Paul Goldstein October 2, 2013 Read time - 2 minutes For me it was Kipling, for my boy Madagascar, for others it could be a postcard or a billboard. Many will be seduced this autumn by Disney's new feature African Cats, but for any safari fan (and few only do it once) there is always something that ignites their African evolutionary touch paper. I spoke to someone the other day and they pleaded poverty. "I wanted to do it right: I have been to a dozen lectures, seen every National Geographic documentary ever made and my son is called David after Mr Attenborough, but I could never afford it, now I go every year and it has marched all over every past holiday". The Great Migration in the Masai Mara Reasons to go on a Safari This is not unusual. I am lucky to travel there most years and people often ask "doesn't it get boring?". The frank answer is no. The light is different, the vegetation, the company but critically the animals. My own favourite is the Masai Mara but I can wax enthusiastically about gorillas in Rwanda, the carmine bee-eaters and primary forests of South Luangwa, the granite outcrops and herds of the Serengeti or the hippos and elephants of the Lower Zambezi. Research is a good thing, critical in fact, but don't do too much. Today there are webcams at waterholes, there are a million online links and countless galleries and Facebook bush tales that elicit that vicarious safari glow. But they don't take you there. This summer I am guiding a couple who have been to Antarctica, Spitsbergen and Kenya with me, they are coming to Kenya again. They don't even bring cameras, being there is enough, being woken by bushbabies or the lonesome lament of the ring-necked dove is beyond cyberspace. The mighty roar of the lion Newborn gazelles or fresh-faced impalas beat Facebook any day and a million wildebeest wins over a million YouTube hits. Personally I miss the distant rumble of lions at night, the keening of excited jackals and 'those' skies. I am longing for my fix, like many others, a self-confessed addict. There is an old Ndebele saying 'Once your feet are in the mud of the Zambezi banks, you will always return'. It could have been written about the whole of East and Southern Africa. - By Paul Goldstein If Paul has inspired you to book an African safari adventure, view our tours below.
Premium Tanzania Safari Premium See the Big 5 in Tanzania's most captivating National Parks and Conservation Areas; the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely 8 Days from £3,549 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Botswana & Zimbabwe Lodge Safari 26 reviews Botswana and Zimbabwe greatest natural wonders and wildlife parks in comfort Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely 14 Days from £3,499 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Photographic Safari 69 reviews Premium Fabulous wildlife and great photography on the Kenyan plains Wildlife Suitable for: Age 18+ Activity level: Moderate 7 Days from £4,649 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Namibia 4WD Desert Safari 26 reviews True wilderness safari in Namibia's remote northwest where animals outnumber people. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely 13 Days from £3,049 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
The Zambezi Valley 43 reviews A superb canoe and walking safari in the Zambezi Valley in Zambia. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Moderate 8 Days from £1,399 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Wildlife & Wilderness of Botswana 62 reviews A Safari through Botswana's best wildlife reserves and Victoria Falls. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely / Moderate 14 Days from £2,399 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Gorillas & Masai Mara - Camping 60 reviews Fantastic wildlife viewing in Kenya and Uganda. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely / Moderate 13 Days from £3,199 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Kenya & Tanzania Adventure 53 reviews Excellent game viewing, spectacular scenery and exotic Zanzibar. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely 14 Days from £3,099 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Gorillas & Masai Mara - Camping Reverse 8 reviews Fantastic wildlife viewing in Uganda & Kenya. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely / Moderate 13 Days from £3,199 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details
Gorillas & Masai Mara - Accommodated 6 reviews Fantastic wildlife viewing in Kenya and Uganda. Wildlife Suitable for: Age 16+ Activity level: Leisurely / Moderate 13 Days from £4,399 Guided (Excl. Flights) View More Details