OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 85Ever since President Theodore Roosevelt
set off from Mombasa, Kenya, in 1909
with over 250 porters carrying supplies,
including a library of several dozen books
and a bathtub, going on safari has been
mostly synonymous with East Africa’s
parks and reserves. But as infrastructure
improves and political stability sweeps
across new frontiers of the continent,
lesser known wildlife hot spots have
emerged that are equally as impressive,
if not more so.
Chad may qualify as Africa’s least
known safari destination, but Zakouma
National Park is changing that. “I have
spent 30 years as a private guide through-
out Africa, and Zakouma is one of the
most amazing wildlife spectacles I have
witnessed. Nothing prepares you for the
sight of millions of red-billed queleas
taking flight at sunrise and elephant
herds almost too numerous to count,”
says Michael Lorentz, owner of Passage
to Africa.
More intrepid wildlife lovers are also
heading to Madagascar, home to tens of
thousands of flora and fauna species.
Seventy percent of these, including
almost all of the world’s lemurs, are found
no place else. The third largest coral reef
system in the world thrives here as well.
Then there is the west coast of Africa,
never really considered a viable safari
destination, until the likes of National
Geographic explorer Michael Fay led
an expedition to Gabon and witnessed
hippos swimming in the sea, elephants
roaming white sand beaches, and large
gatherings of gorillas in jungle clearings.Zakouma National Park is beginning to draw
more adventurous safari-goers to Chad.
Founded in 1963, the park covers more than
1,100 square miles and hosts nearly 400 bird
KY species, including black crowned cranes.
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