Back to Basics

Greystoke Mahale

Safari is a Swahili word meaning “journey,” but it has also become synonymous with bloated itineraries, contrived searches for the Big Five, and crowds jostling for camera positions. Tanzania’s Serengeti region has become so congested with tourists that the Great Migration has come to be known locally as the Great Land Cruiser Migration. In its purest concept, the African safari is a non-invasive procedure: you enter the landscape as a shimmering figure, appearing for a moment, departing the next, leaving nothing behind. It’s possible to have such a back-to-basics safari; you just need to know where to go.