Livingstone: Rhino Game Drive & Wildlife Spotting Pickup

4.90

(140 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

“If you see her ears flick, she’s listening to us,” our guide Joseph whispered, grinning as we rolled slowly through Mosi-Oa-Tunya’s early light. I was squinting at a patch of bush that looked like every other patch—then suddenly, there she was. A white rhino, so much bigger and softer-looking than I’d pictured. The air smelled faintly of dust and wild grass, and there was this hush except for the engine ticking and some birds somewhere behind us. I tried to take a photo but my hands were actually shaking a bit—didn’t expect that.

Joseph grew up near here; he could spot buffalo before I even noticed movement. He kept tossing out little facts about the park—like how elephants sometimes swim across the river just because they can (I still want to see that). We stopped by the water where hippos blinked at us from under the surface. Someone in our group dropped a snack on the floor and we all laughed when Joseph said even the ants here have attitude. The sun got warmer but it never felt too hot inside the jeep, maybe because of the breeze or just being distracted by zebra stripes flickering between trees.

I didn’t expect to feel so quiet inside watching those animals do their thing, not really caring about us at all. There’s something grounding about being somewhere you’re definitely not in charge—you know? The whole rhino game drive from Livingstone only took a couple hours but it felt bigger than that. On the way back, I caught myself thinking about those flicking ears again.