Would we be able to see game when out on our own? That was the huge question when we decided to self drive. When staying at a safari camp the guides are in the same area day in, day out…they know where everything wanders. And guides communicate; their experience is compounded. So would we see anything or would we blunder past two ton elephants hiding behind three-foot bushes? Lions were the litmus test; lions are hard to see even with guides. We did see game, lots of it. And we did spot lions and elephants. And, I AM CERTAIN we drove right past elephants hiding, cheetahs lounging, wild dogs nipping.

In retrospect: I think we would have seen more game if we had stayed at lodges, but we would have had to give up freedom and high adventure. We saw A LOT of game AND we had a lot of freedom and adventure.