By Lynn Schnaiberg

Safari is Swahili for "journey." That should give you a hint of what you’ll be taking on the 10 safaris here.

1. Okavango Delta Safari, Botswana.
Water, water everywhere. This lush, aquatic oasis in an otherwise parched, landlocked country teems with wildlife, from painted reed frogs the size of your fingernail to African elephants weighing up to 12,000 pounds. The delicate ecosystem changes dramatically with rains and floods, offering up a new landscape in every season. The ultimate in peaceful game viewing is poling silently through the reeds in a traditional dugout canoe. Birders beware: With more than 350 species recorded here, you might never want to leave.

2. Mountain Gorillas Safari, Bwindi National Park, Uganda.
If you want living proof of just how close we humans are to our primate brethren, this trip into pristine jungle at the confluence of Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda will leave little doubt in your mind. Bwindi is home to an estimated 320 mountain gorillas--about half of those remaining on the planet. The trek through dense jungle to find the massive vegetarians can be arduous, but the chance to sit among a family, watching mothers caring for babies, young gorillas romping in the trees, and the massive silverback male dominating the scene, should make you forget your sore legs.

3. South Georgia Island Safari, Antarctic Region.
If the notion of shivering on safari doesn't bother you, this is the place for you. This remote island is where legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton landed his lifeboat after being stranded for a year and a half in decidedly inhospitable Antarctica. Unlike Sir Shackleton, you don't have to sleep in rotting reindeer-skin sleeping bags to enjoy the spectacular wildlife viewing. Spring brings nearly a million king penguins who breed here, as do fur and elephant seals. Add snowy peaks and a stunning landscape of snow, ice, and glacial water, and you've got one heck of a journey.

4. Masai Mara National Reserve Safari, Kenya.
Yes, this is the most popular game park in Kenya. Sure, most everyone who visits the country comes here. But for wildlife worshippers, this slice of the Serengeti Plains is a bit of heaven. Throughout the Mara's 125-square-mile, acacia-dotted grassland, visitors are rewarded with a veritable bounty of beasts, from big cats and pachyderms to zebra and buffalo. Hew to the reserve's more remote western border, backed against the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment, and you'll get the densest concentrations of wildlife with the fewest tourists. Come for the annual wildebeest migration--usually July through October--when the pounding of millions of hooves beat the earth.

5. Elephant-Back Safari, Corbett Tiger Reserve, India.
Some argue that the most exciting wildlife encounters happen while on foot. But at what is arguably India's most scenic national park, nestled in the Siwalik foothills of the Himalayas, you don't have to use your own own feet. Clamber aboard your gargantuan transport at sunrise, when the forest is waking up and the mist is rising over the riverbeds. You'll be rewarded with what may be India's best birdwatching, with 500-plus species. Also abundant are macaques, peacocks, wild boar, jackel, mongoose, crocs, barking deer, and elephants--the wild kind, not the docile beast upon which you're riding. If you have really good karma, you might even sight one of the estimated 100 tigers that roam this virgin forest.

6. Ngorongoro Crater Safari, Tanzania.
Where the stuff that public television documentaries are made of: Within the steep walls of this 12-mile-wide caldera--one of the world's largest--roam herds of zebra, wildebeest, and various antelope species. The crater floor's permanent water and grassland draws a steady stream of animals, climbing through the crater to reach the Serengeti. Flamingos are frequent visitors to Lake Magadi at the crater's base, creating a surreal scene of bright pink against the land's muted greens and browns. Local Masai tribes--largely pastoral nomads--are also regulars, tending their cattle on the same grasslands that other undomesticated beasts call home.

7. Polar Bear Safari, Churchill Tundra, Manitoba, Canada.
Come October, this part of the planet brings the migration of the king of the Arctic. Venture onto the frozen landscape in a Tundra Buggy, the Arctic equivalent of a Land Rover, looking like something out of Star Wars. Special tundra attractions? Spotting mothers and cubs shimmying into (and ideally out of) a den, and spending a night mesmerized by the aurora borealis. This vast sea of white also offers up Arctic fox, snowy owl, gyrfalcon, and ptarmigan. Don’t forget the hot chocolate.

8. Skeleton Coast Wilderness Safari, Namibia.
You won't see huge herds of animals here. But you will see wildlife framed by some of the globe's most spectacular scenery. This is an otherworldly, windswept wilderness where soaring sand dunes, salt pans, and pastel plains seem to stretch to infinity. Remarkably, Namibia's harsh desert coast manages to support some hardy beasts, from Cape Fur seals to ostrich and the rare desert elephant. Glimpsing the elegant gemsbok antelope sipping from a rare watery oasis against undulating sand dunes is a sight you're not likely to forget.

9. Royal Chitwan National Park Safari, Nepal.
This lowland park, part of the Ganges River plain, holds about a quarter of the world's rapidly dwindling Asian rhinoceros population. Thick with tropical hardwoods that shelter delicate orchids, the floodplain encompasses several lakes that provide prime hangouts for the one-horned rhino. These lakes also harbor otters, crocs, and pythons--not to mention the elusive Gangetic freshwater dolphin. Birdlife is prolific, with more than 400 species living in or migrating through the area. Keep your eyes peeled for the 50 breeding pairs of tiger that prowl the park.

10. Zambezi River Canoe Safari, Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe.
For those who get antsy viewing wildlife from the seat of a Land Rover, this is the place to do a safari powered under your own steam. No motor means no noise to mask the myriad sounds of the bush. Put in your canoe on the wide Zambezi with the Zambian Escarpment looming as a backdrop, paddle with the current along the banks of this spectacularly wild park, and wait for the show to unfold. Float past umpteen birds, crocs, antelope, and buffalo. This is serious hippo country: You’ll see (and try to avoid running into or over) loads of them, stacked like sausages while basking on sandbars and channel banks.

Lynn Schnaiberg, a Chicago-based writer, recently returned from a three-week journey through South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.