That time I sat in a car waiting for anything to happen, and a leopard casually climbed a fallen tree right ridiculously close to me, and eventually fell asleep. - eviltoast

Going on a self-drive safari is easier than you probably think. At least as long as you do it in South Africa, and preferably in Kruger National Park, where all kinds of facilities are available. If you’re not used to spotting animals on your own, stay in the southern part of the park, where you can just drive around and look for clusters of cars that already have discovered something exciting.

When you begin to think that you know what you’re doing, drive further north, where there are way fewer people around. You can easily stay in the park for a couple of weeks, sleeping in a new camp every night.