Where the wild leads

H I D E A W AY S A F R I C A

Where the Wild Leads

WORDS TESSLYN BRADFORD|

PICS HIDEAWAYS AFRICA

When travellers begin planning a safari, a familiar list of names appears quickly. Places everyone has heard of long before they set foot in the country. Destinations recommended by friends, highlighted by travel experts, and neatly arranged into carefully crafted itineraries.

For

many,

the

goal

becomes

This is their world. The landscapes

simple. See as much as possible.

they move through every day.

Tick off the highlights. Move from

A life shaped by seasons and

one well-known location to the next

instinct. A world not defined by

before returning home. But is that

country borders, but by changing

what really makes a perfect safari?

landscapes that generations

The pull, the reason people find

have travelled through to survive,

themselves returning to Africa again and again, the one that holds its grasp over the hearts of those who have felt it, lies somewhere deeper than just a list of destinations on an itinerary. It comes from understanding that the wild moves in its own way, and

following tried and trusted paths created by what can only be described as the true experts of the wild. If you want to see the animals, sometimes the best thing to do is simply follow where they lead. And more often than not, that path leads away from the

that the best way to experience

crowds.

Africa and truly understand it is

Perhaps the real adventure is

through its animals. While a guide

perfectly mapped out by the

may have driven a guest to a lion

animals themselves. It might be

sighting, and that moment may

an old and wise elephant that

become the highlight of their trip,

slowly begins making his way

for that lion it is simply another

north as the Delta waters begin

afternoon.

to retreat, leaving the floodplains behind and moving through Chobe

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TRAVEL & LEISURE

and the Chobe Enclave migration corridor before eventually reaching the evergreen forests hidden deep in northern Hwange.

Or a solitary leopard who knows that his peace can truly be found in the greater areas of Moremi, in the quieter private concession of Hideaways Mankwe Tented Retreat, where he does not have to constantly hide from numerous game vehicles on their fruitless search for him. Perhaps just the one or two vehicles he has come to recognise, the ones that follow his lead, knowing how

sources for miles at Hideaways Nantwich Lodge in northern Hwange. As we all know, where buffalo move, lions follow, and perhaps so should we.

sometimes the round imprint of a seasonal routes that existed long lion’s paw right behind. before safari vehicles created

Here the hunts are rarely

camp to see the tracks, and

rushed. Lions may spend hours shadowing the edges of a herd, waiting for the moment when the buffalo begin to separate or a younger animal falls slightly behind. What unfolds next is not always successful, but it is part of a rhythm that has shaped these plains for generations.

The reason these animals follow

to find him.

these paths is simple: survival.

While the buffalo head toward

In the Khwai region of Botswana,

water, the lion follows for its next meal. The same paths tell two

our guides often follow the distant calls of African wild dogs echoing across the floodplains as these endangered hunters move through the landscape in search of their next meal, sometimes covering vast distances in a single day. Their path may lead toward the surrounding wetlands, where water adapted antelope such as red lechwe and waterbuck thrive within these river systems and seasonal floodplains.

very different stories and are followed by those who know how to read them.

Sometimes the best way to follow where the wild leads is not from a vehicle at all. In parts of northern Hwange at Hideaways Bumbusi Wilderness Camp, and in the Khwai region on the private concession of Hideaways Mogotlho Safari Lodge, walking through the bush reveals a different story altogether. Guides read the ground for the tracks left

rumbles as mega herds of

during the night, elephant paths marked by broken trees, the wide

buffalo descend toward one

marks of buffalo hooves, and

At the same time, Hwange

of the only continuous water

You know you have chosen the

their own. The wild has always

right place to stay when you don’t even have to travel far from

been one thing above all else,

sometimes they pass straight through it.

And if you are lucky, wild dogs and leopards

adaptable. As more vehicles begin to crowd

Sometimesitis sightings, animals naturally disperse. the unexpected Still present in the sightings that places we know well but often shape a finding refuge travel story. in quieter areas

are not the only animals’ worth following. Sometimes it is the

unexpected sightings that shape a travel story. A glimpse of the

along private

concessions.

In these spaces, even animals

rare roan antelope, favouring the savanna woodlands of more

once considered rare sightings,

remote areas, can become one of those unforgettable moments.

dogs, and sometimes even

Around the forests surrounding Hideaways Camp Kuzuma, these

themselves at home. Perhaps

striking antelope are occasionally seen moving along the same

safaris are often the ones that

ancient corridors elephants use as they move between Botswana

of these ecosystems, where

and northern Hwange.

While we may see it as moving

to unfold naturally alongside

across Botswana and Zimbabwe, the wildlife sees it simply as

destinations.

moving through a variety of landscapes. Forest reserves, private concessions, and remote stretches allow animals to move freely between regions, following

such as roan antelope, wild cheetah brothers, begin to make that is why the most rewarding spend time in the quieter corners remote areas allow the bush some of Africa’s most iconic Because at the end of the day, the perfect safari is not about rushing from sighting to sighting.

It is one designed by the wild, where you let it lead the way.

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