Highlights From a South African Safari at Kapama Private Game Reserve

The Big Five, exquisite wildlife, an untamed and rustic bushveld and some of the most stunning sunsets and night skies in the world.

Africa is the center of the universe when it comes to journeys focused on wildlife and adventure. When travelers think of a safari, Africa immediately comes to mind.

Our Adventures by Disney safari expedition took place at South Africa's Kapama Private Game Reserve, stretching across 13,000 acres of prime African wilderness and natural unpaved terrain near the renowned Kruger National Park.

Each day began with an early morning game drive and another amazing sundown-to-darkness adventure accompanied by an extremely knowledgeable ranger, tracker, and adventure guide. And each of our four days here was completely different and filled with surprises. Though some of this magnificent wildlife would get surprisingly close to our 4x4 safari vehicles, no touching of the animals is permitted. And rightly so, for they are wild.

No one can possibly describe the joy of being on a South African safari and seeing this impressive array of wildlife with your own eyes. This is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.

These are just some of the amazing creatures we encountered on our expeditions–in search of the infamous Big Five. This quintet is considered to be the most dangerous of African big game—the lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and Cape buffalo.

The first wildlife we spotted as we entered the gate at Kapama Private Game Reserve was the African Hornbill. Remember Zazu from The Lion King?

Characterized by a long, down-curved bill and colorful beak, these fascinating birds of several species have a distinct call, a series of high-pitched whistles “heu, heu, heu, heu,” and you’ll find them everywhere around the reserve.

The African people pronounce this distinctive black and white striped animal with a short e-sound that rhythms with “Debra.” The most common species is the plains zebra which roams the grasslands and woodlands of eastern and southern Africa.

Each zebra’s stripes are unique and they are social animals who live together in large groups, called herds. They are amazingly beautiful and unlike the horse, they are unable to tame.

Africa boasts nine subspecies of giraffe, the largest hoofed mammal and tallest animal on Earth. As we were slowly driving, our ranger spotted one feeding on tree foliage and before we knew it, a whole group was heading our way.

Giraffes are graceful, with gorgeous spotted coats and blue tongues. They are fairly social animals and though they do not necessarily group-bond, they may move together in herds called collectives. Seeing them in the wild was an incredible experience.

These are the largest animals walking the planet, and can be found in as many as 37 African countries. The ones we saw in the wild were the African bush elephant. These gorgeous creatures are considered critically endangered, threatened by habitat loss, fragmentation and illegal poaching for their ivory tusks.

But thanks to Kapama being a private reserve, these intelligent giants are protected and respected. What a treat to see families of these gentle giants foraging in the wild together (including the newest babies).

Though rhinos are divided into two species, black and white, only the white rhino lives in the Kapama Reserve. White rhinos are actually gray in color with a hump on their necks, a long face and two horns.

In the wild, rhinos have no predators except for humans, for they are hunted and killed for their horns. But thanks to protection and conservation, Africa’s white rhino population has rebounded for the first time in a decade.

As we noted, rhinos tend to congregate into a small family group in a loosely defined territory but males, are definitely territorial. We found them most active at dawn and dusk (thankfully the two times of the day we were on game drives).

Also referred to as African buffalo, this impressive beast is a force to be reckoned with. Regarded as one of the most dangerous animals on the continent, these bovids are large, strong and can cause immense damage with their horns.

According to our guide, the other factor that makes them so treacherous is that their body language is difficult to read. They may exhibit no signs of aggression and give no warning before they head into a complete charge. However, they are the favorite prey for lions despite being too large for most other predators.

The kudu’s horns are spectacular and can grow up to 1.8 meters (about six feet) with several spiral twists. These tall, striking antelopes produce some of the loudest sounds of the antelope family similar to a gruff bark, grunt or hooting bleat.

Due to their long, flexible legs, kudu can leap over obstacles as high as eight-feet-tall with tremendous ease. As herbivores, they can thrive on scrub woodland and bush, eating a variety of trees, grass, herbs and vines.

Males generally live in bachelor herds of two to 10 kudu and only interact with females during mating season. Females are much more social and form flocks of up to 25.

What a joy to finally spot a pride of lions on our third day on safari. They were quite a distance away across a riverbed, but with binoculars, we could see the mother, babies and others rolling, playing or sleeping.

African lions were once found throughout much of the continent but are now only seen in sub-Saharan Africa with 80 percent located in eastern or southern Africa.

Lions are the most social of all big cats, hunting in groups using stalking and ambush techniques. Females, however, do most of the hunting. Males protect the females and other cubs from other lions and hyenas.

With more than 40 mammal species and over 350 types of birds located on the preserve, we were certain to see a myriad of wildlife on each of our game drives. These included hippos, a honey badger, warthogs, duiker, porcupine, impala, hyena, nyala and more.

Though our group did not manage to spot the elusive leopard (one of the Big Five) despite our guides absolute best efforts, two of the other seven groups did catch a glimpse of this hidden beauty. In addition to being low in numbers, leopards are incredibly stealthy, generally reclusive, solitary and primarily nocturnal. They like other wildlife also blend in well with their environment.

Disappointed? Yes. But this only gives us reason to return to the Dark Continent of Africa.     

Brian Jackman, British journalist, editor, author, and passionate wildlife traveler once said “Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all.” That about sums it up as one experience is not really enough.