The Way Of The Wild

In two of Tanzania’s lesser-known tracts of wilderness, Ruaha National Park and the Selous Game Reserve, glamorous new safari camps are offering visitors the chance to witness—and protect —the spectacular creatures that reside there. And, as a bonus, there probably won’t be another soul in sight.

- Jeffrey Gettleman

The instant the door opened and we stepped out of the plane, I took a deep breath. We had just touched down on a dirt airstrip in Tanzania’s Ruaha National Park, and the air around us smelled of warm wood. The sky was immense; beneath it lay a primordial landscape of chest-high elephant grass, stubby baobab trees, and, in the distance, haze-clad hills that seemed to melt into the bright horizon.

Waving goodbye to the pilot, we walked a few yards to a waiting safari truck, its sides completely open. My wife Courtenay slid in next to me, and our two boys—Asa, five, and Apollo, eight—hopped in front. At the wheel was Moinga Timan, a young Masai guide with a smooth, oval face and two notch-like scars on his left cheekbone. Offwe rumbled down a deserted, sandy road, the savanna rolling away on either side like a dry, endless ocean.

After about 15 minutes, Timan suddenly turned onto a narrow track. We threaded through tangled thorn trees, leaning in to avoid getting scraped, our luggage bouncing around behind us. Up ahead, a gnarled, old sausage tree loomed, casting a dense pool of shade on the ground. As we approached it, Timan turned and put a finger to his lips. I could feel my adrenaline rising as we spotted a dark shape lying on a branch midway up the tree. I stared harder and realised we were looking at a leopard.

She was two years old, Timan estimated, and probably the most exquisite creature I have ever seen. Asleep on a branch, head on her left paw, other legs dangling, she looked absolutely serene. Timan cut the engine and we rolled right under her. None of us could take our eyes offher coat. It was a masterpiece, the orange spots so precisely framed by black, it looked as if they had been applied with a fine paintbrush.

We all sat in the cool shade looking up, lost in our own thoughts. After a few minutes, Timan put his hand lightly on the ignition key and turned around.