Dramatic Night Safaris, A 4×4 Jeep would be running over a sunny savannah in search of lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, and other animals on an African adventure. But now picture a different kind of adventure. The sun has gone down, and the cool breeze on the darkening scenery has replaced the heat of the day. Big cats, birds, and a hippo’s splashing grunts cut through the thick air at night. Then all of a sudden, a pair of flashing eyes appear out of nowhere. This is what a night tour is like. More and more people are going on night tours to see Africa’s wildlife. At night, the plains come to life with a new group of animals that can be seen during the day, and sometimes they are more active.

The Nightlife

You could go on your nighttime game drive after dinner at your safari camp or after a sundowner, which is a drink you might enjoy in the field in the late afternoon. In either case, you’ll pack your 4×4 with a warm jacket, a thermos, bug spray, glasses, and a camera.

Your knowledgeable driver/guide knows the best places to look for animals that are most busy at night. During the day, you might see a lion taking a nap in the warm fields. At night, though, the pride usually goes on the hunt. The leopard, which is known to hunt at night, may also be seen flying over looking for its food.

You’ll be looking for rhinos, zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, and hippos as you drive through the cool night air. These animals are most busy at night. But many smaller animals, like the aardvark, ferret, and bushbabies that jump through the trees, come out from their dens during the day.

Can wildlife be photographed at night?

Of course. You will need to make some changes, though, for the best results. Flashes are not allowed because they will scare away wildlife. In fact, many camps will use red lighting to light the area so as not to bother the animals too much.
Here are some camera settings that will make your pictures look better at night: Make your camera more sensitive by setting the ISO to at least 1600. If you can, set the aperture on your camera to its widest setting, like 2.8. Last, set the shutter speed to 1/40.

The last changes will be made on the picture editing program on your computer. Here, you can make the picture even brighter and get rid of any red tint by changing the colors.

Where can I go on a safari at night?

Even though most national parks don’t let you go on a tour at night, there are still many places in Kenya where you can go game driving at night. It is a private wildlife sanctuary called Ol Pejeta Conservancy. It is home to all of Africa’s “Big Five” animals and also has fun things to do like biking and horseback safaris and game drives at night.

Animals that hunt at night are drawn to the saltlicks in the private Taita Hills Wildlife Conservancy because they love salt. You might see elephants, Cape buffalo, black rhinos, and even big forest hogs come out of the dark and into the dimly lit saltlick.

As you move further south, you’ll find a lot of smaller private conservancies that are close to the big Masai Mara National Reserve. These can be used for nighttime exploring, and some even let you camp out in the bush with an experienced guide. For a safari trip that not many people get to have, check out the Mara North, Olare Motorogi, Mara Naboisho, Ol Kinyei, and Mara Triangle Conservancies.