Every day on safari is unique. You’ll have new experiences and see things from a new perspective every single time you’re out in the Botswana wilderness. Even when you remain at the same camp for a few days, no safari drive will be the same and your daily safari schedule will always change. From sweeping savannahs to lush marshlands, dense forests, and arid plains, there’s always new scenery, not to mention new animals by the thousands.
No matter which Brave Africa safari package you choose—9 Nights, 6 Nights, or 3 Nights—you’ll enjoy the same experience.
What Does a Day on Safari Look Like?
There are no guarantees on a safari except to say that we’ll do our best to ensure you get the MOST time possible out on game drives and with the animals. To make this happen, you can expect some long adventurous days on safari, but believe us—they are completely worth it.
Here’s what you can expect from morning until night every day on safari, and though your experience may vary, we’ll try to stick as close to this daily safari schedule as possible.
5:30 AM – Early Wakeup & Light Breakfast
A day on safari starts early. Just before sunrise, around 5:30 am, expect your wakeup call. Our staff will stop by your tent to make sure you’re up for the day, normally calling out “Good Morning!” just outside your tent.
We recommend laying out your clothes the night before—with plenty of layers for the cold mornings—so you can get ready quickly.
Once you’re ready, you’ll head to the dining area where our staff will have a light breakfast waiting for you. There will be coffee, tea, juice, muffins, cereal, oatmeal over the fire, and cookies to tide you over. But eat fast…the animals are waiting.
6:00 AM – Start Your Game Drive
Our all-day game drive safaris are exactly what they sound like—an all-day experience. You’ll be out on the game drive from 6:00 am until 7:00 pm with a few short breaks for snacks, drinks, and lunch out in the bush. This is different from a traditional safari where you are only out on a game drive from 6 – 9 am and from 4 – 7 pm, and it means you get the most out of your African safari experience.
We try to start out either slightly before the first light or right after sunrise for your game drive. These cool morning hours are some of the best chances to spot wildlife while they’re active. Big cats and other predators love these early hours for some last-minute hunting or finishing off their kill from the night before.
Morning is also a great time for elephants, antelope, buffalo, giraffes, and more to start grazing and moving to water holes to quench their thirst. Wild dogs also tend to be most active at this time before the heat of the day makes it too exhausting to hunt.
Your guide will drive you around in this gorgeous early morning light (some of the best lighting for pictures) and give you a chance to see as much as you can see. The dawn offers excellent conditions for wildlife viewing, including birding.
9:00 AM – Morning Snack
Depending on how your safari drive is going and how everyone in your car is feeling and what you have decided your daily safari schedule will be, you’ll stop for a short break in the bush for additional coffee, tea, juice, and snacks. If you’re seeing/experiencing something spectacular, there’s no schedule, and brunch can be completely skipped or eaten later.
This is just a tentative break out in the bush before you’re ready to get back to it and continue your great day on safari until lunch.
12:00 PM – Lunch in the Bush
At Brave Africa, we believe in setting your daily safari schedule. You can stay out on your safari drive all day long or you can head back to camp for lunch and a siesta. It is entirely up to you!
Instead of being back at camp for a nap, wondering what’s happening out in the bush, we can keep driving through lunch. This allows us to range far from camp, giving you more opportunities to see something spectacular in the Botswana wilderness. It also means you get to choose when and where you eat lunch.
Your guide will find a nice shady spot with nearby animals to enjoy your lunch. Our staff will have a cold lunch and all the fixings ready to go. With a table and chairs along, you’ll quickly set up for a delicious lunch in the bush. Lunch is a full meal and includes alcoholic drinks and enough food that you’ll feel completely stuffed. Spend as long as you want enjoying the great food and even better company before packing up and heading back out on your game drive.
Or you can head back to camp in the afternoon and spend a few hours resting, relaxing, napping, and eating a casual lunch. It is entirely up to you and your dream day on safari.
2:00 PM – Afternoon Game Drive Continued
After lunch, you’re back out on your game drive. As the afternoon carries on, you’ll notice animals start to become more active again as the weather cools down. During these hours, you’ll continue to explore the wilds to see as much as you can see.
Your guide is an expert tracker and will follow footprints, listen to animal calls, and watch animal behavior to discover hidden gems you could never find on your own. He’ll take you to the best locations and follow the call of the wild, so you have the best chance possible to make a remarkable sighting that you’ll be talking about for years.
6:00 PM – Sundowner
A favorite safari tradition is the afternoon “sundowner.” During this short break, your guide will find a great view of the setting sun and a scenic outlook where you can sit for a little while to enjoy some snacks and drinks before you finish your game drive and close out your day on safari to head back to camp.
7:00 PM – Arrive at Camp
You’ll arrive back at camp right around sundown and have the chance to wash off the dust of the day and get ready for dinner. If we’re driving around a private concession or conservancy, you may be able to stay out after dark and use a spotlight to look for nocturnal animals, but most often, you’re pretty exhausted by this point and we head back to camp for dinner.
7:30 PM – Dinner
You might not think you’ll be hungry after such a filling lunch and so many snack breaks, but you’ll probably be more than ready to enjoy dinner near the fire pit. Our dinners are a multi-course affair accompanied by your drink of choice. We try to make meals that pay homage to local and continental cuisine, and our chef will meet any dietary restrictions you might have.
9:00 PM – Bed Time
After dinner, you’re welcome to sit around the fire and gaze at the star-speckled beauty of the night sky while you reminisce on your day’s experiences, but you’ll probably be exhausted and ready to retire to your tent for a hot bucket shower and a good night’s rest. After all, the sooner you head to bed, the more quickly the next day arrives and you get to go out on another day on safari!
Traditional Daily Safari Schedule
There may be days when your car decides not to go out on an all-day adventure, maybe you’re tired and want a little more time at camp. If that’s the case, your safari schedule will look more like the traditional safari. Instead of an all-day game drive from 6:00 am until 7:00 pm, our traditional safari will take you back to camp for a hot lunch and time to rest.
- 5:30 AM: Wakeup call and light breakfast
- 6:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Morning game drive
- 9:15 AM: Relaxation at camp
- 12:00 PM: Hot lunch at camp
- 1:30 PM: More relaxing at camp
- 3:00 PM: Afternoon tea and prep for evening game drive
- 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Afternoon game drive with sundowner
- 7:30 PM: Dinner
- 9:00 PM: Bedtime
The Day You Arrive on Safari
What about the day you arrive? How does your day on safari work when you don’t arrive until the afternoon?
Everyone’s daily safari schedule will be slightly different depending on when your plane lands at the dirt airstrip near your camp. This schedule is not up to us and is set up by your bush flight—they work to accommodate guests at all camps and locations. You’ll typically arrive sometime after lunch and our guide will be at the airstrip to pick you up. We’ll throw your bags in the safari vehicle and immediately head out on an afternoon game drive.
If you’ve been traveling for days to get to Botswana, we know you want to jump right in, so we won’t delay. We’ll try to spend as much time as possible out in the bush before heading back to camp for dinner. Remember to check out our Getting Here page for insight on traveling to and from Brave Africa.
The Day You Leave Safari
We’ll know your schedule for flying out the day before you leave and we’ll talk with you about your plans that night. Most often, flights are scheduled out in the early afternoon. This means that you’ll have plenty of time in the morning for a final game drive.
Keeping the same early schedule, we’ll bring your bags along with us as we head out on our final great adventure safari together. You’ll have one last opportunity to experience the best that Botswana has to offer before we drive you to the nearest airstrip in time for your bush flight. Don’t worry; our guide has a radio that can be contacted in case anything changes with your flight plans. We won’t let you miss your flight or force you to sit at the airstrip when your plane is delayed. Our goal is to ensure your Brave Africa experience is top-notch until we say goodbye.
