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March 2025 was THE MOST iconic month — not only did I get MARRIED (which is a pretty big deal) but I also went on TWO SAFARIS WITH MY FAMILY & FRIENDS!!!!!

Don’t ask me which part I loved more lol.

No but seriously, this was the most ridiculously special time of my life. As you know I am safari-obsessed, and to have the people I love make the trek around the world to celebrate our wedding with us meant more than I’ll ever be able to express. And to be able to safari with some of them just bookended the wedding so perfectly and made it that much more special.

Our pre-wedding safari was with both Matt's & my parents at andBeyond Ngala Tented Camp, and our post-wedding Flouncy Friends Safari was at Umlani Bush Camp in Timbavati and Nkorho Bush Camp in the Sabi Sands (organized by MOI at Adventurelust of course!!!)

Each brought epic sightings and something new and different, and reinvigorated my love for the bush about 10 times stronger. THIS IS WHY I DO WHAT I DO. Sharing the safari magic with you guys is the most rewarding thing ever, and I’m so blessed to have been able to experience this with people I love, and to continue sharing it with others.

Below are some details on our pre- and post-wedding safaris along with a whole lot of photos!!!

And as always, when you’re ready to book your safari adventure, email me at kellie@adventurelust.travel — I will design the best safari for you, your dates, budget, and travel style, as well as take care of the logistics like airport transport and conservation levies so your safari is as seamless and magical as possible for you!!!!

START YOUR SAFARI PLANNING HERE

PRE-WEDDING SAFARI WITH OUR PARENTS

Ngala Tented Camp

The andBeyond brand holds special meaning for us because last year we got engaged at Phinda!!! Matt also grew up coming to this exact property with his dad, and my mom and I visited Ngala Safari Lodge last year, so it was extra special to come back to the *new and improved* Ngala Tented Camp, which was just renovated last September!!!

In classic andBeyond fashion, the camp is flawless.

It’s a sleek and fun design with pops of coral, a beautiful pool where I got to swim some lengths, and an outdoor daybed on our balcony which was an absolutely delightful place to pass the time on a hot safari afternoon. Our tent was frequently visited by a hornbill who thought his reflection in the window was his enemy and dive-bombed it for hours on end. Also don’t get me started on the outdoor bath/shower zen zone. We loved how you can never go hungry or thirsty here, with drinks for days in the mini bar, by the pool, basically everywhere you looked!

It was honestly such a pinch-me experience to have both our sets of amazing parents with us, ringing in this very exciting time for all of us, and everyone getting along so well and getting to share this magical experience together in Africa. If you can swing it, a pre-wedding parents safari is HIGHLY recommended to enter your wedding era in a state of ultimate bliss!!!!

We had the honour of having Ngala’s guide Ruel and our Master Tracker Adam, and had some incredible sightings, including:

A mama cheetah and 4 cubs — SO RARE for Kruger (well there were 4 in the evening and only 3 the next morning but we’re still not ready to talk about that)
Infamous male lions the Mbiri males which initiated me into the lion cult with this reel
Hyenas had snatched the carcass of the wild dogs’ recent impala kill, were eating it in the river while fending off the dogs (who then got distracted in the chaos and started mating). Meanwhile an elephant is trumpeting in the background. Wild i tell you.
A leopardess posing perfectly in the tree in the golden setting sun, and she let us spend the evening with her as she tried to hunt some impalas — they got away, but that feeling of their hooves stampeding in the still night will stay with us for a long time.
We got surprised with an amazing bush breakfast and bush sundowners (with special guest!)
Honestly my favourite part was just the skies — incredible sunsets, big big African skies, light beams, rays in the distance, in these warm summer evenings in the bush. Can’t beat it.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this camp to anyone and have already had VERY happy clients come visit here. Can’t wait to book this for more of my lovely Adventurelust guests!!!

FLOUNCY FRIENDS SAFARI

After the wedding we embarked on our Flouncy Friends Safari with a crew of first-timers to Kruger, who also happen to be my lifetime besties. The most special part was getting to witness them experiencing this for the first time — the magic of the bush, learning and understanding how the different species navigate this wild world. this was just so so amazing and I know we are going to reminisce on it for the rest of our lives.

We stayed in 2 camps over 4 days — here’s some info about each.

Umlani Bush Camp

We arrived at the rustic Umlani Bush Camp in the Timbavati with our flouncy friends and honestly had a BLAST. We had such epic sightings — a pride of lions chowing down on a kudu, grunting ferociously, while my friends learned just how close the big cats get to the vehicle 😂 We saw wild dogs trotting and bouncing along, we saw a leopard polish off her mongoose kill and then strut off into sunset. As she should. We made new friends with our fellow guest Lorne and enjoyed the monkeys’ poolside antics during the day.

Umlani’s secret weapon is its treehouse set out by a waterhole, where you can book to spend the night, and my reel on it is still going viral on Insta although I think a large part of it is they think Matt is Messi lolll. It is totally safe but still a wild experience, and we woke up to the sound of hyenas wwwwwoop wwwwwoop wwooopping and running around us!

Nkorho Bush Lodge

I swear by my claim that Sabi Sands is my favourite place on Earth, and just when you think I’m being dramatic, you arrive and then 15 minutes into your first game drive you see a leopard and her cub jumping around on a tree.

I’m telling you this place does NOT DISAPPOINT. We saw leopard on EVERY DRIVE. 5 leopards in 4 game drives. Freaking INSANE.

Other sightings included the ghosts in the darkness - the mighty 4 Kambula males making their way across the landscape. We caught some time with 2 wild dogs, had a quality encounter with Pumba himself, and just soaked in the magic of authentic African golden hour One night after dinner we went back on the vehicle and headed away from the camp lights for some stargazing, and it was such an - excuse the pun - out of this world experience. To look into infinity and imagine that somewhere out there, is another group of Flouncy Friends, having the time of their lives on safari just like us 🥹

Nkorho is such a beautiful property, a nice mid-range option in the Sands (as in, its neighbours at like $3000 per person per night), with a very open outlook onto the plains, with a nice pool and deck area. Bonus points for their camp dogs, their blue mojito slushees, and throwing us a mimosa hour one rainy afternoon.