Missing the bush? Go on safari during lockdown
SA viewers of WildEarth live safaris soar this week
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. Go on sunrise and sunset safaris while you are in lockdown. When WildEarth isn't live, you can view the feed from the waterhole camera in the Djuma Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand/Geater Kruger National Park area.
Go on safari in the Greater Kruger National Park during lockdown with WildEarth, an award-winning broadcaster of live safaris and wildlife.
Free sunrise and sunset game drives past ubiquitous impala, elephants and hippos in SA’s biggest game reserve are an absorbing way to escape your four walls.
A hyena clan with gawky pups is an attraction on the safari in Djuma Private Game Reserve in Sabi Sands, in the Greater Kruger reserve.
This week SA viewership had increased fifteenfold, overtaking American fans of the safari broadcast for the first time, said WildEarth co-founder Graham Wallington.
“The new people love it, which we can see from how they watch.
“Africa is now in the lead as the continent from which where we get most views, before the US and Europe.”
Wallington said WildEarth was broadcasting from Djuma and from Ngala private game reserves.
WildEarth’s camp in the Maasai Mara in Kenya, from which it usually broadcasts, is locked down.
Wallington and his wife Emily founded WildEarth, hoping to turn people into conservationists by acting on Jane Goodall’s mantra: “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help.”
Children aged four to 18 can book an interactive session on a 45-minute #safariLIVE virtual drive. They can ask guides and naturalists about what they see in real time during the outing.
“Safari vehicles, guides on foot, drones, balloons, rovers and remote cams are all searching for viewers' favourite characters,” the WildEarth team promises.
The female leopard Thandi and male lion Scarface and his pride are among the stars with regular viewers.
The team has the latest technology and decades of experience among them to capture all the action for the broadcasts on both the internet and TV.
“Unscripted and unpredictable, this show is reality TV as it’s supposed to be,” a fan commented.
The US has been WildEarth’s top country for 10 years but now SA viewers are 50% higher than Americans, and make up a third of all viewers.
Donations and real life expeditions, which quickly sell out, support the WildEarth broadcasts.
• Sunrise safaris from Monday to Saturday are live from 6am to 9am. Sunset safaris are on from 3.30pm to 6.30pm.
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Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.