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A safari is an overland journey. It usually refers to a trip by tourists to Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, traditionally for a big-game
Big Five game

The phrase Big Five game was coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris....
 hunt
Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to law....
; today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
 big game and other wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
. There is a certain theme or style associated with the word, which includes khaki
Khaki

This article is about the textile. For the colour, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of textile or the Khaki ....
 clothing, belted bush jackets, pith helmet
Pith helmet

The pith helmet is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith, typically from the sola or a similar plant , with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearer's head from the sun....
s or slouch hat
Slouch hat

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt hat with a chinstrap most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by eighteenth century armies....
s, and animal skins—like leopard's
Leopard

The leopard is a member of the Felidae biological family and the smallest of the four "Panthera" in the genus Panthera; the other three are the tiger, lion and jaguar....
 skin.

ring the English language in the late 19th century, the word safari means "journey" in Swahili
Swahili language

Swahili is the first language of the Swahili people , who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands....
.






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Encyclopedia


Afryka 1890
A safari is an overland journey. It usually refers to a trip by tourists to Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, traditionally for a big-game
Big Five game

The phrase Big Five game was coined by big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. The term is still used in most tourist and wildlife guides that discuss African wildlife safaris....
 hunt
Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to law....
; today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph
Photograph

A photograph is an created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a Charge-coupled device or a Complementary metal?oxide?semiconductor chip....
 big game and other wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
. There is a certain theme or style associated with the word, which includes khaki
Khaki

This article is about the textile. For the colour, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of textile or the Khaki ....
 clothing, belted bush jackets, pith helmet
Pith helmet

The pith helmet is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith, typically from the sola or a similar plant , with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearer's head from the sun....
s or slouch hat
Slouch hat

A slouch hat is a wide-brimmed felt hat with a chinstrap most commonly worn as part of a military uniform. It is a survivor of the felt hats worn by eighteenth century armies....
s, and animal skins—like leopard's
Leopard

The leopard is a member of the Felidae biological family and the smallest of the four "Panthera" in the genus Panthera; the other three are the tiger, lion and jaguar....
 skin.

Etymology

Entering the English language in the late 19th century, the word safari means "journey" in Swahili
Swahili language

Swahili is the first language of the Swahili people , who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands....
. Originally from the Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
 ???? (safra) meaning a journey The verb for "to travel" in Swahili is "kusafiri", the noun for the journey is "safari". These words are used for any type of journey, e.g. by bus from Nairobi
Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital city and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai language phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"....
 to Mombasa
Mombasa

Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. It has a major Seaport and an international airport. The city is the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
. The person generally attributed to having used the word in English is Sir Richard Francis Burton
Richard Francis Burton

Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton Order of St Michael and St George Royal Geographic Society was an English explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, linguistics, poet, hypnotism, fencing and diplomat....
, the famous explorer.

The Regimental March of the King's African Rifles
King's African Rifles

The King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colony regiment raised from the various British possessions in British East Africa from 1902 until independence in the 1960s....
 was 'Funga Safari', literally 'Halt the March', or, in other words, stop work for the day.

Funga safari, funga safari. Funga safari, funga safari. Hamari ya nani? Hamari ya nani? Hamari ya Bwana Kapteni, Hamari ya keyaa.


Which is, in English:
Halt the march? On whose orders? On the order of the boss captain, On the order of the KAR.


On Kenya's independence from Britain, Funga Safari was retained as the Regimental March of the Kenya Rifles, successor to the K.A.R.

Touristic usage


Although the word safari came to popular usage in reference to hunting and touring expeditions in East Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, it is now used to mean watching and photographing wildlife in all parts of Africa. The term has also spread to cover other adventurous journeys and expeditions, including whale watching
Whale watching

Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation but the activity can also be for scientific or educational reasons....
 safaris, Artic
Artic

Artic may refer to:*Articulated lorry, a common term refer to semi-trailer trucks in Great Britain and Ireland*Articulated bus, jointed buses that have a movable rear section to accommodate turns...
 safaris, Amazon
Amazon

Amazon or Amazons may refer to:* Amazons, members of a legendary nation of female warriors in Greek mythology** Dahomey Amazons, an all-female regiment of the African kingdom of Dahomey...
 safaris, eco-safari
Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a form of tourism, that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on the planet....
, etc. The term "Desert Safari" is also used in the UAE to mean a desert tourism program of dune bashing
Dune bashing

Dune bashing, also known as desert safari, is a form of off-roading, using an off-road vehicle to explore sand dunes. Whilst in some parts of the world, such as the fragile coastal dunes of Australia, it is illegal, in others such as the Middle East, it is a booming attraction for tourists....
 followed by light entertainment and dinner in the desert, as there is no wildlife to be seen.

The most well known safari areas in Africa include The Masai Mara
Masai Mara

The Masai Mara is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania....
 and Serengeti
Serengeti

This article is about a geographical region; for the National Park see Serengeti National ParkThe Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region located in north-western Tanzania and extends to south-western Kenya between latitudes 1 and 3 S and longitudes 34 and 36 E....
 in East Africa, Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park is the largest game reserve in South Africa. It covers 18,989 square km and extends 350 km from north to south and 60 km from east to west....
 in South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
, Etosha in Namibia, and The Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland River delta.The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago....
 and Chobe National Park
Chobe National Park

Chobe National Park, in northwest Botswana, has one of the largest Game concentration in Africa continent. By size, this is the third largest park of the country, after the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Gemsbok National Park, and is the most diverse....
 in Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
.

As a cinema genre

The safari provided countless hours of cinema entertainment in sound films from Trader Horn
Trader Horn (1931 film)

Trader Horn is the first non-documentary film shot on location in Africa. The 1931 movie tells of the adventures of real-life trader and adventurer Trader Horn on safari in Africa....
 (1931) onwards. The safari was used in many adventure films such as the Tarzan
Tarzán

Tarz?n was a half-hour syndicated series that aired 1991 in television?1994 in television. In this version of the show, Tarzan was portrayed as a blond environmentalist, with Jane turned into a French ecologist....
, Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim

File:Junglejimcover1.jpgJungle Jim is an United States newspaper comic strip first published January 7, 1934, by writer Don Moore and artist Alex Raymond, that starred the titular jungle adventurer....
, and Bomba the Jungle Boy film series
Film series

A film series is a collection of related films in succession. Their relationship is not fixed, but generally share a common diegetic world. Sometimes the work is conceived as a multiple-film work, for example the Three Colours series, but in most cases the success of the original film inspires further films to be made....
 up to The Naked Prey
The Naked Prey

The Naked Prey is a adventure film starring Cornel Wilde, who also directed and produced. It was released by Paramount Pictures.Set in the South African veldt, the film is a wilderness survival story loosely based on the experiences of an explorer, John Colter, who was pursued by Blackfoot warriors through frontier Wyoming in 1809....
 (1966) where Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde

Cornelius Louis Wilde was an United States actor and film director....
, a white hunter, becomes game himself. Also, safaris and the safari genre films were parodied in the Bob Hope
Bob Hope

Bob Hope, Order of the British Empire, Order of St. Gregory the Great , was an British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway theatre, and in radio, television and movies....
 comedies Road to Zanzibar
Road to Zanzibar

Road to Zanzibar is a 1941 in film Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, and marked the second picture in the popular "Road to..." series made by the trio....
 and Call Me Bwana
Call Me Bwana

Call Me Bwana is a 1963 in film farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg, and directed by Gordon Douglas . It is largely set in Africa....
. An instant 15-minute helicopter
Helicopter

A helicopter is an aircraft that is Lift and propelled by one or more horizontal plane Helicopter rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades....
 safari was shown in Africa Addio
Africa Addio

Africa Addio is a famed 1966 in film Cinema of Italy documentary film about the end of the colonial era in Africa. The film was released under the names "Africa Blood and Guts" in the USA and "Farewell Africa" in the UK....
 where clients are armed, flown from their hotel and landed in front of an unlucky and baffled elephant
Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant ....
. Out of Africa
Out of Africa

Out of Africa is a 1985 filmbased loosely on Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen published in 1937, as well as Dinesen's Shadows on the Grass and other sources....
 has Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hatton travelling with Denys refusing to abandon home comforts using fine china and crystal and listening to Mozart recordings over the gramaphone while on safari.

"Safari" colloquialisms


The word "Safari" is also commonly used and heard in the modern day office environment. It describes when one or more individuals browse the workplace to look for and rate (based on quality, quantity and variety) attractive members of the opposite sex.

Fashion and architecture

Many items worn on safari became fashion statements such as bush hats, pith helmet
Pith helmet

The pith helmet is a lightweight helmet made of cork or pith, typically from the sola or a similar plant , with a cloth cover, designed to shade the wearer's head from the sun....
s, bush jackets. These days most tourists will not wear special safari outfits, however it is important to wear neutral colors rather to help blend in with the environment.

The 1998 book Safari Style by Natasha Burns with photographs by Tim Beddow features interior and exterior design inspired by African safari lodges.

See also

  • Safari jacket
    Safari jacket

    A safari jacket or bush jacket is a garment originally designed for the purpose of going on safari in the African bush.Popularized by turn-of-the-20th-century Anglo-African adventurers, safari-style jackets were engineered for comfort and function....
  • Safari park
    Safari park

    A safari park is a zoo-like commercial tourist attraction where visitors can drive in their own vehicles and observe the wildlife, rather than viewing animals in cages or small enclosures....


External links

  • , regarding safari workers and AIDS/HIV, May 23, 2006