If You Want a Zoo, This Isn’t for You

I like animals. I don’t really know why — I just do. If I were a scientist, I’d study them. But I also want to be an artist or a poet. I write poems maybe once or twice a week, sometimes more. I think a lot about how animals think too.

I like pangolins; they’re my favourite. They’re cute, but also scaly. They can climb trees, dig burrows, and roll into a ball so nothing can get them. I just think that’s amazing.

People think being brave means doing something dangerous. But I think it’s more about thinking things through. If you don’t do anything to a snake, why would it bite you? If you respect something, how will it affect you? That’s how I think about it. That’s what makes it feel safe, even when it’s wild. If I had to give one piece of advice for safari, it would be simple: stay still in the car. That’s it. Because this isn’t your world — you’re just visiting theirs. And that’s what makes it special.

If I had to explain safari to someone who’s never been, I’d say it’s like a zoo… but without the fencing. You’re going into a completely wild place where the animals are just living their lives. You’re minding your own business, and they’re minding theirs. No cages, no barriers — just you, them, and everything happening as it should. On safari, you’re exploring. You’re learning, watching, noticing.

I also learned some not-so-good things, like that during the wildebeest migration, sometimes too many vehicles block them. The animals panic. Some fall. Some die. Learning that shocked me. I think every country in the world should have one place that’s completely wild, with no interference — just nature being nature, so the world can have a chance. Because safari isn’t about getting closer at any cost. If you want to interfere, you’d rather just go to a zoo.

And the best part of all on safari is that you don’t know what you’re going to see. In a zoo, you walk in, and then you see them, you see them, you see them, then you leave. On safari, it’s different. You might drive for an hour and see nothing. Then suddenly — a lion, or a leopard, or something you weren’t expecting at all. You could see them, or you might not. That’s what makes it exciting.

One of the coolest things about safari is that you can be out in the wilderness one minute and then back in a beautiful lodge the next. It’s like two different worlds, right next to each other.

Personally, my perfect day would start really early. I’d go up in a balloon at sunrise — maybe for a long time, just floating and watching everything from above. Then I’d have a picnic brunch out in the bush. Later, a game drive, then finish with a barbecue outside.

That would be a very good day.