The African safari is the finest land-based wildlife experience available. The Serengeti at dawn with the lion pride on the kopje and the wildebeest migration on the plain and the elephant at the waterhole in the afternoon light: this is the African wildlife in the form that the safari industry has been delivering to the international traveller for a century with a quality that has refined rather than diminished. The safari is genuinely extraordinary and the comparison with the offshore diving wildlife experience is not the comparison of the superior and the inferior. It is the comparison of the observer and the participant.
In the safari jeep, the person is at the boundary of the human and the animal world. The jeep is the vehicle that makes the proximity possible by making the person part of the landscape rather than an intrusion into it. The lion that ignores the jeep is the lion in its natural behaviour, and the person in the jeep is the observer of the natural behaviour from the position that the jeep provides.
In the water with the whale shark, the person is in the animal’s element. Not as the observer from the boundary but as the visitor in the domain. The whale shark is not ignoring the freediver. The whale shark has accepted the freediver’s presence in its ocean.
The Comparison
| Premium African safari | Naora offshore diving programme | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rate per person | €500 to €2,000 | From €900 all-inclusive including diving |
| Duration | 5 to 14 days | 7 to 22 days per leg |
| Relationship with wildlife | Observer from vehicle | Participant in the animal’s element |
| Wildlife diversity | Land mammals, birds | Marine species across four oceans |
| Physical engagement | Seated observation | Freediving, snorkelling, scuba |
| Expert guidance | Safari guide | Céline, dive instructor and marine biologist |
| Accessibility | No diving experience required | Basic swim comfort required |
The safari and the offshore diving programme are both the serious wildlife experience at the premium level. The safari is the land mammals in the African savannah. The offshore diving is the marine species across four oceans from the whale shark to the giant tortoise at Aldabra. The safari positions the person at the edge of the animal’s world. The water positions the person inside it.
The person who has done both knows the specific difference. The person who has done the safari and not yet been in the water with the whale shark has half the comparison. The other half is available in the Gulf of Tadjoura between November and January.
