“If you could choose between the morning or afternoon drive, which would you go on and why?”

This is a common question that many guests have asked me, and one that I’m not sure I can explicitly answer… Both the morning and afternoon drives are amazing in their own right. They are appealing for different reasons and in my opinion, they complement each other just right so as to complete a full day on safari.

Ranger and tracker duo Kyle and Rob, along with the two youngest recruits on their way back to camp after an eventful morning game drive. Drives are enjoyable for all, young and old. Here the two sisters insisted on helping Kyle look for animals.

Morning Drive

The early morning wake-ups and chilly temperatures (especially in winter!) are a welcomed shock to the system and enough to wake you up and get you ready to take on the day. Although not everyone’s first thought of a relaxing safari holiday, the reality is that these early hours of the day are often the most action-packed. For me, the main appeal of a morning drive is figuring out what has played (or is still playing) out from the night before. Lions, for example, are most active during the night, by following their tracks, one is able to paint an entire picture of what happened the night before without actually seeing the animals themselves. If the tracking effort is successful and you end up finding them, you will often see the tail-end of their activity, before the heat of the day sets in and they find a comfortable shady spot to rest until it cools down again later that evening.

The tracker academy assessing tracks of a pride of lions that had walked through a dry riverbed the night before. This would be the start of putting the metaphorical pieces of the puzzle together from the night before.

If we expand our focus from lions, other predators such as leopards and hyenas are defined as nocturnal animals meaning they are mainly active at night, but they do still move around during the day, especially in the crepuscular hours. Wild dogs and cheetahs will also choose to hunt in these twilight hours before it gets too hot.

A pack of wild dogs on the hunt in the early hours of the morning.

After an action-packed morning, there is nothing quite like a warm beverage to digest the events that you have just witnessed unfold. And so to summarise the appeal of a morning drive (in my opinion at least), playing detective and figuring out what events have transpired overnight is always exciting. Revisiting your primal instincts gives one a thrill that I have yet to find elsewhere. Most of the action happens early on and tapers off.

After watching a dazzle of zebras finish up drinking at a waterhole, we got off the vehicle to enjoy a morning coffee as they moved up into the clearing to start grazing

Evening Drive

Fast forward the day by seven hours or so and after enjoying all that your beautiful camp and room have to offer, it’s time to head out on your afternoon drive. I often enjoy starting the afternoon safari by visiting either the Sand River or a few of the waterholes to see which animals have come down to have a drink or in the case of the large herbivores such as elephants, rhinos and buffalos that will often find their way into these water sources to cool down by immersing themselves in water and having a good old mud bath.

A small breeding herd of elephants looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves as they tried to cool down during the heat of the day playing and mud wallowing.

Once the heat of the day has started to subside the same animals mentioned above (in the morning drive summary) start to wake up from their slumber and look to begin their evening routines. To find these animals, it’s important to use all information available – where any of the animals were seen during the morning drive, whether these animals were full-bellied or hungry and which way the wind is blowing (to name just a few factors…). A good start is to listen out for alarm calls of various prey species, or for the contact calling of lions looking for the rest of the pride.

A herd of kudu hastily retreat as a young female leopard approaches. Rather than running far, they will keep an eye on, albeit at a safe distance, continually barking out alarm calls until they are sure she has moved off.

If the plan for the afternoon drive comes together and you find the animal/s you were looking for, it’s anyone’s guess what they might be doing. They may begin a territorial patrol, start an evening hunt or maybe visit a nearby waterhole for a drink. It is in this golden light that the best viewing opportunities are. The temperatures have cooled down and it is easier and more bearable to get going with the evening’s activities.

After spending time watching the animal move around, what’s better than taking it all in and seeing out the day with a beverage of choice in hand, whether a cold gin and tonic or glass of bubbles to celebrate the occasion, the serenity of an evening in the African bushveld is unrivalled.

A group of travellers enjoying a sundowner together after a beautiful day on safari. Your drink of choice just tastes that much better whilst watching the sun sink below the African horizon.

After enjoying an iconic African sunset it’s time to get the spotlight out and head back towards camp. You never know which nocturnal animals you might find on your route home; porcupines, genets and owls (just to name a few) are always an unexpected cherry on top. Lastly, an ever-humbling experience is star-gazing on the airstrip, it reminds me how insignificant we humans are in the greater scheme of things.

And so to me, the biggest appeal of an afternoon drive is the pure tranquillity of being in the vast wilderness.

To summarise, I love both drives for their respective reasons mentioned above, they both contribute to an all-around safari experience and I wouldn’t be able to choose one or the other if I had to. But, thats just me… I’ll put the question out to the floor:

“If you could choose between the morning or afternoon drive, which would you go on and why?”