Alan Cantrell Wood, from Co Cork, will set off on his 20th safari next year. He has 10 tips for making the most of your adventure
1 ResearchMany people associate safari with the savannahs of east Africa. They are excellent places to start, but many other regions of the world let you get up close and personal with rare and exotic flora and fauna. First you need to think about what sort of safari experience you want. What interests you most? Do you want a rich mix of wildlife and parks or a focus on rare birds or big cats? Do you dream of seeing elephants and rhino or are snakes and crocodiles your thing? The more you plan, the more enriching your holiday is likely to be. Apart from consulting guide books, Google your interests and look at places you plan to visit. Subscribe to a travel magazine, such as Wanderlust. Pick the brains of specialist travel companies.
2 Time of yearIf you are set on going at a specific time of year, check that it is the optimum time for your chosen country. East Africa - Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda - is good in our winter. Africa south of the equator - South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Malawi - is better in our summer, when the heat is not so intense. Avoid the monsoon season in Asia and the heavy rains in Central and South America. Going north of the equator in our summer and south of the equator in our winter is a useful rule of thumb.
3 FlyWhere you can, fly between parks. Although it can cost more, it saves a great deal of time and discomfort. Driving from the north to the south or west of Kenya can be tiring and tiresome. Alternatively, stay in one large park - Tanzania's Serengeti, Zambia's South Luangwa or Botswana's Okavango Delta, say - but move within it every few days.
4 ReserveBook your jeep, elephant and guide in advance. At Ranthambore, one of India's most beautiful tiger reserves, if you have not reserved a 4x4 in advance, the best you can expect is to share a large truck with a crowd of noisy visitors. The guide-cum-driver is the most important person on your trip. Tell your guide at the outset what you hope to see and remind him periodically.
5 Be patientA safari is a treasure hunt, the treasure in this case being the rare animals you find. It requires a lot of patience and dedication to track down some of the species. For the most part, the very early morning, the late afternoon and the evening are the best times of day. Be prepared to get up before dawn. Rely on your driver-guide to tell you the very best time to be out and about. The best way to encounter animals is without the sound of an engine drumming away. Take a canoe where you can, let your boat drift on the current, go on walking safaris if they are on offer and watch tigers from the back of an elephant. Get your driver to stop the vehicle and simply wait and watch; a stakeout can generate a lot of adrenaline, especially at night. Be ready to stop the driver if you see something you want to capture in your camera. Don't be shy: you may have one chance only for the perfect shot. Capture it while you can.
6 Stay longer, travel lessThe biggest cost of your trip is international flights, so, if you can, stay two or three days longer than you first planned. Check if flights go daily or just a few times a week and plan around them. To give yourself the best chance of seeing elusive animals, stay at least three (preferably four) nights at a reserve. Each park or reserve has a number of tracks to follow, each one offering different possibilities. Covering a wide area takes a few days. We suggest four nights at the tiger reserves in India and the leopard reserve in Yala, Sri Lanka. If your quarry is the even more elusive jaguar, then you will need to dedicate the whole trip to tracking one down (while enjoying all the other wildlife you will encounter on the way). The best place to spot jaguar, by the way, is in Pantanal, in Brazil.
7 Safety and travel checkThe political situation can change suddenly in safari countries. Three years ago we had to cancel a visit to Nepal because of Maoist insurgents. Then poachers took advantage of the troubles in the unprotected Royal Bardia National Park and helped themselves to most of the rhinos and tigers. Even though it is safe to go there now, the signature animals are gone. The web is a good source of up-to-date information, and the UK Foreign Office (www.fco.gov.uk) provides status reports on countries and advice on when it is unsafe to travel.
8 Pack properlyEarly mornings and evenings can be very cold, so take a warm windproof jacket. Invest in the best camera and binoculars you can afford - 8x40 binoculars and 100x300 camera zoom lenses are ideal, not too heavy or too big. With care they will last for years.
9 Respectpeople, the environment, animals, guides and signs. Do not leave anything in or take anything from the fragile ecosystems you visit. Respect the wild animals you meet and treat them with care; they can be unpredictable. Listen carefully to your guide's instructions and safety briefings. Observe the warning and no-go signs. A safari trip is adventure enough in itself without taking silly risks. Staying at a place in South Africa with big warning signs to keep away from the hippo lagoon at night, we learned that, only a week earlier, a woman had ventured forth at night to take some photos. Fortunately, she was rescued when the camp was alerted by her screams; unfortunately, not before she had an arm bitten off.
10 BookingI prefer the security of booking through one company, so that there is one source to call whatever happens. Some big tour operators buy flights in bulk and offer very competitive packages. Try www.kuoni.co.ukfor general African safaris, www.journeylatinamerica.comfor Central and South America, www.wildlifeworldwide.comfor more specialist trips and www.wildlifetrails.co.ukfor tigers, leopards and bears. You can put together your own safari, buying flights and accommodation separately. Make sure you have travel insurance that covers all the elements of your trip.