Relaxed One-Week South Africa Safari for Seniors

For senior travelers, it is really worth arriving in Johannesburg on a flight that lands in the morning. Domestic flights to South Africa’s safari destinations leave around mid-morning, and boarding another flight after a long intercontinental journey may initially seem tiresome, but a destination like the Timbavati is a wonderful place to rest and relax. By flying straight to the Timbavati, you save an unwanted layover in a big and bustling city.

Your safari does not begin when you start your first game drive; your safari starts the moment you arrive at your lodge. Your lodge is located in a wildlife-rich area, and it is literally enveloped by the antics and actions of different African animals. You can look out from your room and watch zebras as they canter across the savannah. While drinking coffee or wine, you can admire elephants as they wander by you, and maybe, you will be woken from an afternoon nap by the sound of clamorous hippos.

A representative will guide you through customs and immigration upon your arrival at O.R. Tambo International. You will then be taken to the domestic terminal for your safari flight. Once you are in the Timbavati, your program will be at your leisure, and there will be time to rest and relax along with the opportunity to go on your first game drive. For the next seven days, there is no fixed schedule, and your private guide will tailor each day to your energy and interests. Even if you do not go on a game drive today, you will get a keen sense that your Big Game safari has started.

As dawn breaks, a hippo may march to the water, emitting low guttural sounds and barging another hippo out of the way when splashing into the river. This commotion may stir an eland herd, forcing the antelope to swivel their ears before speeding away from you. If you look along the riverbank, a Nile crocodile may lie perfectly still, stalking in the shards of morning light. Further away, you may be able to see elephants and giraffes. These animals sometimes walk toward you. When you finally stumble upon the elephants, a baby elephant may appear tremulous, while their mother gently encourages their independence, pushing their offspring away from their giant footsteps. Happily, the elephants will bound off and flap their ears, frightening warthogs along the muddy bank.

This is just an example of what you can see over the space of five minutes on a Timbavati safari. All of these animals are rarely seen in isolation, and here you are provided with the opportunity to experience wildlife as it exists in a natural habitat. Countless subtleties and micro-relationships play out, especially around water. Rather than venturing on long game drives, the safari will be more about parking and watching the scenes as they slowly unfold. The Timbavati has an extremely high concentration of wild animals, and the advantage for senior travelers is that the activities can be slow and laid-back, which have no bearing on whether or not you will miss out on incredible Big Game encounters.

Out on the savannah, you can see a young male lion. He moves slowly, taking a few steps at a time. In and out of the grass, a big cat may move toward a springbok herd. Typically, a lion would not attempt such small and nimble prey, which indicates that this lion has been cast out and must rely on itself for survival. Vervet monkeys may holler from the treetops, which will indicate an alarm call that warms the springbok to move. You can watch the lion walk past and interpret his emotions, which may be a mix of frustration, defiance, and melancholy. Then, on another game drive, you can encounter a large and healthy pride who emanate a playful and torpid daytime demeanor.

Large elephant bulls will give off a look of melancholy with their enormous tusks, camouflaging the sadness of life alone. You can interpret defiance in every rhino you see, and these critically endangered creatures are a Timbavati specialty, so you should try to enjoy more than one encounter. Buffalo will complete your Big Five experience, and they are so numerous that they may begin to blur into the landscape. As your safari program is extremely flexible, you can decide the time and duration of every drive. Early morning and late afternoon will be the premier times for active wildlife sightings, and the middle of the day is perfect for a siesta without missing out on any of the animal sightings. Typically, during midday, the wildlife attempts to hide from the heat of the day.

Nighttime game drives create an alternative perspective for your safari experience. You can see less of course, but this is the time when the big cats are the most active and when many smaller predators come out to hunt. You will drive very slowly and stick to a couple of main trails. Sounds and smells will provide an indication of what grazes nearby, while the guide’s spotlight will illuminate scenes that are very different from the day. These nighttime drives are another advantage of a safari in a private reserve. When there are fewer visitors, there are fewer rules, so you can also drive off the trail to get closer to certain animals.

After three days of exclusively exploring in the Timbavati, there will be a change of pace today. You will venture west from the reserve, following the movement of elephant herds, to one of Africa’s most delightful landscapes. Deep valleys and sun-scorched rocks define Blyde River Canyon, and you can enjoy a famous view from one of the viewpoints, or you can soar above the landscape in a hot air balloon. The latter is more serene and offers the ultimate perspective of this landscape. You will fly off just after dawn, and there will be an excellent chance that wildlife will be visible as well, notably elephants and giraffe.

After the flight, you will indulge in a second breakfast and have some time to explore the canyon floor. Baboons guard the trails here, and there are some points where you can get out and walk should you wish. It is possible to spend a full day around Blyde River Canyon, but you can also choose to return early to Timbavati and continue with your game drives. By now, you will also be accustomed to how you are treated out here. While the landscape is all wilderness and wildlife, your accommodation provides modern luxury and service. Most visitors are surprised by just how excellent South Africa’s accommodations are, especially in such remote wildernesses.

Today will be a little different from the other safari experiences that you have accumulated. You will cross Kruger National Park on a game drive, sticking to main trails and driving a little faster than usual. More than a dozen habitats coexist in the Greater Kruger ecosystem, and today, you will experience how these habitats have their own atmosphere and animal populations. After driving through mopane and bushwillow woodlands, which are very popular with elephants, you will cross thorn thickets and find open expanses of rugged bushveld. The further from Timbavati you travel, the fewer trees you will see. This heightens your visibility, so while there is less wildlife, the animals will be much easier to see.

Almost all wildlife sticks close to water, but an exception is springbok, abundant antelope that take the water they need directly from the vegetation they eat. On arid and dusty stretches, you can sometimes see hundreds, maybe thousands, of springbok as they hop around. For sighting of the other animals, the best place is the watering hole. Rather than take a direct route, today’s drive loops around the Kruger watering holes, eventually crossing knob thorn savannah to reach the Lebombo mountain bushveld. Here, you will check-in to one of South Africa’s most contemporary lodges and admire incredible views over Kruger National Park.

Kruger lodges are opulent and relaxed. With this safari, you will not be camping. Your handpicked lodges can rival five-star accommodations anywhere in the world due to their service, amenities, individuality, and dining. In both Timbavati and Lebombo, the premiums are on location and space, and you will be staying in areas that are rich with wildlife, but you will not be seeing many other vehicles. The lodges are situated inside their own private concessions, which are vast areas that are off bounds for anyone who is not staying at the lodge. These locations help give your safari an air of exclusivity, and they also make it feel more authentic because the best wildlife sightings do not need to be shared.

These two days will also follow a laid-back and customizable safari program. If you are feeling adventurous, then daytime game walks can be added to your daily plan. Usually, these are short and slow jaunts that are close to the lodge, so you can get closer to some of the ungulates to appreciate some of the skills that are required for wildlife tracking. Lebombo is remote, and you will not see as many animals as in the Timbavati, but the area has a brilliant wildlife diversity and unpredictability. You will see new animals such as sable antelope and nyala in addition to witnessing how these species interact with lions and the other Big Five giants.

As with the Timbavati, dining will be a large part of your experience. It is not just the quality of the meals but where you can eat them. Guides can set up moonlit tables out on the bushveld, and you can dine beneath the stars before warming your feet around the evening fire. Bush picnics are also an excellent option during longer game drives. You can also stop beside a popular watering hole to eat your lunch while watching different animals as they come to drink. You can also find a hilltop perch and absorb the view for an hour or two. Hippo pools are another popular place to take a meal, and again, this is a private safari, so you can tailor everything to your interests, moods, and desires.

From an airstrip close to Lebombo, you will fly back to O.R. Tambo International Airport this morning. A day room will be arranged at the airport, so you can rest in seclusion before your outbound flight.