also retractable, which helps maintain the big cat’s slice-and-dice capabilities by preventing injury during play.

Leopards –

• Leopards can drag prey weighing up to three times their own body weight up into trees over 20 feet (6 metres) tall!
• They have amazing hearing. Leopards can pick up five times more sounds than humans can.
• Leopards don't need to drink much water - they can live off the moisture in their prey.

Elephants –

• Baby elephants are born blind and some individuals suck their trunks for comfort, similar to the way young humans suck their thumbs.
• African elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet, and the females of this species undergo the longest pregnancy - 22 months.

Rhinos –

• Black rhinos can pick up small objects and even open gates and vehicle doors with their upper lips.
• The rhino's horn is made of keratin - like human fingernails and hair.
• The world's rhino population has decreased 90% since 1970 due to hunting.

Buffalos -

• Buffalo are said to have killed more hunters in Africa than any other wild animal.
• Buffalos have fantastic memories and are known to ambush hunters that have harmed them in the past.
• Cape buffalo are known to kill lions, and can seek out and kill lion cubs as preventative punishment.

Check this out - quite simply one of the most amazing videos of all time! This shows an epic battle between cape buffalos, lions, and crocodiles at Kruger National Park in South Africa: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

To visit Kruger and other incredible African national parks with Topdeck, check out our superb range of African safari trips - www.topdeck.travel/africa/safari-tours

Back in March Amanda Griffin won herself an African Safari in our "Wild About Topdeck Africa" competition. Well, Amanda has just returned home after 19 days on the road and has put together a selection of photos she'd like to share with us. "It was a chilly morning when we got up at 5. We were the first footprints to break the surface of the Dune 45 that day. When we got back after our explorations we were greeted with a feast of pancakes prepared by our guides - such a good day!" "We were so lucky to see this leopard (or leo-parrrd as our guide says) about 10m from us at Chobe National Park. The safari guide got a call on the radio in another language and next thing we had turned around, unaware of what was happening, and were zooming towards something unknown. It turned out to be this amazing sight. We sat there for a long time just mesmerised by the beauty of the leo-parrrrd." "Another absolutely beautiful area to camp, Spitzkoppe is completely untouched land (sans a few bushman artworks on the rocks from thousands of years ago). There are no showers, amenities or toilets - it was hard-core camping! We had the option to sleep outside, but it was freezing cold (and I have a fear of scorpions climbing into my sleeping bag) so none of us braved the weather - which in the morning we realised was wise as there was frost on one of the mats left outside! You can see our safari truck in this picture and it gives an idea of just how HUGE the boulders are!" "These animals were less than 50m from us as we sat behind a fence just watching them. Crazy."

"Just chillin' in the Mokoro as the local guides take us to our bush camp in the Okavango Delta - no fences, no protection, no amenities - just camping in the wild with the animals! We did a bushwalk with the local guides and a huge elephant came within 10m of us while we were strolling. We were instructed to stand still so as not to alarm the elephant and wait for it to walk away - definitely got the heart beating!"

"The beautiful Sossusvlei used to be a lake, but is now a clay/salt pan surrounded by contrasting dunes. Also a part of Namib-Naukluft National Park - very pretty!" "My absolute highlight of the trip! In Livingstone we had an optional activity to go on a lion walk where we could pat 17 month old lions and walk with them as they familiarised themselves with the landscape (Note: they are not drugged or anything). They gave us a stick just in case the lion 'gave us a funny look' so that we could tap the ground to distract it (I think it was really just so we felt safer) Very cool!" "Africa was absolutely amazing! The tour guides were fantastic, people were fantastic, we got to see the Big Five (including a leopard eating a baby elephant - pretty insane!), walked with and patted some lions (crazy cool!), went on a microlight flight over Vic Falls and I went skydiving in Namibia! Overall it was an absolute success of a trip that I wholeheartedly recommend." *** Amanda travelled on Topdeck's 19 day Desert Tracker. If you want to experience all that Africa has to offer join us on one of our safari adventures.

Lifelong traveller (and Topdeck’s head designer) Bec shares her experiences of her African journey with Topdeck.

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For me and many others on my trip, Africa is the last frontier in terms of travel.

My partner Brad and I have been through Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South and North America, so other than Antarctica we only had the wilds of Africa to cross-off.

We arrived on in Nairobi on Friday, but as the trip didn’t start until Sunday we had some time to kill.

With no plans and no idea what to do we contacted our Trip Leader Masivu for advice and he made some excellent suggestions.

First up we paid a visit to the Giraffe Centre followed by a trip to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. The giraffes at the centre are so beautiful and gentle. You get to feed them with these giant pellets. If you’re feeling keen, hold one between your teeth to receive your very own giraffe kiss!

The best way to get around is by taxi and we had a great driver for our time in the city. He was really fun and gave us heaps of facts and information about Nairobi.

After meeting our group and Trip Leader on Saturday evening we were up bright and early the next morning for our road trip to the Maasai Mara.

Our group of 15 was split into two mini vans for the 4-5 hour drive. Distance-wise the Mara isn’t too far away, but thanks to rough road conditions the drive is rather slow.

With the stunning scenery of the Great Rift Valley all around and new trip mates to meet we were kept busy.

THE ANIMALS

That afternoon we pulled up at our home for the next two nights, a permanent campsite just outside the Maasai Mara.

With no fences around the site it’s not uncommon for animals to wander around the tents at night.

The tents at this site were more like canvas houses – they even had their own indoor toilets!

After dinner around the campfire we went out for a night drive of the Mara.

Elephants, giraffe, impalas - I couldn’t keep track of all the animals we saw! The best thing we encountered was a leopard sleeping in a tree right by the road.

Sunset in the Mara was simply awe-inspiring. It was everything you ever imaged from the Lion King and more.

Leaving Kenya behind, we made our way to a brand new destination – Tanzania and Serengeti National Park.

The experience of waking up in the vast open landscape of the Serengeti with no fences, just beautiful scenery is amazing.

While eating dinner at our campsite one night an elephant wandered in for a quick drink from our water tank. We went up to say ‘hi’, but he was a little shy.

THE PEOPLE

A short drive from the Maasai Mara we visited a traditional Maasai village.

We watched a performance of the traditional Adumu (jumping) dance and had a go ourselves.

The villagers showed us inside their homes and we were able to buy jewellery made by the Maasai women.

While the Maasai live in conditions far removed from us Westerners, they place a high value on education and as a result nearly all the people in the village speak English.

Being able to speak to the locals isn’t something you often get to do so it really gave us an important insight into how they live and their culture.

The Maasai were as interested in us as we were in them. The women I spoke to wanted to know how many children we all had and they were rather surprised to find out none of the girls in our group were mothers. They were also interested in the lives of western women and how we all worked.

THE BEACH

Leaving the vast savannah behind, we spent the last two nights of our trip in a resort on the palm-fringed beaches of Kendwa Beach, Zanzibar.

It was the perfect way to finish our trip. Relaxed and chilled out, we spent our time snorkelling, swimming and sipping drinks at the bar.

For our final night together we took a sunset cruise. After spending 13 days together our whole group were really close so saying goodbye was hard.

It’s difficult to sum up just how incredible my time on safari was. Would I go back? In a heartbeat – there is still so much of Africa to explore!

THINGS TO BRING

• A South African adaptor to charge your gadgets on the truck.
• Wet wipes – at times you’ll get rather grubby!
• Plastic poncho – for those unexpected downpours.
• Binoculars – so you don’t miss out on the best wildlife spotting.
• A good camera – for lasting memories (also great for bragging).

Bec travelled on Topdeck’s 13 Day Kenya & Tanzania Adventure. For more images and inspiration check out Bec’s photo blog.

Topdeck Travel's Designer Bec goes wild in Africa on Topdeck's 13 Day Kenya & Tanzania Adventure and decides to inspire us with her amazing photos!

Blessed with epic landscapes, famous wildlife, friendly people and diverse cultures, Africa truly has something for everyone.

Part of what makes Africa such a sought after destination is its raw and wild charm, but this does mean you need to take a few extra steps to stay happy and healthy on your trip.

Gail Graham from the 1st Contact Travel Clinic tells us how to keep fighting fit on safari in Africa!

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Heading to Africa? Want to stay healthy while abroad? There are many things you can do to keep yourself healthy while travelling around Africa.

Where ever you travel to in Africa the recommended vaccines are: Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus, Diphtheria and Hepatitis A.  Depending on where you are and your itinerary you may also need Meningitis ACWY, Rabies, Hepatitis B and Yellow Fever (Yellow Fever can be compulsory in some countries).

Majority of time most travellers have no problems while abroad but that does not mean you should become complacent in preventing any unwanted incidents.

Reduce your risk of consuming contaminated food and drink. It is the most common reason for travellers to become unwell. You can do this by:

• Always washing your hands before eating
• Only eat meat that is cooked all the way through
• Avoid salads and shellfish; you never know where they are from
• Only eat fruit that you can peel
• Avoid ice in your drinks

Some other basic tips for staying healthy abroad include:

• Cover up! This not only helps protect against sunburn, but helps against mosquito bites – those bugs can carry nasty diseases such as Malaria
• Don’t approach or pat any animals unless you guide says it's okay, you don’t know if they carry rabies or not
• Take a sterile medical kit with you
• Use an adequate mosquito spray

It is recommended that most vaccinations are given 4-6 weeks or more prior to departure. Our nurses will be happy to advise you on appropriate vaccines and Malaria tablets for your journey.

1^st Contact Travel Clinic can provide expert advice on vaccinations, medical kits, anti-malarial medication and general safety tips.

If you are planning a Topdeck Africa trip and have any health related questions please feel free to call the 1^st Contact Travel Clinic on  0808 141 5506 (UK Free call) or +44 20 7759 7574 and book a free travel consultation.