I just tell people it's like a teenage boy kissing a girl.
Bfly

Like many have said,,,people can't understand the answer if they haven't lived the question. I thought back to my first safari, eyedoc had tried for years to get me to go,, i didn't think I could afford to go, how stupid of me, I didn't know I couldn't afford not to go.

On the way home from safari #1 on the long trip home I was wondering how I was going to pay for all the mounts I was having done to by the time I landed I was planning my next trip back and how I was going to explain that trip to the wife,,, every time it gets easier to tell her I am headed back, I wish I could get her there one time and then she would understand.

Guys can sound and act really stupid when you ask them about why Africa,,,, that faraway look on their face,,,almost silly but there is something spiritual about it.

To me it is like going back to where we all came from, the people, the sights, the smells, the Blood Red sunsets and sunrises! I sleep better there in the bush than I do anywhere else,, I am at peace with the world when I am there. I think because I am so far from home there is nothing I can really do about all the minor problems we deal with in our day to day lives,, In Africa I can acutally rest and have total peace.....I could use a small slice of that today!!!

I'm North American, but having been on Safari twice in Africa, now I feel like I was born and raised on the wrong continent - I belong in Africa. Maybe many of you feel the same way.

Yet, I don't want much to do with African cities - unstable, corrupt, violent, 3rd World, a mess.

Regards, AIU

"I cannot think of a morning that I woke up in Africa and was not happy." Ernest Hemingway

Sometimes you wonder "Is it just me or ...." But now I can see I'm in good company with my AFRICAN ADDICTION!!!!!!!!

quote:

I just tell people it's like a teenage boy kissing a girl.
Bfly

That's pretty good and accurate. They can both be dangerous and expensive.

You might want to choose a charging lion over her dad tapping on the back window of the car..

Just to throw a spanner in the works here ..... I was born in Africa and left at age 45. I love the place, and the wildlife ..... the politics can be damned. As you see from the postings re the Zim outfitters and PHs.

Anyway my question is:

1) Do you think you would have the same experience going on a Kenya "Game Safari" riding round the local reserve in a zebra-striped minibus?

2) You'd certainly see more lion and buffalo ... out in the open, even ...

3) If not, what would be the difference? Is it the one-on-one? Is it the fact you have a rifle and thus have the power to pick and choose - who dies, who lives? I know back in ZA when I hunted, I didn't mind if I came back empty-handed, as long as I'd been out there and had the opportunity ... somehow it probably would have felt different with a camera.


Sorry to drop the turd in the footpath, but I really want to know.

quote:

Originally posted by Bren7X64:
Just to throw a spanner in the works here ..... I was born in Africa and left at age 45. I love the place, and the wildlife ..... the politics can be damned. As you see from the postings re the Zim outfitters and PHs.

Anyway my question is:

1) Do you think you would have the same experience going on a Kenya "Game Safari" riding round the local reserve in a zebra-striped minibus?

2) You'd certainly see more lion and buffalo ... out in the open, even ...

3) If not, what would be the difference? Is it the one-on-one? Is it the fact you have a rifle and thus have the power to pick and choose - who dies, who lives? I know back in ZA when I hunted, I didn't mind if I came back empty-handed, as long as I'd been out there and had the opportunity ... somehow it probably would have felt different with a camera.


Sorry to drop the turd in the footpath, but I really want to know.

Actually after having put out the crack pipe, number 1 is pretty stupid for this forum, but there are thousands of schoolteachers from Manchester who think they have "experienced" Africa, by doing just that and staying in a hotel at night.

"Schoolteachers from Manchester" being a staple of the late 70's Kenya "safari" trade ....

It is difficult to make someone who has not been there understand. Past posts should accomplish that.

But let me describe one evening this past March. To set the stage, we were in a fly camp in the hills in Simanjiro, overlooking the valley on two sides, on the verge of the rains. The buffalo were pouring out of the park, with the lion following. There were scattered thunderstorms everywhere. We had rain, hail in camp one night, but this is about only one evening ...

We returned to camp in the dark. It would be incorrect to refer to it as a sundowner, because the sun was long since gone, but the fire was burning and a comfortable chair by the fire with a good Scotch couldn't be more welcome. No ice in the fly camp, but a decent Scotch shouldn't be subjected to ice anyway.

The hyenas started their whoops about the time we sat down. Soon, the light show began from all around. Two prides of lion responded in kind. It was a most memorable night.

We sat there enjoying a warm Scotch, watching a fireworks show and listening to thunder and two prides sound off. Could you ever want to be anywhere else?

Throughout the trip, we had hyena and lion very close or in camp. It was a successful safari. It was a happy camp. And that is why I'll be back as long as I'm able.

quote:

Originally posted by Bren7X64:

quote:

Originally posted by Bren7X64:
Just to throw a spanner in the works here ..... I was born in Africa and left at age 45. I love the place, and the wildlife ..... the politics can be damned. As you see from the postings re the Zim outfitters and PHs.

Anyway my question is:

1) Do you think you would have the same experience going on a Kenya "Game Safari" riding round the local reserve in a zebra-striped minibus?

2) You'd certainly see more lion and buffalo ... out in the open, even ...

3) If not, what would be the difference? Is it the one-on-one? Is it the fact you have a rifle and thus have the power to pick and choose - who dies, who lives? I know back in ZA when I hunted, I didn't mind if I came back empty-handed, as long as I'd been out there and had the opportunity ... somehow it probably would have felt different with a camera.


Sorry to drop the turd in the footpath, but I really want to know.

Actually after having put out the crack pipe, number 1 is pretty stupid for this forum, but there are thousands of schoolteachers from Manchester who think they have "experienced" Africa, by doing just that and staying in a hotel at night.

"Schoolteachers from Manchester" being a staple of the late 70's Kenya "safari" trade ....

For me, the difference between the rifle safari and camera safari is that on the camera safari, one is an observer. On the rifle safari, one is a participant.

Someone once described it to me as if you take a trip to a large city, say New York. You take a tour bus around and see the people through the windows, working and going about their business (observing the city). The other option would be to actually live there for a little while, and be one of those people the tour bus folks are looking at through the window (participating in the city). Certainly a different level of involvement in the experience between the two extremes.

And just to put the next question to rest, NO, I don't have to pull the trigger on something to have a successful day. It's the participation that makes the difference.

Bren7X64
I think for me a photo safari would be about as exciting as a root canal at the dentist office.
I'm not a very good tourist, I want to be in the bush hunting, it's that simple for me.
Maybe it does have something to do with having a rifle in my hands.

I don't have to shoot something to have a successful day hunting. It is the chase, the stalk, the bush and the camaraderie. I just don't think it would feel the same with my camera instead of my rifle. I can take pictures at the zoo.

My thanks to all who answered. I tend to agree with timg953 and bwana cecil that I want to be involved, not a spectator - the horseplay and ribbing around the fire in the evening is icing on the cake.

I've literally had to move away from the fire because I thought I was going to do myself an injury laughing sometimes.