Four Rules for Going on Safari

Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible. - Doris Lessing

Apr 25, 2025

I’m home, my heart and mind full of Africa. I’ve download 21,216 photos from my cameras. I have more to add from my iPhone. The images will help trigger memories of amazing days and incredible stories.

Safari days are full. I did not write much while I was away. If there was a moment for myself in the afternoon I chose a nap over writing. I was up at 5:00 am every day with lights out by 10:00 or 11:00, plus interruptions during the nights. Sleep was short because of activity outside my tent walls, like the sloshing and splashing of a hippo a few meters from my bed at 2:00 am or the whoop, whoop of a hyena out on patrol. Safaris are not about rest and relaxation. For me, safaris are about nourishment for my heart and soul along with large doses of lessons from the wild.

Angeles Arrien’s Four Rules for a Simple Life are valuable tools for safari.

· Show up.
· Speak the truth without blame or judgement.
· Pay attention to what has heart and meaning.
· Be open to outcome not attached to outcome.

Speak the truth without blame or judgement.

It’s hard to leave home for a safari adventure without expectations. I booked one lodge specifically for its photo hide. The idea of being behind the lens at water level a few feet from wild animals made my heart race in anticipation. I hoped for some amazing images.

Be open to outcome not attached to outcome.

The hide had everything it promised, an airconditioned secret hideaway buried in the ground with narrow windows forming one side of the water hole.

It even had bunks and a bathroom in case we wanted to stay overnight. It was a photographers dream in terms of convenience and access. The only problem was, there’s been so much rain in Kenya the past few weeks the animals didn’t need to come to the waterhole to quench their thirst. There was ample water everywhere. We were at that camp for 3 days. Not once did I see an animal at the waterhole. We were told to come back in the dry season ……

Show up.

However, one of my favourite images from the trip comes from that stay in rain soaked Tsavo East. My guide, Pilipili, was determined to show me the “red elephants of Tsavo”, red because of Tsavo’s red soil. At first glance, the landscape looked empty every time we set out on a game drive. But, if we took our time, showed up, had patience, it soon became clear that it wasn’t empty at all. It was full of life, incredible birds, tortoises on the road, chameleons in the bushes, gazelle couples hiding in the tall grass.

If you want to find wildlife, it is important to understand animal behaviour. Elephants have habits, they retreat to the woods in the evening to keep their babies warm and move out in the open for food and water during the day. Pilipili drove to a high spot to survey the landscape then drove towards an area he thought would be attractive to elephants.

After some exploring, he triumphantly exclaimed “Elephants!” I looked. I didn’t see them (spotting animals takes practice). With some direction (look to 3:00 o’clock) and my big lens, I finally found a large elephant family tucked amongst the trees by a creek snaking along a crease in landscape. They were very far from the road, we couldn’t get close. “Don’t worry,” said Pilipili, “we will come back when they are heading home for the night. Trust me, we’ll get close.”

I do trust him. He grew up with elephants and has been guiding for years. We marked the location in our minds and set off to explore where we should park to get the best access to the elephants later in the afternoon.

Pay attention to what has heart and meaning.

As if responding to an unspoken invitation, as the sun lowered towards the horizon the elephants climbed up out of the valley and headed in our direction.

*Elephants on the move in the hazy afternoon*

Pilipili parked the Land Cruiser near a narrow trail that marked where elephants crossed the road. Would they come to us? I feel such a connection to elephants. To look into their eyes, to hear them breathing, to smell their presence is beyond words for me. This is what happened; what a gift.

Want to go on safari?