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Speaking Safari – Learning the Lingo

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SAFARI TIPS

A LIST OF OBSCURE (BUT POTENTIALLY USEFUL) SAFARI LINGO

If not to make you your safari guide’s favourite then to provide you with excellent trivia knowledge, here are our best safari words to throw into conversation when on safari.

Midden

‘Midden’ is the polite safari word for a dung heap or an area for communal defecation.  It’s likely you will come across one of these at some point during a game drive, they’re hard to miss – a white rhino midden can be up to 3 metres in width.  Rhinos use these, surprisingly, for olfaction. Which essentially means using odours to communicate. So, much like the age-old gathering around the water cooler at work to gossip, rhinos (and other mammals, like gazelles) use the midden to catch up on what is happening in the area.

Rhino Midden

Veld (felt)

The safari word Veld is the rural open landscape of treeless grassland found in the interior of southern Africa.

Koppie (copy)

The safari word koppie is a small hill made up primarily of rocks found on the plain or savanna. They are often home to wildlife and vegetation and make for good places to spot the big cats.

Gogga

You have to hear this one to grasp the pronunciation – the ‘g’ is pronounced like the ‘ch’ in the Scottish ‘och’. The safari word ‘Gogga’ is a cute word for a bug or an insect.

The Ugly Five

The Ugly Five are the unfortunate African animals that do not meet the unrealistic beauty standards set by the Big Five. These poor souls include the hyena, wildebeest, warthog, vulture and marabou stork.

Voetsek (foot sack)

Not specific to safari, but a fun way to shoo away the goggas. Voetsek is usually used as an angry way to tell someone or something to go away. Definitely don’t say it to the locals but it is the perfect accompaniment to swotting away any annoying mosquitoes or flies.

Mokoro (plural – Mekoro)

Used typically in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the safari word mokoro is a dugout canoe used to navigate the waterways of the delta.

Mokoro

Extra Tip:

Many guides in the different African countries use different safari words when an animal is sighted so listen out and see if you can build up your own list of safari slang (maybe you’ll be our next Safari Tip contributor!).

Looking for more safari tips?

Read our ultimate safari packing list here.

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