Don't fall for the "Big 5" trap. There is more to a Safari then what your told by the African Marketing Engine... and it's amazing!
My wife and I are Australians who fell in love with Africa about 20 years ago. After travelling to Africa on safari more than 100 times over our 20 years (our record was 9 visits in a single year), you might say - we were hooked or as some say, we were bitten by the Africa bug. We love the bush so much, that we decided to move to South Africa in 2020 to save on air travel. We found the most beautiful property in the heart of the South African Safari Region – truly an oases in the bush (Oase is Africans for Oases) and we opened Oase in 2022.
Travelling to Southern Africa is a time consuming and expensive exercise due to its location away from the many population centers in the northern hemisphere. When you make the decision to come to Africa you want to maxamise your time and see as much as you can – it makes perfect sense. That’s when the marketing engine kicks in… your bombarded with messages of Africa and the fabled “Big 5”. You’re encouraged to go see the Big 5 and tick them off as if you’re a child in school. Many lodges even go so far as to provide you with a printed list and the check boxes to go with them. If this is going to be your first safari, or even if you have been once or twice before, it’s not easy to get out of the Big 5 check the boxes mind set.
The truth is that the term Big 5 has in my opinion rather disturbing beginnings - it comes from hunting. It’s got nothing to do with their size, magnificence, beauty or any other attribute – it’s purely how difficult they were to hunt and kill. And all to just simply mount the head on a wall. But as a potential Safari visitor, you’re not told this, and it’s likely the person selling this experience to you, has no clue about the origin of the term.
The most difficult to hunt animals (the Big 5), are Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard. All of these magnificent animals are great to see, but they should not be your only reason to come on Safari in Africa. Many lodges today operate more like a zoo without fences, rather than in the true essence of the word Safari. Guests are ferried around from sighting to sighting by rangers telling each other where the next location is over 2-way radios. Yes your in the Africa bush while this is happening, but without really experiencing the bush or the excitement of the unknown. There might be something to see around the next corner or not. That’s part of the adventure. The true meaning of Safari has been lost over the years in favor of regimented schedules and the Big 5 box-ticking-machine that’s funnels tourists in and out in the name of profit.
At Oase, we offer guests the opportunity to do a normal Big 5 game drive (which we do every second day), however we encourage our guests to take a small step out of your comfort zone and do a true safari by walking in the bush with Fanny - our guide. Fanny has over 30 years of experience and is a specialist with Leopards. Guests have a far better experience going out Leopard tracking on foot, than sitting in a game vehicle. And the reason we can do this at Oase without unnecessary risk to guests is that we do not have Elephant, Rhino or Buffalo, which create the most risk on foot.
At Oase, we want our guests to slow down, stop, relax and truly see, feel and smell their surroundings and the beautiful experiences, the African Bush has to offer, all while experiencing the attention to detail and service our team prides itself on.
By David Tucker - Owner
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