I have seen lots of bad comments on the Singer machine recently. Not sure if it was this forum or another one. There seems to be a 6 month life span with this machine if I remember correctly. May be worth doing a bit more research for you.
As for the safari patches - I'd have to go shopping for those too. Not too much animal print in my stash. Have you checked Keepsakequilting.com? They usually have animal type prints - a bit pricey but a nice selection.