Safaris: the wildest wilderness

[Honey]

Among the dozens of luxury safari lodges in Africa, it is refreshing to find a few that still focus on the thing we’re supposed to go to the bush for: the wilderness.
They may be difficult to get to, but therein lie their beauty - they really are places where you can escape from it all.


The only way into the isolated deserts in northernmost Namibia is by plane, where - on the edge of an ancient waterhole on the Kunene River - you will find the Serra Cafema camp


The surrounding dunes are tamed using Land Rovers and quad-bikes. Excursions are made to visit the Himba, one of the last nomadic ethnic groups on the continent.


Expect to encounter plenty of birdlife around the river, while the wilderness is inhabited by oryx, springbok and ostrich - the only animals that can survive these conditions.


On the border of South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is an area of the northern Kruger so wild and unspoilt that almost 75 per cent of the national park’s mammal, bird and tree life can be found there.


This is untouched Africa, where the mountains, gorges and riverbeds are thick with trees and subtropical undergrowth, and teeming with game, from black rhino and herds of elephant to tiny malachite kingfishers.
As well as four-wheel-drive safaris, bird and bush walks and riding expeditions, Wilderness Safaris’ sleek Pafuri Camp (www.pafuri.com) will organise sleepouts in hides, so guests can also experience the magic of the bush at night.


The setting for the Wolwedans Boulders Camp (www.wolwedans-namibia.com), in Namibia, is an otherworldly blend of volcanic black mountains and red and golden sands.


Such is the isolation found in this corner of Africa, guests often come purely to absorb the silence.
For the adventurous, the camp will move guests’ beds out in to the middle of nowhere, to ensure that nothing but a duvet is between them and the spectacle of a billion twinkiling stars.


Chiawa (www.chiawa.com), a safari retreat set in Zambia's raw and beautiful Zambezi Valley, is the place to see elephants: visitors almost always do.


Tours are taken on foot and by canoe, where buffalo, hippo and worryingly large crocodiles enjoy the water.
Elsewhere, lion and giraffe are both common sightings.


Located on a island of greenery amid 60,000 square miles of Botswana salt pans, Jack's Camp (www.unchartedafrica.com) is as remote as they get.
The dry winters bring hyena, aardvark and a few meerkat, while the flooded summers attract thirsty zebra, wildebeest and countless thousands of flamingos.


Although located in the busier south side of the South African Kruger, the Londolozi (www.londolozi.com) is still fantastically wild.
Tracking tours to try to spot the magnificent leopards that inhabit the Sabi Sands are a big draw.


The glamourous, upmarket camps also offer top-notch guides through the grasslands and savannah forests and night drives with torches in search of porcupine, hyena and owls.


So remote that you have to wade through a river to get there, Kutandala's (www.kutandala.com) charms lie in its simplicity.
Don't expect luxury or even an overwhelming amount of game at this Zambian hideaway; the ethos is all about living, breathing and worshipping the surrounding bush.


Visitors will be treated to daily tours on foot - often past hyena, buffalo and lion, while owners Ros and Guz Tether are exceptionally passionate about the wilderness they inhabit.


The Mvuu Wilderness Lodge (www.wilderness-safaris.com) sits in the Liwonde National Park. The area is reknowned among twitchers for its exceptional birdlife.
Sightings of slightly larger wildlife are commonplace, however, as the camp's rooms all back on to a fever-tree fringed lagoon: a favourite spot for elephants, hippo and crocodiles.



The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the world's great waterland wildernesses.


All of the Big Five can be found here, as well as packs of wild dog and hyena.
But it is primarily predators that visitors come to this remote spot to see: leopard stalking the water-based lechwe, prides of well-fed lion and agile cheetah, which prowl the grasslands looking for prey.

Safaris: the wildest wilderness - Telegraph

[cmmdee]

Just beautiful!
I have always wanted to go on a safari.

Safaris: the wildest wilderness
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 613x308 and weights 22KB.
Among the dozens of luxury safari lodges in Africa, it is refreshing to find a few that still focus on the thing we’re supposed to go to the bush for: the wilderness.
They may be difficult to get to, but therein lie their beauty - they really are places where you can escape from it all.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 613x458 and weights 54KB.