A New Dawn

A new era of travel is dawning across Africa. A truly special safari deepens our connection with the natural world, and the newest trips offer wildlife-watchers far more than just a twice-daily drive in a diesel truck. From cutting-edge lodges and innovative electric vehicles to hands-on conservation experiences and off-grid adventures in biodiverse landscapes, there's a raft of options for exhilarating, eco-minded trips that plug you into local culture

- By Emma Gregg

THE SILENT SAFARI

AN ELECTRIC EXPERIENCE IN KENYA

Clean, green, and serene: e-vehicles are changing how we explore the bush, transforming safari into the truly tranquil experience

We're gliding across a meadow of sun-ripened grass in the smoothest safari vehicle I've ever experienced. Suddenly, there's a thundering of hooves to our right. A 30-strong herd of buffalo is heading straight for us.

Uncertainty chokes me. Buffalo can be dangerous, but it's usually grumpy lone bulls that cause problems. What's provoked them? Could it be our electric vehicle? The elephants here in Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy took a while to get used to it when it first arrived less than three years ago. Is it emitting some kind of high frequency note that only buffalo can hear?

Gorgeous but pricey, electric safari vehicles (ESVS) remain rare in Africa's safari heartlands, with just a handful of operators trialling them. In Kenya, Botswana and Zambia, there are signs they'll catch on. But when I told a guide from South Africa that I was visiting Lewa's founding lodge, Lewa Wilderness, to sample an ESV firsthand, he scoffed. What if you get into trouble? he said. At the first sign an animal might charge my vehicle, I rev my engine to make a big, loud noise. What happens if you can't do that?

Perhaps I'm about to find out. The buffalo are getting close, the thunder rising to a roar. But, as it turns out, it's not our vehicle that's spooking them. A lion! says Frances Mayetu, my guide, gripping the steering wheel as the herd swerves past and the lioness comes into view - until now, she was invisible in the grass.