you know how it’s cliche when people say they went on an african safari and it changed their life?

ya. i’m now that person.

i’ve been on safaris before. i knew i love being out in the bush, love wildlife, am addicted to the thrill of spotting the animals in the wild.

but my safari in Kruger a couple weeks ago was a gamechanger. the intimate and magical wildlife encounters, the luxurious accommodations, the private game drives, the next-level r&r and peace & quiet — this safari was therapy for my soul. if i thought i was hooked on safaris before, i’m DEFINITELY hooked now.

“safari” means “journey” in Swahili. i love that.

a game drive is the actual drive to see the animals, and you can also do a game walk or walking safari, biking safari, hell you can probably do a segway safari somewhere because you know how humans get. but i love that the term “safari” kind of means whatever you interpret it to mean — to me, it’s a journey of the soul.

A safari obsession is born

my first safari was a self-drive with friends-of-friends through Akagera National Park in Rwanda circa Nov 2017. we got a huge thrill when we rounded a bend to encounter a giant elephant blocking our path. we camped overnight in the park, and saw a bunch of other animals like antelope, giraffes, zebra, and (my fave :|) baboons. it was here where i first got that adrenaline rush of a game drive, and i was hooked. but there was no leopard (no cats at all) and certainly no sundowner bubbly on the savanna.

so when i went cape town a couple weeks later, i wanted more — i wanted to see the big 5, in particular a leopard. i saw advertisements for a big 5 Safari at Aquila Lodge a few hours from Cape Town and i was obviously on board.

Aquila is not a big 5 safari, people. it is a glorified zoo. if you’re looking for someone to say “we are now entering the lion territory” as your vehicle passes through a gate, then this is for you. i didn’t even see my freaking leopard. anyway. moving on.

next up i did a two-week overland budget safari with Absolute Africa through Kenya and Uganda. it was for my 30th bday last May.

it was a great starter safari. i did see the big 5, and you bet i cried at that leopard. there were some amazing moments and i’m so glad i did it, but honestly overall it didn’t deliver what i was specifically looking for out of a safari, which was to feel connected with the animals and the land, soak in sunset and sunrise, be present.

the overland tour was quite hectic tbh — a lot of early mornings, taking down a dewy tent, long drive days, game drives with some people i didn’t.. click with.. come back to camp, set up the tent, hope for some water out of the drippy shower and some TP, and do your daily chore (cook dinner, wash dishes, or wash the truck).

Safari 2.0

so being back in cape town now in 2020, and with my bestie Carmy coming to visit me, a new level of safari was in order.

i asked my hostel owner Tim, who has never failed me thus far (his tourism company is called In Motion — check it out for your trip to South Africa!), which safari he recommended. he said contact his pal Brett Horley, and do a walking safari.

i genuinely attribute the biggest chunk of my #lifein2point0 cape town happiness to Tim so i was sold, no questions asked.

Brett and i were able to work out a deal and it included two unbelievable properties — nThambo and Africa on Foot, properties managed by Sun Destinations — and i knew this would be a whole new ball game. i barely even researched where we were going, cause i have seen this safari in my dreams before. i knew magic was up ahead.

i am going to break down my trip but first, let me tell you a little about Brett Horley Safaris. because i honestly think if you don’t book through him you are a psychopath. also if you tell him you found him through me he will give you a sweet deal like a discount or a champagne dinner or something — TRUST ME you will be blown away.

Brett Horley Safaris

having a passionate, knowledgeable guide who knows how to read the audience is everything on safari. brett over-delivered across the board, from the customer service and prep process, to the accommodations, to the personalized game drives, to just being a genuinely great human who is fun and easy to be around.

he is basically a legend around Kruger. he knows the safari game inside and out across Africa and provides customized itineraries based on your budget, interests, travel style, and the season. each safari is tailored for each guest and i am 100% confident he will nail it every time.

okay, let’s get into the safari/journey!

Arriving at nThambo

i had arrived in joburg to meet carmen, and in the morning we set off at 6:45am for kruger. we took a shuttle with ashtons tours and it was super comfortable and easy — we are used to some rocky rides in guatemala so this was a breeze! i would defs recommend them for your Joburg-Kruger transport.

brett picked us up at bush pub in hoedspruit and we drove to our safari destination: Klaserie, a private game reserve in Kruger National Park.

private reserves mean you get a more intimate experience with the animals as they have restrictions like only 2 vehicles per animal encounter, and you get perks like being able to get out of the vehicle (for game walks or sundowners) and open-air vehicles. this stuff made ALL. THE. DIFFERENCE.

Our first two nights were spent at nThambo Tree Camp.

this property is INSANE. it’s the safari lodge i’d always dreamed of, i think i had either seen it on insta or been imagining something exactly like it for so long cause it actually looked familiar. beautiful cabanas up on stilts, open bar/chill/eating area, pool looking out onto the grasslands.

after dusk, the lawn becomes FILLED with impalas and wildebeest, and a hyena and/or honey badger will likely come into camp, and maybe a lion will kill a freakin’ wildebeest directly under your treehouse (this happened the tuesday before we arrived. no joke.). the meals are incredible, it’s so peaceful and luxurious and therapeutic. did not stop pinching myself.

Next up: Africa on Foot

we then switched to Africa on Foot, which had more of an authentic African Bush Camp vibe — still luxury, but a bit more affordable and rustic. i absolutely loved it. i first went to the pool and saw Pumba and two baby Pumbas running away into the bush.

we slept in a treehouse the first night, where we heard an elephant trumpeting before we went to sleep, i woke up to a hyena growling, and then again to zebras munching in grass beneath us. THIS IS AFRICAAAA. i couldn’t get toto out of my head.

both these lodges are legit in the bush. animals from leopards to hyenas to the notorious honey badger frequent the camps, some of them every night. all the facilities work and it truly is luxury living, but you just feel like you’re one with nature and it is so incredible.

A day in the safari life

5am wakeup by the staff calling “good morning ladies!” outside your room
roll out of bed and throw on your all-green-everything comfies and Brett Horley Safaris hat — it’s go-time. SO EXCITED for whatever the morning will bring.
coffee (and rusks) and then 5:30 set out for game drive, witness a magical sunrise, with a coffee stop in the bush along the way
back by 8am, cold breakfast, hot breakfast, chill/look at photos from the morning/naptime (if i was physically capable of napping)
2pm lunch, probably something light and fresh (salad, meat n cheese, quiche)
more chill time. all the chill time. i loved these days because i usually can’t sit still, i get antsy and think i need to be doing stuff. but here i was FORCED to relax, it wasn’t exactly like i could go for a run with the lions.
4:30 game drive with a sunset stop for a beverage and snacks (bubbly for me, all day err day)
8pm back for a delicious 3-course dinner
bed by 10pm, where you will have to get walked to your room in the dark

IS THAT THE LIFE OR IS THAT THE LIFE???

Wildlife highlights

night 1: a rambunctious young male elephant cant stop trumpeting, lunging, and flapping his ears at us
a spunky hyena keeps chasing 2 rhinos, at first i thought a fight was gonna go down but then it kept going and i realized they were just being playful!
day 2 morning: rhinos hanging along so close to the car
see an elephant, then a few more, then a bunch more, and they all start moving in one direction. our guide says “i think they’re going to the waterhole” so we go there and wait. slowly they all started coming through the golden light to the water to bathe, drink, and play. there were like 40-50 of them coming from all directions. it felt like the beginning of lion king when everyone’s being summoned to pride rock. this was the MOST magical.

day 3 morning: walking safari. i had learned that stationary giraffes in a group are called a tower and moving giraffes in a group are called a journey — in this one we were along for the journey!! a group of seven were very curious as we took to the bush by foot, gliding along with us as we walked and turning to stare when we stopped. a walking safari is a whole different experience, a new kind of thrill, and it’s amazing to feel their feet moving on the ground beneath you.
then we saw 2 rhinos right outside our camp and my life flashed before my eyes when i thought one was gonna charge !!

day 3 evening: silhouettes of the giraffes moving across our path against the sunset. they glide so gracefully.
day 3 evening and day 4 morning were dedicated solely to trying to find that leopard and i really appreciated this. i loved how brett told us some of the things he uses to track (eg. there were quite a few vultures and a tawny eagle hanging out in the area where the leopard has been seen often, so maybe she had made a kill there).
day 4 morning: right out the gate, a magical encounter with the family of elephants. the baby was SO adorable and came right up to us, waving its trunk, stepping on it, squishing it against the ground, and just frolicking. ya. i cried.
day 4 evening: LIONS, BABY. we’d been searching for these for days and had made a late-night speed chase to find them one night, but with no luck. this evening we got a radio call and BOOKED it along the road (even skipped sundowner, which i was surprisingly okay with), to find two females crossing the road into the next reserve. we got there just in time.
day 5 morning: lots of close-ups with elephants and giraffes. saw our elephant family and at one point we were completely surrounded by them grazing in the bushes around us. imagine that feeling. so cool. also at one scene there were a couple rhinos, and a scene with giraffes, zebra, and impalas. i love seeing them all together like that, especially with that golden morning light — #tia <3

there are a million more things to say about safaris, and i am putting together a post for you guys about what to know for your first safari so stay tuned for that! but in the meantime, if you are thinking about it reach out to Brett, tell him i sent you so you get a sweet hook up, and get a sense of your options and what will suit you. i’m always here to answer any questions as well, of course — leave a comment below or message me on insta!

The safari I've always dreamed of