Our travel destination today: An African safari
Lesson summary
Hi there, welcome to Plain English lesson number 327. I’m Jeff; JR is the producer; and the full lesson can be found at PlainEnglish.com/327.
Coming up today: The next chapter in our series on destinations in the English-speaking world. I wanted to get a new country this time, so we’ll travel together to Kruger National Park in South Africa. The expression is “blend in” and I picked the song of the week to kick off 2021.
Destination: Kruger National Park
At the very south of the vast continent of Africa lies the English-speaking country of South Africa. A British colony until its independence in 1934, South Africa is a country of contrasts, where you can go from the bustling cityscape of Johannesburg or Cape Town to wild bushland in less than an hour.
Africa is known for its wildlife and extraordinary natural features, and South Africa has its share of both, including one of the best wildlife sanctuaries on the continent: The Kruger National Park, which is both a game reserve and safari destination.
The park covers a vast area of nearly 2 million hectares. To put it into perspective, it’s approximately two-thirds the size of Belgium.
The primary purpose of a game reserve is to protect and sustain wildlife and its habitat. However, a secondary function of a game reserve is to provide a way for people to explore, discover, and be educated about the animals and their environment. It’s the best way for humans to see wildlife in its natural habitat, rather than in a zoo.
What animals can you see at Kruger National Park? How about, the “Big 5” African mammal species: the African elephant, African lion, Black rhinoceros, African leopard, and Cape buffalo. They got their name, the Big 5, because they were the most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt on foot.
Today, they are not hunted in South Africa because their numbers have dwindled drastically, some close to extinction, and they’re protected. But the name “Big 5” stuck, and visitors try to see all five during their visits to Kruger.
In fact, it’s common to see all five while driving or walking around the park, but you have to look carefully. Even a large elephant can blend in well with the vegetation. The big cats such as the leopard and the lion can be almost invisible in tall grass, even just a short distance from your vehicle.
It’s not just the big creatures that capture visitors’ attention. The park is home to diverse bird species and numerous smaller animals, such as antelopes, impala, zebra, and kudu. In total, the park is home to more than 750 animal species and 2,000 plant species.
Speaking of plants, the northern part of the park boasts the unique Baobab trees. This is a strange-looking tree with enormous tree trunks, native to Africa and Australia. It is often called the upside-down tree because of its appearance in winter: the tops of the trees, where the leaves grow, look like roots once the leaves have fallen off.
The park was first established by Paul Kruger, the president of a South African province, in 1898. At the beginning, the park’s objective was solely to protect the animals. It later merged with a nearby game reserve when South Africa created its system of national parks; that’s when it opened for tourism. The first three tourist cars paid a small fee of 1 pound each to enter the park in 1927. Within a decade, about four thousand kilometers of roads had been built, several camps were established, and many more visitors entered the park.
Today, the road network is extensive. Close to a million people visit each year. In fact, it’s easy to drive from one of the major cities of South Africa or fly to one of three nearby airports.
A great way to experience Kruger is to stay overnight in the park. Visitors can stay bungalows, cottages, houses, safari tents, or even bare campsites in their own tents—safely away from the big five, I can assure you. There are even private lodges with catered meals if you’re looking to go upscale.
One popular way to enjoy the park is to do a self-drive safari. Any visitor can drive on paved and unpaved roads within the park in their own vehicle. They can explore and search for wild animals and birds on their own, without needing a tour guide, during daylight hours. Careful, though: it’s generally not permitted to get out of your car, except at designated areas.
Travelers seeking a bit more of an adrenaline rush can opt for guided tours in a safari vehicle off-road. These are popular in the early morning and evening when animals are more likely to be out.
To get up close and personal, there are daily early morning and afternoon guided walks from most camps. Experienced field guides take up to eight guests and track rhinoceros, elephants, and lions on foot while sharing their knowledge. It sounds scary! The guides will put your mind at ease, though: they carry rifles as protection against wild animals.
Safaris
I’m not sure if that last detail would make me more comfortable or less comfortable!
I have never been to South Africa, so I had some help researching this lesson, but it sounds amazing. The thing that surprises me the most is that you can drive a normal car through the park and see these huge animals. When I think of a safari, I think of a Jeep driving through the mud and the wilderness and animals all around—the possibility of being eaten by a lion or something. I don’t think of just driving a normal car through a park.
I’d love to see that. I think I’d go for the morning guided walk.
Great stories make learning English fun
