On most holidays, the hotel is the destination. On safari, it's simply the base from which extraordinary moments happen It’s actually less about the luxury features in a lodge and more about the guiding and wildlife experience in the place you are going.

For example, one of my favourite stays in Kenya was at Kicheche Mara camp. This is not an ultra-luxury camp although it is still ‘safari luxury’. So why was it a favourite? Because this is where I met the lovely cheetah Kulete and her cub. We were often completely alone with them and one day we even had breakfast with her one day, although it was us rather than Kulete doing the eating!

Despite what each safari destination would tell you, there is no such thing as the Best Safari country. Why? Well, because it would be to suggest that one place appealed to all people and in my decades of working in travel, I have yet to see that happen!

It’s more important to ask yourself questions such as: Do I want to stay in the vehicle or go on bush walks? Do I want to enjoy a ride in a mokoro through the Okavango Delta? Or do I dream of a photography safari where I can take some of the wild home with me.

Imagine the anticipation before your first game drive. You’re excited about seeing lions, elephants and leopards. But then the guide stops and spends what feels like an eternity, talking to you about the dung beetle. And then, to compound it, despite you being in an area known as Valley of the Leopard, which has one of the highest densities of leopards in Africa, you spend a few days there not seeing a single one. And when you finally do, it’s from afar and at night. And this was after the guide had told you as you arrived “one thing I can guarantee you is that you’ll definitely see lots of leopards.”

That was my first safari and that feeling of panic and worry that I wasn’t seeing the wildlife I had imagined has remained with me and informs how I help clients. So if you’re planning your first African safari, you’ve come to the right place.

I defy anyone to visit Africa and not be touched by its magic - as countless others before me have acknowledged, it’s a uniquely special place that stays with you long after you depart.

In my case I was lucky to have a deep love of the continent passed down to me from my father who spent five years teaching English at St Andrew’s College in Grahamstown, South Africa after graduating from Oxford, and his experience in the country changed him profoundly. ..

I had been lucky to spend my childhood listening to him tell incredible stories about his time there and finally, in 2002, while my German mother was visiting her own family in Bavaria, he took me with him to South Africa - the first time he had returned to the country since leaving in 1966.

Safari vehicles are just part of the landscape.
It may surprise you how little attention animals pay to safari vehicles. To them, the vehicle is as much a part of the scenery as a tree. Even the sound of the engine rarely causes concern, apart from the occasional curious cub. The animals have grown up seeing vehicles and understand they pose no threat. The real danger comes from getting too close, particularly to animals with young. Somewhat surprisingly, elephants are usually the most aggressive toward vehicles, while lions are often remarkably indifferent.

You know how you may think you’re a night owl. Turns out that all you were missing were elephants and lions to get up for. I would not consider myself an early riser, but those 5am wake up calls in the Bush had me as motivated as any fitness influencer who chooses to do this without the call of the wild.

As you stumble into the darkness, all you feel is excitement. Well, and a little chill too. Often greeted with coffee and even pastries, not that I have much of an appetite at that time, you may also be lucky enough to be at one of the camps who pops a little hot water bottle on your seat in the jeep to keep you warm until the sun comes up.

The Machame Route, also known as the “whisky route” due to its challenging course (suggesting the need for something stronger than its Coca-Cola counterpart), is a 7–8 day hike from Machame Gate (1,640 metres) to Kilimanjaro’s summit at 5,895 metres - the world’s highest freestanding mountain and Africa’s highest point.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of arriving at the summit on your seventh day of hiking, eight hours after leaving base camp, surrounded by friends who helped get you there, with the sun rising behind the glaciers.

When observing the lions, elephants and many varied animals on a safari trip, it’s very hard not to have David Attenborough’s voice as your soundtrack. It truly does feel as if you’re in one of the many documentaries he has produced over the decades and it really is that special.