A woman in the tracker's chair on safari in Londolozi Game Reserve, South Africa

It was our final night in South Africa’s Londolozi Game Reserve, next to Kruger National Park. We celebrated with a beautiful candlelight dinner in the boma underneath the starry canopy of African skies. Afterward, my group exchanged hugs and bid each other farewell. But our group leader, Martin Meyer, told us we were going to get up at 5 a.m. for one last game drive before the airport. We’d been in the bush for three nights and the day to follow would be our sixth time in the 4×4.

The next morning, we woke up once more to the splendor of Africa. We hopped into the Land Rover. Our tracker and rangers had the most difficult but thrilling job of tracking the Big Five and other wildlife. The tracker’s seat was like a throne: the most vulnerable chair and only worthy of the most skilled. We can sit anywhere in the Landy except there.

We finished viewing hundreds of Cape buffalo and started driving back to camp. Suddenly our guides stopped the vehicle and my Trip Leader, Martin Meyer, asked, “Who wants to ride up front and guide us back to the lodge?” My group agreed to let me tackle the main chair.

Ecstatic, I climbed into the seat. It was the most fun, memorable time! But I came to the conclusion that I will stick to the seats inside the Landy for future safaris.

A group of people in a Land Rover on safari in Londolozi Game Reserve, South Africa.

–Text by Allyson Flores, Wilderness Travel adventurer, Adventuring in South Africa

–Photos by Allyson Flores (top) and Les Zuckerman (bottom)

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