Into the wild

A pair of leopards sit atop a jeep at the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya, where the number of Chinese tourists has increased 30 percent year-on-year. Photo: Courtesy of Yang Shuo

As Yang Shuo and his wife Duan Rui were walking back to their hotel room after lunch in Nakuru, Kenya, they were surprised to bump into their neighbors - a pair of baboons strolling around in the afternoon sunshine.

It was the first time Yang and Duan had come face to face with wild animals that weren't inside a zoo enclosure. Feeling awe mixed with anxiety, the couple hastened to their room. The infant baboon on its parent's back stared at them as they passed by, seemingly also startled. 

Yang and Duan's summer safari in Kenya last year brought them into contact with a menagerie of wild animals few ordinary Chinese ever encounter. "Baboons, monkeys and even wildebeests roamed freely around our hotel," Yang said. "The pure, natural and savage environment of the wilderness offered a refreshing change to us from our exhausting urban lives."

Chinese tourists are renowned for their fondness of vacationing in major international metropolises where they travel in tour groups and embark on shopping sprees. However, a growing number of intrepid travelers are bucking this trend by venturing by themselves or in small groups of friends to destinations that beckon with adventure and intrigue.   

A growing number of intrepid Chinese travelers are venturing to East Africa for safari trips. Photo: Yang Shuo

Attracted to AfricaYang, a Beijing postal worker, had long dreamed of his own safari adventure in Kenya before taking the plunge last year. He was attracted by the idea of a trip that combined his fondness for wildlife with his passion for photography. The idea of visiting Kenya first appealed to Yang several years ago when he received a key chain with a colorful map of Africa from his uncle, who at the time worked in Nairobi.

Yang and Duan, both 31, savored their 16-day trip to Kenya in June 2013 that allowed them to witness the spectacle of East Africa's annual wildlife migration. The holiday cost the couple around 60,000 yuan ($9,762) in total.

Safari tours have been popular with Western tourists in Africa since the height of the continent's colonial era. Thousands of Western tourists continue to travel to Kenya during the peak tourism season from July to October, when more than 3 million animals migrate between the Serengeti in Tanzania to the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The first group of migrating animals consists of wildebeests and Burchell's zebras, followed by predators including lions and leopards. 

Most Chinese are still unfamiliar with safari tours, marketed as "rustic luxury" travel by domestic tourism agencies. The tours involve traveling through nature reserves and wildlife parks to follow migrating wildlife while staying at fancy hotels equipped with modern creature comforts. "Rustic luxury" travel packages aim to give tourists the chance to immerse themselves in the rugged wilderness during the day, yet relax in five-star comfort at night.

After Yang posted about his safari experience on mafengwo.cn, China's largest online social travel platform, his photos and stories attracted a large number of followers. 

Yang shared photos of he and his wife's three days at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the most popular destination for safari tourists. One afternoon while having a picnic, the couple's local guide and driver asked them to hurry to the vehicle so they could drive to the Mara River where a herd of wildebeests were preparing to cross. 

"The local guides always communicated in code about the whereabouts of animals so that outsiders would never understand," said Yang, referring to illegal poachers.   

When they arrived at the river, 10 other vehicles with tourists were already there. As the wildebeests neared the river, the tourists stood in their vehicles with their upper body exposed to photograph and film the animals. Despite having watched similar scenes in nature documentaries countless times, Yang and Duan were still filled with awe as around 300 wildebeests made the crossing. 

"The crossing lasted about five minutes, after which the animals were disturbed and dispersed by arriving vehicles," said Yang, who added they also saw lions stalk prey, vultures eat carrion and a flock of flamingos.

A flock of flamingos and pair of leopards at the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Photos: Yang Shuo

Heading Down UnderYang Tingguo, general manager of Nairobi-based tourism agency Sunshine Adventure Africa, began working in Kenya in 2005 when the country's tourism sector kicked off a concerted push to lure Chinese travelers. In 2006, he founded Sunshine Adventure Africa to capitalize on the swell of Chinese tourists visiting Kenya on business trips and vacations. "The number of Chinese tourists to Kenya has increased by 30 percent year-on-year," Yang Tingguo said.

According to 2012 figures from the Kenya Tourism Board, 40,000 Chinese tourists visited the country in 2012. The board aims to attract 1.3 million Chinese tourists to Kenya each year. 

But Africa isn't the only hot destination for adventurous Chinese tourists, with many also setting their sights on Australia where the outback and wilderness beckons.

People.cn reported in August 2013 that Tasmania, Australia's southernmost island state famous for its pristine wilderness and native wildlife, had ridden a tourism boom driven by Chinese travelers. Statistics from Tasmania's tourism authorities revealed more than 70,000 tourists visit the island annually, with a 54 percent increase in Chinese tourists between 2012 and 2013. 

Yang Shuo and Duan Rui during their 2013 Kenya holiday. Photo: Yang Shuo

Gao Wen holds a wombat in Tasmania, Australia. Photo: Courtesy of Gao Wen

Shunning tour groupsOne characteristic that distinguishes young Chinese tourists from their older compatriots is their preference to travel solo or in small groups to their own itinerary. Many prefer to drive rented cars instead of riding tour buses and stay in tents or guesthouses rather than luxury hotels. 

Before Gao Wen, a Chinese student at the University of Tasmania, drove with her friend to Cradle Mountain in 2012, she formulated a detailed itinerary consisting of sights she wanted to see at her own pace. Gao and her companion both wanted a unique experience when visiting the 1,545-meter mountain famous for its dolerite columns and surrounding lakes.  

"We stayed at a quaint guesthouse in a nature park. When I came out of the bathroom after showering in the evening, I was surprised to find our room was surrounded by dozens of kangaroos and koalas," she recalled of her first close interaction with native wildlife. Gao, 32, said Chinese tourists who venture into the wild are often more dependant on local guides than their Western counterparts. "In Tasmania, most Chinese tourists travel in small groups of three or four people with tour guides who arrange their accommodation and transportation. Western tourists, on the other hand, tend to travel on their own," said Gao, who works part time as a receptionist at a hotel in Hobart, Tasmania's state capital. 

Both Gao and Yang Tingguo noted that although more Chinese tourists are traveling to destinations they previously avoided, many are still reluctant to interact with local people or immerse themselves in the local culture.  Yang Tingguo said the majority of Chinese tourists to Africa are professional or amateur photographers, who prefer spending time looking through their lens than socializing.  

Risks and rewardsDespite the intimacy of seeing wildlife up close and personal, such experiences can also be rife with danger. In 2013, a 30-year-old Shanghai woman was killed by a hippopotamus on her way to her hotel room near Lake Naivasha near Nairobi.

Yang Tingguo said such incidents are rare, however, adding that most tourists heed warnings of local guides and minimize their risk of coming into contact with wildlife. 

Yang Shuo still remembers the first morning when he and Duan awoke to see vegetation bathed in sunlight as primates played in their courtyard. "It was probably the closest and most suitable distance between human beings and the wild," he said.