Swapping a noisy 4×4 for an electric vehicle means clients can experience wildlife in a new way, says Sarah Marshall
In Zambia’s Lozi dialect, puku means ghost. It’s a fitting name for the herds of antelope, which float like apparitions through the sepia-toned morning. The silence is as golden as the rising sun burning through veils of mist.
I’m on a game drive through Zambia’s Busunga Plains in an electric vehicle – much quieter than the hefty 4x4s that typically clatter across savannahs. In the past couple of years, electric vehicles have been growing in popularity across Africa as camps seek to make their operations more sustainable while enhancing the guest experience.
Going one step further, Green Safaris – which has camps across Zambia and Malawi – has launched Africa’s first fully silent safari, combining electric vehicles with electric boats and, hopefully one day, electric bikes. Chisa Busanga Camp, which opened last year, grabs attention with its striking architecture: four thatched nests built on stilts, in this remote northwest section of Kafue National Park.
Even more impressive is the camp’s commitment to 100% solar energy, powering 24-hour electricity, hot water and in-room Wi-Fi – all without a backup generator.
The silence is as golden as the rising sun burning through veils of mist
On a morning game drive, I’m able to identify different calls otherwise drowned out by a diesel motor: fish eagles squealing, a boubou trilling, a puku whistling to guard his territory.
The luxury of listening for alarm calls while driving also helps my guide Moses find predators faster. We approach a lioness and her three-month-old cubs, edging quietly closer without disturbing them, and we’re able to watch another lioness hunt without alerting her prey to our presence.
Not all animals, however, are fans of electric vehicles. Elephants react angrily if crept up upon and a much safer way to view them is from the water at Green Safaris’ Ila Safari Lodge, a five-hour drive from Chisa.
Set on the banks of the Kafue River, the 10-tent camp sits opposite Kafue National Park. Drifting in our solar-powered boat towards a small herd of elephants, we can study their interactions, listening only to the sound of their trunks twisting and breaking branches.
Take away engines and it’s possible to tune into the environment and view wildlife in a way that’s never been possible before.
PICTURES: Stevie Mann
Book it
Audley Travel offers an 11-night stay in Zambia from £10,197 per person. The price includes flights, three nights’ all-inclusive at both Ila Safari Lodge and Chisa Busanga and five nights’ all-inclusive at Shawa Camp, and is based on two people travelling in November 2023. audleytravel.com/zambia
