The countdown is on. Your flights may not leave any sooner, but the weeks before safari can become part of the experience.
The right book can add context to a landscape. A film can show you the country’s scale before you see it from a safari vehicle. A soundtrack can make an ordinary drive feel like the opening scene of something much bigger.
We have gathered the stories, films, podcasts and scores we return to when departure still feels much too far away. Some are funny, some absorbing, and a few may have you checking whether an earlier flight is available.
Short on time? Start with The Lion King tonight, order Don’t Run, Whatever You Do for the bedside table, and save the Safari Stories podcast for your next walk.
Begin with Three East African Classics
Out of Africa by Karen Blixen, writing as Isak Dinesen
Best for: Kenya-bound travellers and readers who enjoy lyrical memoir.
Blixen’s memoir recalls her life on a coffee farm beneath Kenya’s Ngong Hills. Its appeal lies in the precision of her observations: the changing light, the movement of animals through the landscape, and the relationships that developed around the farm.
This is not a fast-paced adventure. It is measured, reflective, and best read slowly, preferably before travelling to Kenya.
The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley
Best for: An accessible classic with humour, family life and, a vivid Kenyan setting.
Huxley writes about arriving in Kenya as a child in the early twentieth century, when her family attempted to establish a farm near Thika. Seen largely through a child’s eyes, the book is warmer and funnier than Out of Africa, with an affectionate eye for family mishaps and adult eccentricities.
The settler perspective remains central, so it is worth pairing this with contemporary Kenyan writing for a broader view.
West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Best for: Adventure, aviation and exceptionally good travel writing.
Beryl Markham was a horse trainer, bush pilot and record-breaking aviator. Her memoir moves between her childhood in Kenya and the years she spent flying over East Africa in aircraft that offered very little margin for error.
The flying passages are especially good: controlled, beautifully observed and full of momentum. Travellers taking their first light-aircraft transfer may read them with a new respect for modern aviation.
True Stories of Wildlife and Conservation
These narrative nonfiction books take you behind the scenes of wildlife research, safari guiding and conservation, through personal accounts that are engaging, candid and deeply connected to the animals at their centre.
Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens
Best for: Botswana-bound travellers, desert landscapes and field science.
Two young researchers set up camp in Botswana’s Central Kalahari to study lions and brown hyenas. They had no neighbours, limited supplies and several large predators with little regard for personal space.
The account combines wildlife research with the practical difficulties of living far from roads, water and help. It is absorbing, occasionally unsettling and particularly vivid for anyone travelling to Botswana.
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence
Best for: Elephant lovers and travellers visiting South Africa or KwaZulu-Natal.
When South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony agrees to accept a troubled elephant herd at Thula Thula in KwaZulu-Natal, he becomes their last chance of survival.
The relationship develops slowly, through uncertainty, broken fences and cautious trust. Anthony never treats the elephants as easy symbols; they remain intelligent, powerful animals with their own social structure and decisions.
An Elephant in My Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony with Katja Willemsen
Best for: A hopeful conservation story with warmth and humour.
After Lawrence Anthony’s death, Françoise Malby-Anthony finds herself responsible for Thula Thula, its staff and its animals. The reserve faces poaching threats, difficult authorities and the considerable challenge of caring for orphaned wildlife.
Then a young elephant arrives at the house.
Warm, candid and often funny, this is a story about conservation, grief and learning to lead when there is no straightforward set of instructions. It follows The Elephant Whisperer, although it can also be read on its own.
Whatever You Do, Don't Run by Peter Allison
Best for: First-time safari travellers and anyone who enjoys a genuinely funny travel memoir.
Botswana safari guide Peter Allison has accumulated a few stories: close calls, confused guests and animals that decline to follow the programme.
His account of guiding in the Okavango Delta is dry, funny and highly readable. It is also a useful reminder that the calm person in the driver’s seat is often managing far more than anyone else realises.
Read this before your first game drive, and you may look at your guide with renewed respect.
True Stories of Wildlife and Conservation
Not every pre-safari book needs to involve a charging elephant or a research camp. These novels draw their energy from character, history and a strong connection to place.
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Best for: Light holiday reading and Botswana itineraries.
Precious Ramotswe opens Botswana’s first female-run detective agency and sets about solving problems with patience, close observation and a well-timed cup of redbush tea.
The mysteries are gentle and often witty. The pleasure lies in the characters, the conversations and the book’s unhurried pace. It is ideal for a flight, a poolside afternoon or the quiet hours between game drives.
It is also the first in a long series, so one book may quickly become several.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Best for: Readers who enjoy expansive historical fiction with a strong central character.
Set in South Africa during the 1930s and 1940s, this sweeping coming-of-age novel follows a boy known as Peekay through boarding school, boxing, and a society shaped by deep racial divisions.
The book is long, emotionally direct, and highly absorbing. Its central story is uplifting, while its historical setting and perspective benefit from a thoughtful, critical reading.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Best for: Ethiopia-bound travellers and readers who enjoy layered, character-led literary fiction
This family saga begins with twin brothers born at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Their lives unfold through medicine, political change, family secrets, love, and exile.
It is the most substantial novel on this list, but also one of the most immersive. Begin it well before departure and save the final chapters for an afternoon when nobody expects you to be anywhere else.
When You Want the History Behind the View
Safari landscapes are not separate from human history. These books provide a broader understanding of colonial expansion and modern conservation, without reading like conventional textbooks.
The Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham
Best for: The serious reader who wants a broader historical foundation.
Pakenham traces the late nineteenth-century period in which European powers divided and occupied much of the African continent.
It is a substantial book, but its narrative approach makes the people, negotiations, and conflicts easier to follow. For travellers who want to understand the historical forces behind modern borders and political relationships, it provides valuable context.
Rhino War by John Hanks
Best for: Travellers interested in the realities and complexities of wildlife protection.
John Hanks offers an insider’s account of Operation Lock, a controversial late-1980s effort created in response to rhino poaching in Southern Africa.
The book moves quickly, but the questions it raises are not simple. It explores the pressure to protect wildlife, the use of intelligence operations and the consequences when conservation work moves into morally uncertain territory.
Choose Your Safari Film Night
Dim the lights, turn up the volume, and allow at least one evening for a film that makes the departure date feel impossibly distant.
The Lion King (2019)
Best for: Families, first-time safari travellers and instant anticipation.
The Serengeti at dawn. Pride Rock rising against the sun. No explanation is required.
The 2019 film turns the familiar story into a visually detailed, photorealistic world. It is an easy family choice, and the opening sequence deserves proper speakers rather than laptop volume.
Out of Africa (1985)
Best for: Kenya itineraries, classic-film enthusiasts, and anyone who loves aerial landscapes.
Kenya, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford and a small aircraft flying over a landscape that appears to continue forever.
Sydney Pollack’s film is a sweeping romance rather than a complete history of Kenya. Its colonial perspective should be understood as such, but its cinematography and John Barry score still have considerable pull.
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Best for: Families and travellers looking for a human story beyond wildlife.
Based on William Kamkwamba’s true story, the film follows a 13-year-old boy who uses knowledge from a library book to build a wind turbine during a famine in Malawi.
Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and anchored by Maxwell Simba’s performance, it is intelligent, quietly gripping, and an excellent family film for older children and teenagers.
Streaming catalogues vary by country and change regularly. Check availability in your region before publication or viewing.
Put the Journey in Your Headphones
Some days call for a book. Others need an opening theme, a choir and enough volume to make the morning commute feel considerably less ordinary.
Safari Stories podcast
Jomi Krobb and Hadley Pierce share stories about leopards, lions, gorillas, memorable camps and the unexpected moments that shape a safari. The episodes are relaxed, informative and easy to dip into before travelling.
Out of Africa original soundtrack
John Barry’s sweeping score pairs beautifully with the film’s Kenyan landscapes. Put it on while packing, driving, or simply allowing yourself to think ahead to departure.
Rhythm of the Pride Lands
Inspired by the original music from The Lion King, this album brings the vocal and rhythmic work of South African composer and performer Lebo M further forward. It is energetic, stirring, and an excellent soundtrack for the final countdown to safari.
A Final Note Before You Choose
No single book or film can represent a continent.
Several classics on this list were written from European settler perspectives, while others approach complicated histories through a single character or personal experience. They remain worth reading for their prose, influence, and historical perspective, provided they are understood as individual viewpoints rather than definitive accounts.
The most rewarding preparation is a varied one: an older memoir beside a modern conversation, wildlife storytelling alongside human history, and enough curiosity to let the destination challenge what you thought you knew.
Start Planning Your African Safari
Books, films and music can begin the anticipation, but the details you remember most will be your own: the guide who notices a track you would have missed, the silence after a leopard disappears into the grass, or the conversation that continues long after dinner.
Africa Tailormade will shape a personalised journey around the places, wildlife and pace that matter to you, with every connection carefully considered. Start planning your safari today.
