HariS

In addition to all of the above, the best way to learn the sounds of the bush is to stay at tented camps during your trip...by the end of your first safari you will be familiar with most of the common sounds.....i.e.,hippo, hyena, lion, zebra calls in the distance, impala alarm call or during the rutting season, baboons (alarm call and play fighting) etc etc.,

Hari

Mega4namaddy

CarlaM,
I had always intended to purchase some sort of soundscape in Africa, thinking that it would enhance the ensuing slideshows. This was after discarding, on weight grounds,the dictaphone I had planned to take to capture the sounds of Africa.
At the very last moment, having forgotten entirely my pre-trip plan, I purchased Africa Soundscapes by Guy Gibbon at the book shop across from Out of Africa in J'Burg Airport. The name of the shop escapes me at the moment, but the CD is great and brings back many happy memories.
I have tried to use it to help with identifying bird calls, with limited success. I think that has more to do with my learning style than the quality and enjoyment of the recording.
Kaye

Kavey

Travel Africa magazine sell a CD with sounds of Africa:

http://www.travelafricamag.com/content/view/808/77/

CarlaM

More great ideas, thanks. Kavey, that sounds ideal. How do you like that magazine, Travel Africa? I was thinking of subscribing to it.

I am learning alot of animal sounds on the Africam, my main objection is to identify the sound when I hear it, some of those CD's are the sounds but you still have no idea what it is.

Some pretty scary sounds are only birds or baboons, so that would be a relief to me knowing before hand.

nyama

Most of the CDs list the animals you're hearing.

The CD that Kavey mentioned and which is offered by Travel Africa Magazine, should also be available at Exclusive Books, the bookshop at OR Tambo (Joburg) Intl Airport. I always use a stay at OR Tambo to buy latest editions of field guides or some coffee table books which are hard to get outside of SA.

andybiggs

As a side topic, I have been collecting high quality audio of the different sounds found out on safari. Some mammals, some birds, and some just of the simple outdoor sounds. I have been using an Edirol R-09 audio recorder with a shotgun condensor microphone. I usually don't have the time to put on headphones to listen in, but I am pretty darned happy with many of the sounds that I am capturing. You can capture in WAV or MP3 format, of varying qualities. I use the highest mp3 bitrate possible, which yields about 75 minutes per 1GB Secure Digital (SD) memory card.

Anyway, highly recommended for those who love quality sounds for slideshow presentations.

Andy