Lifestyle

The best virtual safaris to do from your living room



Going on an African safari ranks highly on any bucket list – the chance to see animals like rhinos, elephants and lions in the wild is irresistible. 

Yet, as we currently find ourselves stuck at home for the foreseeable, a real-life safari is currently off the cards. Luckily, some savvy hotels and organisations are streaming live from the wild, taking us on virtual game drives and letting us watch these animals gather around a watering hole.

Kgomotso Ramothea, Acting Hub Head, South African Tourism tells the Standard: “The British public can still experience South Africa’s incredible wildlife and the iconic ‘Big Five’ from their living rooms. Game reserves, luxury lodges and our national parks throughout South Africa, have stepped up to this new normal, to offer virtual safari experiences, put in place live-streams, conduct Q&As and curate wildlife photography, to bring the country’s amazing wildlife into homes around the world. 


“Live cams are a great way to watch animals in their natural habitat at your leisure; SANParks and Explore have some great live streams in place. Whilst the world might be on lockdown, the African animals are carrying on as normal, so there’s never been a better time to watch them drink, eat and play in the South African bush.”

Below, we’ve picked our favourite virtual safari experiences from around the African continent, from spotting baby elephants to seeing gorillas in a rehabilitation sanctuary.

Interact with guides from andBeyond with its twice-daily safaris

When: daily from 5am to 8am BST for sunrise drive and 2:30pm to 5:30pm for sunset drive.

Where to watch: you can find the andBeyond livestream here.

Luxury safari hotel group andBeyond has teamed up with wildlife broadcasting experts WildEarth to stream its personalised game drives twice a day. Viewers will have the chance to spot the Big Five (elephants, rhinos, buffalo, lions and leopards) in real time with each drive spanning three hours. There’s also the opportunity to ask the guide questions during the drive on Youtube or using the hashtag #wildearth on Twitter.

Watch Gorillas migrate in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

When: best viewing hours is between 10am – 11:30am BST and 1:30pm to 3pm BST.

Where to watch: on explore.org.

The gorilla forest corridor connects the gorillas’ night quarters with the Democratic Republic of the Congo forest habitat at GRACE – a gorilla rehabilitation and conservation education programme. Watch as the gorillas pass through while grazing on vegetation and some may choose to nap here as well.

See leopard cubs playing in their den

When: every Monday at 4:30pm.

Where to watch: on Instagram at @VirginLimitedEdition.

South Africa’s Ulusaba Private Game Reserve is a member of Virgin Limited Edition – a select group of luxury hotels. Sitting in the heart of the bush, the hotel has teamed up with Virgin to do a virtual safari via Instagram each Monday, with a chance to see leopard cups, a lion pride or any of the Big Five.

See elephants in real time at Tembe Elephant Park

When: 24/7 live feed.

Where to watch: on explore.org, where you can watch streams of hippos and buffalo, too.

South Africa’s Tembe Elephant Park is known for having the largest elephant population on the African continent, and you can now watch these gentle giants from your sofa. Explore has a live feed in place watching a local watering hole – be sure to keep an eye out for lions, rhino and buffalo who often join the elephants here.

Go on a sunset safari in South Africa

When: daily, 2:30pm BST for the sunset safari and 5am BST for the sunrise safari.

Where to watch: WildEarth via Twitch.

WildEarth has partnered with streaming platform Twitch to showcase twice-daily safaris from the Djuma Private Game Reserve in South Africa’s Sabi Sand. The sunrise and sunset safaris give viewers a chance to see the Big Five, as well as baby elephants and hyenas.





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