(Swahili, derived from Arabic safariyya, "journey, voyage")
Originally, a hunting expedition in the wilderness, especially in Central, South and East Africa. In this sense of the word, the first safaris were carried out in the wake of the last wave of African exploration by Europeans and Americans.
However, during the period between the World Wars, the safari as a quasi-recreational "adventure" attracted growing attention in the Western world, particularly through the writings of Karen Blixen and Ernest Hemingway. Until well after World War II, though, the safari was a luxury activity, reserved for the wealthy. It was only with the growth of international tourism in the 1960s that this form of vacation became more accessible to the "common man".
Today, the concept has been expanded to include "photo safaris", where only cameras are used to "shoot", and guided tours into wildlife preserves. Legal big game hunting, on the other hand, has become almost obsolete, with the advent of game protection laws and the classification of many of the large animals of Africa as endangered.