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SAFARI BASICS
If you're looking for a guide book, I read Frommer's South Africa and Fodor's African Safari. I learned a lot, including some of these safari basics:

1 The best time to go on a safari in South Africa is in the dry winter months: June through October (especially October).

2 Lions and elephants are the only two animals likely to attack a vehicle or people in a vehicle.

3 Hippopotamuses are the most dangerous animal as they kill more humans than any other in Africa. Tip: If the Hungry Hippo yawns, you better get your butt outta there because he ain't tired -- he's pissed.

4 When on a safari, don't make sounds, don't stand up, don't smoke, speak softly and listen to your driver and guide. And don't use a lot of body fragrance. I wonder if DEET counts?

THE BIG FIVE
Throughout my trip I kept hearing the term 'The Big Five'. Before I arrived in Africa, I had no idea what The Big Five actually were until I read about them: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino. Hunters considered these animals the most dangerous so naturally, they were the most sought after. These days, they're still the most popular, but for a different kind of safari -- a photo safari.

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Kruger National Park is in the Limpopo province and is arguably one of the most spectacular and diverse conservation areas on the planet. There are over 147 different species of mammals, over 500 species of birds, over 100 species of reptiles, 49 species of African indigenous fish, 34 types of amphibians and over 300 different species of trees! Now that's wildlife! In and around Kruger, there are plenty of safari and tour operators, as well as game reserves to choose from.

SIYABONA AFRICA
I took a game drive with Siyabona Africa. This company offers something for everyone's budget, from camping facilities and plush bungalows to game drives. I met the young South African guide in a game reserve right next door to Kruger National Park, a chained link fence separating us.



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IN SEARCH OF AFRICA'S BIG FIVE
It was so cool to see the tan-colored, open-air Nissan truck with three rows of seats (each row holds three adults) just waiting for me to jump into it. According to the guidebook, the best seat is right behind the driver so that you can hear him, so that's the one I chose. My group hopped in and the driver said, "Now be sure to put your seatbelt on." When I looked up, after finding nothing to grab, he smiled and said, "There's no seat belt, silly! We're in Africa!" Ha! Not funny. It was thrilling cruising down the dirt road with a tracker sitting in a seat on the hood of the truck (with a seat belt, I might add). Now the trackers seem to have some kind of sixth sense when it comes to, well, tracking wildlife. Sure enough, after traveling about 500 yards, our guide Johan held up his right arm and pointed over a small lake. And there they were -- a herd of giraffes and zebras and a wildebeest just milling around near them. I felt like I was in The Lion King and wanted to sing "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Fortunately, I didn't break into song, remembering that we needed to stay quiet. The driver stopped the car, turned off the engine and whispered information about these amazing animals. Did you know that giraffes have one of the shortest sleep requirements of any mammal? They only need between 10 minutes and two hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, and average just 1.9 hours per day. I've seen giraffes in zoos more times than I can count but seeing them out in the wild, chomping off leaves at the tops of trees is truly unforgettable. It was so peaceful. How could anyone shoot these majestic creatures?

NEW CAMERA
BTW: If you've noticed a change in my pictures (hopefully a positive one), it's because I got a new D50 Nikon SLR camera for this trip. What a difference it makes! However, I still use my little Canon SD1000 Elph for quick snapshots and video.

UNWANTED VISITOR
After 10 minutes of seeing giraffes and zebras it was time to continue our journey in search of more of The Big Five. We drove just a few feet when Johan held up his hand to stop and jumped off the vehicle in a hurry. He yelled something in Afrikaans. "No way!" the driver shot back in English. It turns out that while we were watching the giraffes, a friggin' poisonous snake had climbed into the hood of the car and was under the spotter's seat! They eventually got him out but you know I was watching the ground very carefully when we stopped and checking under my seat to make sure that we hadn't picked up any other hitchhiker snakes. Incidentally, the driver said it was the first time this had ever happened to him.

WILD ANIMAL PARK
The game drive lasted a few hours and we encountered many more giraffes, zebras and other wild animals; warthogs, impala, springbok, kudu, a hyena and a turtle. But we didn't see any of The Big Five. Although game reserves are fenced in (I know! I was bummed when I learned that, too!), there were still hundreds of thousands of acres to cover. So even if another driver who's out there with a group radios your driver with the locations of other animals, they move so fast it's still hit or miss what you might see. One of the passengers in the car saw seven lions the day before so I suppose you never know.

NOTE: The upside about fenced-in game reserves is that the animals are protected from poachers. Can you believe that people still do this? The downside? It kind of feels like San Diego's wild animal park, though on a much larger scale. However, unlike the San Diego park, these park rangers don't feed the animals.

CAMP JABULANI
The next morning I drove about 45 minutes from the River Lodge to Camp Jabulani. Now this five-star camp is exactly what I was imagining and here, they offer charter flights that land on a desolate dirt road. They have just six incredibly luxurious suites for a maximum of 12 guests and they have 70 staff members. Crazy, huh? No wonder so many celebrities have stayed here, including John Cusack, Brooke Shields and Uma Thurman.

My jaw dropped when I took a tour and had breakfast on the outdoor patio along the bank of a seasonal stream, in the shade of leadwood trees. The open-air lobby is exquisite. It's not really a lobby but a dining and living room. Now this is the place to go if you want to splurge on a romantic getaway. They even have an open-air gym and spa (massages cost $45). Everything is first rate, but what makes this camp unique is its back story and its offerings.

The camp was created to support and sustain 13 elephants from Zimbabwe. It all began with one orphaned elephant named Jabulani, which means 'happy'. By a stroke of fate, wildlife visionary Lente Roode took them into custody. Lente is an amazing woman and has committed her life's work to the conservation and preservation of animal species. That's why she founded the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (we'll visit it shortly) and brought the 13 elephants here. Click here to read the full heartwarming story.



THE ELEPHANTS
Camp Jabulani is not cheap. It costs 6,000 Rand ($871USD) a night per person. But this includes food, beverages, laundry, transfers and daily activities like game drives in open safari vehicles and guided bush walks all accompanied by game rangers. On top of this, guests can take an elephant back safari in the early morning or late afternoon. And during the day, guests can watch the elephants roam free or swim with their groomers, who were brought from Zimbabwe as well. The 18,000 hectare (44,479 acre) camp is part of the Kapama Game Reserve and they have The Big Five. When asked if they exploit the elephants the GM said that if they didn't rescue them, they would be dead, in the circus or doing nonstop elephant back rides throughout the day. The elephants seem happy here and so do the groomers. But to pay for the operation, they have to earn their keep by doing two safaris a day. Camp Jabulani, Tel.: +27 (0) 15 793 1265.

FYI: I hear you can't go wrong with any five-star camp in South Africa.

ELEPHANT BACK SAFARI
If you can't afford to stay at Camp Jabulani, you can still make a reservation to do one of the coolest things ever; an elephant back safari. I had no idea what it was going to be like. How many people would fit on each elephant? Would there be a platform and a chair? I learned that each one has a saddle that holds three adults including the groomer. I was on Somapani, a 22-year-old male who weighed a whopping 3,400 kgs (7,496 lbs) and was the most intelligent of the 13 with exceptional tracking capabilities.

AND WE'RE OFF
Once all the guests were loaded, the elephants began their slow trek. Walking in front and sometimes beside, were a tracker and a guide holding a shotgun ... just in case any animals attacked but they said they've never had to fire. I was paired with a really cool young groomer named Sam from Zimbabwe. I asked Sam every question in the book and it was apparent he loves South Africa and working at Camp Jabulani. He also got a kick out of many of my pathetic questions like: What if the elephant sees a mouse? Will he get spooked? What if I fall off? What if a lion jumps up and takes me out? He assured me that none of this would ever happen and once again, I learned that fear is a shackle.

ELEPHANT FACTS
Did you know that an elephant may live as long as 70 years?

The African elephant is much larger than those in other parts of the world and are the largest, most powerful, but gentle land mammal.

Did you know that an elephant can run 15 mph? These guys are fast and powerful.

These elephants can tear down a good-sized tree with their trunk like it's a toothpick. Speaking of trees, they eat a lot of them. Elephants are herbivores and they can eat up to 500 pounds of vegetation in a single day! And, they can drink as much as 40 gallons of water at one time. You should see these guys pee. The fire department should hire them. Whoa, Nelly!

WILDLIFE
On the two-hour safari we saw plenty of giraffes, zebras, monkeys, birds, millipedes and even a crocodile. What's amazing is that it was one of the most relaxing and peaceful things I have ever done. The ride was smooth (unlike riding a camel) and I could have fallen asleep if I wanted to. At the end, they sell a video of your excursion for 300 Rand. I bought one because the proceeds go to a good cause, supporting the elephants. But the pictures and video clips I took with my camera were much better than theirs. Elephant Back Safaris cost 900 Rand ($130USD) per person and children under the age of 12 are not allowed.

HOEDSPRUIT CHEETAH PROJECT
Lente, who owns Camp Jabulani, also owns and runs the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. It's a 15-minute drive down the road. The 13,000 hectare (32,123 acre) reserve focuses on the conservation of rare, vulnerable or endangered animals. Cheetahs are her passion; she's involved in the release and establishment of captive-bred cheetahs back into the wild. Visitors can go on a safari-like drive around the property but it's not that exciting. The best part is seeing ‘the vulture restaurant' (they are an endangered species here; that's why they feed them), which is a spectacle. Same goes for the African Dog. I got a bonus treat when Lente took me out on one of her feedings so I not only got to pet a cheetah but feed it with my bare hand, too. I just kept saying, "Good kitty. Nice kitty. And please God, don't let me be front page news tomorrow." Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. Entrance fee is 100 Rand ($14.50USD) per adult, 40 Rand ($6USD) for children under 12.

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