Safari for the Feelings

By: Scott Dubois, Fauna Travel Designer

I don’t go on safari for the sightings; I go for the feelings. 

Game drives are a great way to see some of the earth’s most magical creatures up close – and I’ve had some memorable sightings that I could tell you about. But the memories I hold close are the feelings and the insights that are harder to put into words.

Discovering lions feeding on a kill from a Land Cruiser is a visceral sight, but the feeling of hearing a lion bellowing in the night outside of your canvas tent stills the mind and stays with you. And every up-close encounter with an elephant sparks wonder in me. But the feeling of seeing an elephant across a clearing while on foot, outside of the safety of the vehicle, makes me feel truly wild.

More than anything, the rare experience of seeing a landscape in its wholeness, unadulterated by power lines, makes me feel whole inside.

Reawakening Your Senses

One story from the Samburu region in northern Kenya stands out in my memory. After an incredible sundowner with my wife, we spotted a leopard on the way back to camp. Our guide only stopped briefly to let it go about its nightly hunt in peace. That night, we dusted off in our more than adequate tent and fell into a deep sleep.

Around midnight, we heard a loud thud just outside the tent, about six feet away. A panicked scramble in the bush and the deep rhythmic growling of a leopard, called sawing, followed shortly thereafter. The big cat had missed its kill and was voicing its disappointment. All the hair stood up on my body.

Sound came in clear stereo, and I realized that I could even see with my ears.

We were completely safe inside our thick canvas walls, securely fastened to a concrete foundation. However, instinct ruled my perception, and my hearing became amplified. Sound came in clear stereo, and I realized that I could even see with my ears. As the leopard walked away towards the river to my right, I could hear the alarm calls of the small hyrax crying out in warning. These cries slowly faded into the distance, and I relaxed a bit. 

However, an hour later, I sensed the alarm calls growing louder again from the same direction. I saw a crystal clear image of the leopard approaching in my mind. It grew larger as the screams got louder, and I sensed it would soon be outside. Then I heard the soft footfalls of the big cat’s approach, right on time. It sawed loudly again at the scene of the hunt. This scene repeated two more times throughout the night, and each time I saw it, I heard it approaching with my ears.

When I plan your safari, I aim to provide you with stunning wildlife sightings, but I also hope you will discover a deeper connection to the wild world while you’re there.

This kind of wild experience connects you deeply to your animal self. It opens up perceptions of a world that is often out of reach in our urban, day-to-day lives. When I plan your safari, I aim to provide you with stunning wildlife sightings, but I also hope you will discover a deeper connection to the wild world while you’re there.