A lot goes on after dark.
But sometimes there’s nothing.
The reality of a night drive is that there are so many variables that go into one, it’s almost impossible to prepare guests for what they will be like or what they will probably see. It’s dependant on area, length of drive, type of spotlight, whether it’s a national park or private reserve, the season, the phase of the moon, etc, etc….
Night drives can be epic. And sometimes they’re not.
Ask the right questions of your guide beforehand so your expectations can be managed, but here are a few things to remember:
Night Drives are about the search
Just being out after dark in the African wilderness is a treat. The Milky Way above you (dependent on cloud cover) and the calls of the nightbirds and crickets mean you’re already enjoying a special experience. If you encounter something, so much the better, but it’s a bonus, not something you should necessarily expect.
Some areas tend to be more productive than others in the matter of small creatures, so make sure you are well informed before setting out.
It’s often better to start with an animal
Just driving round hoping to bump into something can be unproductive.
Your field of view is dramatically reduced from the daytime when you have 360 degrees of lighting, to the night when you have the headlights of the vehicle and the spotlight. Granted, these do provide some advantages like enabling you to spot the eye-shine of some nocturnal creatures, but you certainly can’t see as much, and may drive round for a couple of hours and encounter nothing.
In Private reserves where off-roading is allowed, it’s often better to sit with a leopard or lion as darkness begins to settle, and as they get moving into the night, you follow and see what they get up to.
The phrase “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” probably wasn’t coined on safari, but it was never more appropriate…
Photography is going to be tricky
On a night drive, it’s usually better to put the camera away.
Unless you have really great gear and know exactly how to adjust your settings to adjust for very low light and the likely single beam of the spotlight, chances are you will be hacking around with your camera, getting frustrated while you try to work out why the shutter speed is so low and you’re getting such blurry images.
Far better to put the camera down and just enjoy…
There may be bugs in summer
The rainy season and its warmth and moisture can create conditions in which an insect or two might come buzzing along. Termites fly our of their mounds to start new colonies and dung beetles fly by on their merry way, navigating by the stars. You might get a bump or even a winged termite down the shirt. Nothing will happen, trust us! A small fright, maybe, but that’s the extent of it. Go out there knowing that there might be a close encounter of the tiny, winged, six-legged variety, and you’ll be fine.
Night drives are a wonderful extension of your safari experience. But just like in the daytime version, there are many things outside of the guide’s control, so go out there with a sense of adventure, a sense of humour, and the simple excitement of what you might encounter, and we guarantee you’ll get the most out of the experience…