THE BIG FIVE, and indeed most of our other wild species, are at their most active in the early morning and late afternoon.

These hours are also the most atmospheric for game viewing from an open vehicle. So the rhythm of a day on safari follows the rhythms of the bush: rising early for your first game drive; relaxing from mid-morning to mid-afternoon; then getting active again – with another game drive – as evening approaches.

The schedule that follows will give you a sense of the daily rhythm at Naledi during our African “summer” months (October through to April). In “winter” (May through to September) all the scheduled times shift forward half an hour; so you would for example be woken at 05:30 for your game drive, instead of at 05:00. 

05:00

There’s a discreet knock on your door from your lodge manager, to suggest it’s time to wake up for your game drive.

05:45

You gather with fellow guests in the lounge area, to enjoy tea or coffee with cookies before your game drive.

06:00

You depart on your game drive in an open safari vehicle, with your expert Naledi guide at the wheel and a tracker riding up front. Typically, the atmosphere at departure is both expectant and congenial. There will be at the very most seven other guests on your vehicle, so it’s an entirely natural and easy space in which to chat with fellow guests.

09:00

You’re home for breakfast – ideally with some delightful game sightings stored both in your mind and on your camera.

09:30

Breakfast is served on your lodge’s main breakfast deck. Seated around a single large table, guests share their impressions from the morning drive.

10:30

With breakfast over, you might wish to relax until lunchtime in one of our game hides, take a game walk, enjoy a spa treatment, or just bliss out beside the pool with a good book.

14:30

Lunch is served.

15:30

You depart on your afternoon-into-evening game drive. Midway through this drive your guide will pull over into a scenic spot; here you’ll disembark from the vehicle for sun-downers and snacks, and might survey one of our exquisite sunsets. Later, driving through the fragrant bushveld dusk, your guide or tracker will use a power-lamp to reveal passing game. Should you so wish, your guide will also pause and momentarily switch off the lights and engine, to enhance your experience of our glittering African starscapes and the deep stillness of the bush at night.

20:00

You’re home from the evening game drive, in good time to freshen up before dinner.

20:30

Dinner is served, with fine cuisine and pleasant company making this meal a memorable experience in its own right.