Summer has arrived in the Sabi Sands, South Africa and WE are adapting to the rhythm of the animals once again. It started with our unscheduled broadcasts earlier in the year from Kenya, and now WE are further adapting our scheduled shows to better align with nature’s rhythm.

As the names would suggest, sunrise safaris begin at sunrise and sunset safaris end at sunset. These are the best times of the day to view animals. It’s not to say that WE won’t be driving at nighttime, it’s just that these scheduled shows will not be as nocturnal as they have been recently.

The sunrise and sunset times change seasonally in the Sabi Sands far more than in the Maasai Mara because South Africa is farther from the equator. South Africa also experiences more extreme temperatures than Kenya because of the difference in altitude.

The Sabi Sands team, to avoid the heat, will end their drives earlier in the morning before it gets too hot and start again later in the afternoon once it cools down slightly. Furthermore, the Maasai Mara National Reserve opens at 06:30 EAT and closes at 18:30 EAT each day, and while WE do have permission to stay out through the night (when accompanied by our rangers), for our scheduled shows WE want to stay within normal park times.

As a consequence of these differences WE have decided to stagger the start and stop times between the Maasai Mara and Sabi Sand for the two daily scheduled shows. This means that the total scheduled safariLIVE show durations may get longer.

For example from 13 November, safariLIVE Sunrise Safari will broadcast for 3.5 hours. However, from 13 November, the time period when both locations are live simultaneously [the “overlap”] will ‘only’ be 2.5 hours. The sunset safari, from 13 November will broadcast for 4 hours, but the time period when both locations are live simultaneously will be 1.5 hours.

WE will continue to communicate with you about all time changes.

WE are always striving to bring you the best possible safari experience, and as WE continue to grow and change the ways in which WE do this, WE thank you for your continued support as our viewers and hope that you enjoy the extra hours of safari.

Please take note of the changes in safari times, from Monday 13 November 2017: