Many tourists have a thought of creating enough vacation dreams but translating them to reality can become a little bit complicated at times. Regardless, that does not stop them from dreaming away going for African Safaris to embark on activities like game drive, boat cruises, adventure safaris, nature walks, mountain and rock climbing, hiking among others.
In Africa, the term safari has suppressed its counterpart, ‘tour’. To nature lovers and enthusiasts, the mention of the term instantly incepts tourism to their minds. But what does it really mean?
Meaning of ‘Safari’
Safari simply refers to an overland journey. This was popularized by the American author Ernest Hemingway. This term of “Swahilli” origin has been used to typically refer to visitors in Africa, although it has no actual geographical connotation. There is also a certain thematic element attached to the term, drawing upon visions of a person, typically of European descent, clad in a khaki short and round hat. The term still calls upon some adventurous notions that many people desire to discover for themselves.
Word ‘Safari’ origin
The original term was a reference to the early big game hunters that frequented Africa. Tourists would head to Africa to bask in its glory and to partake in the lay of the land. During this trip, they would gather in hunting parties and hunt down various rare animals before taking trophies for themselves and display them on walls back home, as was the custom.
These times often represent a brutal passage of time in the history of Africa. The notion was that Africa was a piece of property that belonged to Europe and, therefore, the animals on it also belonged to Europe. The historical significance of these safaris often carried deep-seeded notions of control and power to the extent of slavery over the continent, enabling Europeans to virtually rape and pillage the land at their leisure. To this day, that history plagues many Africans.
Photo ‘Safari’
However, now the meaning of the term “safari” has changed. It refers to taking a photo safari, Instead of shooting animals with bullets and keeping the heads mounted on the hearth. People take pictures and put together various photo displays of the magical animals they have seen while on safari in the beautiful continent.
These photo safaris are becoming incredibly popular with people of all ages that wish to have the experience of a lifetime taking in the wilderness and grandeur of the incredible continent of Africa.
The term now generally refers to a tourism context and it has been employed in Europe and North America’s zoo-like tourist attraction called Safari Parks. These attractions create an environment where people can observe all sorts of exotic animals from a safe vantage point.
The difference between the North American Safari Parks and African Safari parks (Game reserves) only comes in the size and animal coverage.
The safari park is usually walked through or ridden through in a vehicle that would be driven by a guide. The guide describes the animals that are seen and offers a historical context for the park, giving tourists and guests a complete tour of the park and engaging them in knowledgeable conversation.
On the other side, the game reserves in Africa are a lot larger than safari parks. This is why most people still wish to head to Africa to see the magic of nature for themselves in as natural a setting as possible. Within the confines of a game reserve or a safari park, people are engaged with the pure wonder of seeing such incredible animals such as the lion, elephant, zebra, antelope or giraffe.
As long as such areas are able to protect some of these animals, people will be able to participate in photo safaris for many years to come.
