Frequently Asked Questions About African Safaris
These are the questions I’m asked most often, answered plainly. Where a trip-specific detail matters I’ve pointed you to the fuller page, and you can always just ask me.
Planning your African safari: when, how long and how much
These are the questions that come up first, usually before you’ve even settled on where to go.
It depends on where you’re going and what you want to see, so I match the timing to the trip rather than defaulting to peak season. The dry winter months are easiest for general game viewing; the green season rewards birders and photographers. My country guides set out the seasons region by region.
I price each trip on enquiry, because the cost follows the route, the season and how you travel, not a fixed shelf price. What you pay covers the guiding, low vehicle numbers, remote access, and the park and conservation fees built into every reserve. I’ll always show you where it goes.
Longer than most people first think. Three or four nights in one reserve is enough to settle in and stop counting sightings, and a week or more lets me add a second landscape so no single day carries the trip. My safari routes set out sensible lengths trip by trip.
A privately guided safari means you travel with me throughout, in your own vehicle and at your own pace, with the route planned around you rather than a fixed programme. It suits people who want the trip shaped to them and one guide from first light to last transfer. My fuller page on privately guided safaris goes deeper.
A lodge-based safari means you stay at established camps and go out with each camp’s own resident guiding team, rather than travelling with one guide throughout. You have your own room or tent, and I choose camps that keep vehicle numbers low. It suits some routes better, and neither mode ranks above the other.
Yes, and a private safari suits families well, because I can shape the day around younger children rather than a lodge’s set routine. Many camps set a minimum age, often six to twelve, and some are adults-only, so I’ll match you to places that welcome your children. Tell me their ages.
Health, safety and travel insurance on an African safari
The practical points most first-time travellers want put to rest before they commit.
On the whole, very. A guided safari carries no more everyday risk than travelling anywhere else, and most of your days are spent with someone who knows the country and the animals. Camps keep radio contact, medical evacuation cover is in place, and I plan routes around areas I know well.
It depends on where you travel. Some routes are malaria-free; others are low-risk seasonal areas where I’d suggest prophylaxis, and a yellow-fever certificate matters only for certain countries. I’ll flag exactly what applies to your itinerary, and a travel clinic confirms the rest before you travel.
These change by nationality and by country, so I keep the advice current for your specific trip rather than printing a list that dates. Most of my guests travel visa-free or on a simple visa-on-arrival or e-visa. I’ll confirm what you need in good time, and your government’s official travel pages are worth a look alongside.
Yes. Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of travelling with me, as it is with any reputable operator, and it should cover cancellation, delay, medical treatment and emergency evacuation. Buy it within about three weeks of your deposit so the cancellation cover applies, and it also lets me help properly if something goes wrong.
On safari: your days, the wildlife and life in camp
What the days actually feel like once you’re out there, from the first drive to the fire at night.
Early starts, because the light and the animals are both best then. A drive from first light, breakfast back at camp, the middle of the day at your own pace while the bush rests, then out again for the afternoon and the sundowner hour. Evenings are dinner and the fire.
The Big Five are lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, the name hunters gave the hardest animals to track on foot. On a well-planned trip you have a fair chance of all five, though I never guarantee a sighting. I’d rather earn them by reading the bush than radio one in and crowd it.
Open-sided 4x4s, usually a Land Cruiser or Land Rover built for the bush. The open sides put you closer to what you’re watching, with clear sightlines and nothing between your camera and the animal. On a privately guided trip the vehicle is yours; at a lodge I pick camps that cap vehicle numbers, so it never feels crowded.
Better than the setting has any right to be. Camps cook fresh, generous meals, often outside under the trees or the stars, and the bar is well stocked for the sundowner hour. Tell me about any dietary needs or allergies early, and every kitchen on your route will know well ahead.
More comfortable than most people picture. Expect a proper bed, an en-suite bathroom with hot water, and a tent or room with space to move, even in the remote camps. A few are more rustic by design, canvas and bucket showers done well, and I’ll match you to the level of comfort you actually want.
Most camps, if not all, have Wi-Fi now, both in the main area and in the rooms, so staying reachable is rarely a problem. If you need to be contactable, an e-SIM is the easiest way to manage data and calls on the move. That said, many guests come to enjoy letting some of it drop away.
Getting there, flights and what to pack for safari
The joins I take care of, and the few things worth getting right on your side before you fly.
I arrange the joins so you’re not left working them out. Road transfers are in comfortable vehicles with drivers I use again and again; where a camp is reached by light aircraft, the hop is short, routine and flown by seasoned bush pilots. If a dawn flight means an overnight near the airport, I build that in.
On bush flights, plan for about 20 kg of checked luggage and 8 kg of hand luggage per person, packed in a soft-sided duffel rather than a hard case the small holds can’t take. Bring a padded bag for cameras. I’ll confirm the exact limit for your aircraft before you fly.
Neutral, comfortable clothes in layers, since mornings are cold and middays warm from May to October. Add sun protection, a hat and sunglasses, swimwear, a torch, chargers for 220-volt plugs, any medication and a refillable bottle, and leave the bright colours at home. I send a full packing list once I’ve planned your trip.
Bring binoculars, they change the trip, and a pair around 8×42 suits most people. For photography, a camera with a 200 to 400 mm zoom and good stabilisation earns its weight, though a modern phone does more than you would expect. If photography is the point of your trip, tell me and I’ll plan the light around it.
Booking your safari with Moriti: privacy, payment and tips
The questions that tend to surface once you’re close to booking with me.
That depends on how you travel. Privately guided, your guide and vehicle are yours alone; lodge-based, you have your own room or tent and share the game-drive vehicle with up to six other guests, though a private vehicle is often an option. Either way, you’re never part of a big group.
I’d say it’s an advantage. Moriti has run since 2011 and I’ve guided since 2003, and one person, me, is accountable from your first message to your last transfer. You’re welcome to read what my guests say; nothing here hides behind a call centre.
Because I plan it as a guide, not a reseller. Moriti is owner-run, with no commission on top: you pay for the safari, not a margin. I’ve weighed whether you need an operator or can book it yourself; the short version is you’re paying for my judgment, and for someone to tie off the loose ends before you see them.
Two straightforward ways: bank transfer (a wire for US guests, a standard transfer for European), with no card fee; or any major credit card, which carries a 3.52% fee. How much deposit secures your dates depends on the camps you choose, with the balance due before you travel, set out in my booking terms.
Tipping is discretionary and never expected, but it’s welcomed. As a rough steer, a guiding team is thanked with roughly R150 to R250 per guest a day, camp staff through the shared tip box at about ten US dollars a day, and restaurants at ten to fifteen per cent. I set out exact suggestions in your pre-trip pack.
That’s rather the point of planning a trip one to one. Photographic coaching, a significant birthday or anniversary, a yoga or wellness thread through the trip, particular dietary or mobility needs, a species you’ve always wanted to see: tell me early and I’ll build the trip around it. The plan starts from you, not from a shelf.
Occasional notes from the field. Thoughts on planning, places I’m spending time in, and changes that actually matter when you’re thinking about a safari. I send it when there’s something worth saying.