Safari Glossary of Common Terms

Safari comes with a vocabulary all its own, a mix of English, Swahili, Afrikaans and industry jargon that can leave first-timers baffled. What's a 'kopje'? A 'boma'? The difference between a 'concession' and a 'conservancy'? Knowing the language helps you read brochures, understand your guide and feel at home in the bush from day one. This glossary explains the terms you'll most often encounter, grouped into wildlife and viewing terms, places and accommodation, and general safari words. It's a reference to dip into — skim it before you go, and refer back whenever a new bit of safari-speak crops up.

Key things to know

• ➜Safari uses a mix of English, Swahili and Afrikaans terms
• ➜'The Big Five' refers to lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo
• ➜A 'game drive' is a guided wildlife outing in a vehicle
• ➜'Kopje', 'boma' and 'concession' are common place terms
• ➜'Sundowner' and 'the bush' are everyday safari words
• ➜Knowing the terms helps you understand guides and brochures

Wildlife and viewing terms

'Game' is the old catch-all for wild animals, hence 'game drive' (a guided wildlife-viewing outing in a vehicle), 'game viewing' and 'big game' (large mammals). 'The Big Five' — lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo — were named by hunters as the most dangerous to pursue on foot, and are now a bucket-list checklist; you'll also meet the tongue-in-cheek 'Ugly Five' and 'Little Five'.

Other viewing terms include 'the Great Migration' (the vast annual movement of wildebeest and zebra), 'predator' and 'prey', 'endemic' (found only in one area), and 'habituated' (wildlife, especially primates, accustomed to human presence). A 'sighting' is any wildlife encounter, and 'spoor' (Afrikaans) means an animal's tracks or signs — the clues a guide follows to find animals.

• ➜Game / game drive / game viewing — wild animals and outings to see them
• ➜The Big Five — lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, buffalo
• ➜The Great Migration — the annual wildebeest and zebra movement
• ➜Spoor — tracks and signs; Habituated — used to people

Places and accommodation

Safari landscapes have their own vocabulary. 'The bush' is the wild, uncultivated country generally; 'savanna' is grassland with scattered trees; 'kopje' (pronounced 'copy', from Afrikaans) is a rocky outcrop rising from the plains, beloved of lions and leopards; and 'pan' is a shallow, often seasonal depression that holds water. A 'waterhole' is a spot where animals gather to drink.

For where you stay and travel: a 'lodge' is a solid-built property, a 'tented camp' houses you under canvas, and a 'mobile camp' moves with the wildlife. A 'concession' is an area leased for exclusive tourism use, and a 'conservancy' is community- or privately-owned land managed for wildlife. A 'boma' is a fenced enclosure or an open-air fireside gathering area, and a 'hide' (or 'blind') is a concealed structure for watching wildlife undetected.

• ➜Bush, savanna, kopje (rocky outcrop), pan, waterhole
• ➜Lodge, tented camp, mobile camp — accommodation styles
• ➜Concession — leased exclusive-use area; Conservancy — managed wildlife land
• ➜Boma — enclosure/fireside area; Hide — concealed viewing structure

General safari terms

A few more words round out your safari vocabulary. A 'sundowner' is a drink enjoyed at sunset, and 'sundowner drive' the evening game drive it caps. A 'transfer' is any journey between points (airport to camp, camp to camp), often by road or light aircraft. 'Self-drive' means driving yourself rather than being guided, and 'fly-in' means reaching camps by small plane.

You'll also hear 'ranger' and 'guide' (the expert leading your safari), 'tracker' (who reads signs to find animals, often from a seat on the vehicle's bonnet), and 'camp' used loosely for any accommodation. 'Full-board' and 'all-inclusive' describe what's covered by your rate. And 'pole pole' (Swahili, 'slowly slowly') and 'hakuna matata' ('no worries') capture the unhurried spirit of the whole experience. With these terms in hand, safari-speak quickly stops being a foreign language.

• ➜Sundowner — sunset drink; Transfer — journey between points
• ➜Self-drive vs fly-in — how you travel between camps
• ➜Guide/ranger and tracker — the experts finding wildlife for you
• ➜Full-board / all-inclusive — what your rate covers

References & further reading

1. Sinclair, A. R. E., et al. (Eds.) (2015). Serengeti IV. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
2. Estes, R. D. (2012). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. Berkeley: University of California Press.
3. Kingdon, J. (2015). The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (2nd ed.). London: Bloomsbury.
4. IUCN (2024). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, Version 2024-1. www.iucnredlist.org.