We just returned from our third (!!) African safari in Masai Mara National Park in Kenya (after spending a couple days in Nairobi). Despite having safari-ed in different parts of Africa, all three safaris have kept a common daily schedule, which is quite different from most vacations. This post details what one can generally expect on an African safari vacation when staying in a safari lodge.
Welcome to safari!
4:30 – 6:00 AM: WAKE UP CALL
Depending on where you safari and the time of year, you will likely wake up between 4:30 and 6:00 AM. Yes, extremely early. This is because morning safari drives depart either before sunrise (popular on private conservatories) so that you can watch the sunrise on safari, or as soon as the national park you are visiting opens, which is often right at sunrise. How much time you give yourself to get ready for the morning safari drive is up to you, but we prefer 30 minutes (although we will cut it to 10 or 15 if its super early). And by place and time of year, I mean that the sun rises at different times throughout the year in places such as South Africa, but remains more consistent in places near the equator like Kenya and Tanzania. On our recent safari in Kenya, we woke up every morning at 5:50 AM and departed for our drive at 6:30 AM. We set our alarms for this but at our previous safari, guides came and knocked on your door about 30 minutes before departure.
A hippo just outside our room as we were waking up!