5 of the best safaris in Africa

In the past, a safari (the Swahili word for ‘journey’, itself derived from the Arabic ‘safar’ meaning the same) was an overland journey to hunt big-game. These days it more often refers to short trips to observe and photograph wildlife. Thankfully, killing the subject matter and taking trophies is no longer considered essential. Here are our picks fro the five best safaris in Africa:

Wildebeest migration

Over 2 million wildebeest follow a circular migratory pattern around the border area between Kenya and Tanzania in search of fresh pasture. The importance of this cycle is now well recognised and much of this land is protected; as the Masai Mara Game Reserve (Kenya) and Serengeti National Park (Tanzania).

The grazers are a temptation too great for predators to miss and the poor wildebeest must run the gauntlet between lions and leopards on land and avoid the huge crocodiles waiting in ambush as they seek to…