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Wildlife Game Drives

Watch Safari Drives In South African Wilderness Areas
Guide Narrated Safaris

Experience Game Drives From Where You Are

Watch morning and afternoon game drives in South Africa, with guide commentary included for every sighting. The highlight of each morning or afternoon drive is shown first, and then the rest are in chronological order as they happened on the day.

Guide Narration Included

The guide is such an important part of any wildlife orientated tour, because they add immeasurably to the experience using their knowledge and expertise, built up over many years in the field.

So to have their commentary included definitely adds a lot of value to the footage that might otherwise not be as impactful. Their words provide context, background and depth to the wildlife interactions.

Sightings In Chronological Order

Wildlife sightings are presented in the order that they occurred, giving a better insight into what the game drive would be like in reality.

Works On Any Device, From Anywhere With A Web Connection

You don't need any special equipment to watch virtual safari game drives, you can use any device currently in your possession like a mobile phone, tablet or PC.

Safari Travel Planning

If you dream of going on an African safari in person, this is a very good place to get an idea of what it's really like.

Where To Watch

On this page below, and on social media channels like Youtube and Facebook


Commentary - Leon Marais

Lawson's Birding and Wildlife Safaris

Albino Elephant
Partial Albino Elephant - Watch

The baby elephant seems to be showing some kind of partial albinism. That is certainly unusual...

Commentary - Niel Pienaar

Wildlife Beyond The Lens

baboon vervet interaction
Baboon, Vervet Interaction - Watch

Baboon and vervet monkey troops are often found in the same area, but they rarely interact. On this day they did...

Commentary - Leon Marais

Lawson's Birding and Wildlife Safaris

Crocodiles Feeding
Crocodile Feeding Frenzy - Watch

When crocodiles feed there is normally chaos because they often roll their bodies to dismember the prey...

What is a

Game Drive

A journey in a motorized vehicle, typically undertaken in a national park or game reserve on a safari, with the specific aim of finding and watching wildlife. The term 'game' was originally used to describe the animals that were targeted on a hunting expedition in Africa.

Guided and Self Drive

Two types of game drives are possible, one where the vehicle is driven by a professional guide (guided) and the other where the driver is a non-professional (self drive or DIY).

Vehicle Types

  • Guided - The kinds of vehicles used differ according to the region the safari takes place in, but what they all have in common is that they need to be rugged and capable of handling all kinds of driving terrain.

    In Eastern Africa the safari vehicles tend to be enclosed with a pop-top to allow standing photography.

    In Southern Africa the vehicles mostly have open sides and some are even completely open with no roof to provide all around visibility.

  • Self Drive - In Southern Africa there are numerous national parks and game reserve with good tar and gravel road networks that allow tourists to drive normal sedan vehicles on safari. Many locals use their own vehicles to go on a self or DIY game drive, and foreign tourists can rent a normal sedan vehicle to guide their own safari.

    Of course the more rugged, 4x4 vehicles are also available for self drive safari destinations where off-roading or challenging road conditions exist.

When And For How Long

Game drives normally commence early in the morning, just before sunrise, to have an opportunity to spot some nocturnal species returning to their burrows and see the animals that are active in the cool morning climate.

Then once the heat of the day has passed, an afternoon drive takes place which may finish after sunset. The night drive often happens after supper and may finish late to see all the species active at night.

As a general rule, drives have set starting times but the end time is dependant on what has been seen, so it's flexible and will finish within a certain time-frame and not exactly on time. Self drive safaris are completely flexible and the time and duration is wholly dependant on the driver.

Game Drive Cost

The price is dependant on the location, who the game drive operator is and the time and length of the drive. If it's a guided safari company, then the cost is included in the overall safari package price. If it's an extra activity in a national park or game reserve, then the cost differs according to whether it's a morning, afternoon or night drive.

Costs can vary widely, so it's best to confirm the price beforehand with the relevant operator.

Safari Company Owners, Show Your Clients The Whole Picture By Making Real-Time Videos Available To Them.

safari vehicle