Pumbaa: Hey, Timon, ever wonder what those sparkly dots are up there?
Timon: Pumbaa, I don’t wonder; I know.
Pumbaa: Oh. What are they?
Timon: They’re fireflies. Fireflies that, uh… got stuck up on that big bluish-black thing.
Pumbaa: Oh, gee. I always thought they were balls of gas burning billions of miles away.

There’s only one guaranteed sighting we can give you on safari, and that’s to lie back in your seat, in the pitch black darkness of a remote African wilderness, and look to the heavens – just as Pumbaa and Timon did in The Lion King.

On the way back from an evening game drive your guide might ask you to pause for a few moments and quietly absorb the humbling enormity of our night skies. And that’s when the magic starts to happen… As soon as everyone is silent you’ll hear the nocturnal sounds of the wild – the rolling thunder of a lion’s roar, a choir of frogs or the whistling whisper of a nightjar.

Then your guide, armed with a laser pointer, will take you on an astral journey from one end of the solar system to the other. With no air or light pollution you’ll see stars and planets you’ve never witnessed before with the naked eye. You might be told mythological stories of Orion The Hunter in his eternal pursuit of Scorpio, or given the rather imaginative descriptions ancient astronomers chose for various constellations.

You’ll lose yourself in the Milky Way, our galaxy which is essentially a floating island of stars in the vast ocean of the universe. You’ll witness where stars are born in nebulas, spin with asteroids and fly on the coattails of comets. You’ll wish upon a shooting star and let the moment live with you forever.

Field Guide at Singita Pamushana Lodge, Jenny Hishin, contributed to this post with her words and the stunning time-lapse photos of the stars. Jenny also writes the monthly Wildlife Reports from the region which document interesting animal sightings and changes in the natural environment. Find out more about Singita Pamushana Lodge and all the activities available at the lodge here.

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