We've all heard of safari holidays, you go to Africa, pile into a jeep and get to see some amazing wild animals on a nature reserve. Unfortunately with poaching and extinction threatening these majestic creatures these nature reserves are the few places that you can get to see and get close nowadays.
But Safaris are no longer simply associated with the usual desert and pith helmet connotations they used to, many holiday companies are marketing other experiences as safaris in their own right.
In Uganda there is a mountain safari that is centred around following the tremendous mountain Gorillas, these intimidating animals live on the sides of the mountains in Bwindi. There are two family groups that live on the mountain and through many years of slowly acclimatising them to human intrusion they now tolerate the presence of small tour groups for times of normally one hour in length.
Of course these animals are extremely powerful and unpredictable but each tour group is accompanied by experienced guides who have studied the gorilla's behaviour down to their body language and sounds. In the event that the gorillas are not happy with the visit then the guides will know about it and visitors will be able to come back at another time.
One other safari location which you wouldn't expect would be Norway. Yes, Norway is home to another kind of safari, an underwater one. There are holidays available to go snorkelling with Orcas, although the cold waters are not to everyone's taste and so if it's not your bag then you can observe from the trawler or large dinghy you use to get out to the orcas habitat. But don't worry if you don't want to get out of the boat as it isn't uncommon for Orcas to become curious of the vessel and swim up close to get a closer look.
The locations that these tours cover are feeding grounds for families of Orcas; they scare smaller fish to the surface and pelt the water's surface in order to stun them. This has been described as a breath taking visual and many people regard it as one of the best holidays they have experienced.
These are just two alternative safaris which let you get up close to animals that you are less likely to see these days, even in some zoos. The term "Safari" may mean an overland expedition but these days with this kind of holiday on offer the term's definition has been broadened to cover all sorts of holidays like this.
The pricing for this type of holiday range from roughly £800 - £1500 per person, but obviously offer once in a life time experiences that you'll always remember.
