Five new ways to see Africa

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A great welcome in the Great Karoo

Samara, in the Great Karoo of South Africa, is one of those places I’ve heard praised everywhere but never visited. The Sarah Tompkins experience at the reconstructed farm has always had at the core of it strong conservation safari leanings and beautiful, well-appointed hospitality. There is a considered approach to the wildlife experience with expert guidance and education, dining where all food is locally grown or sourced, often in stunning natural settings and beautiful interiors.

Having celebrated its 25th year of welcoming guests in 2022, it is introducing a number of changes, starting with a new name, Samara Karoo Reserve, and a total renovation of the Karoo Lodge, the original beautiful house, which is set to reopen in December. In the meantime, consider Plains Camp, the new ultralight four-tent, off-grid campsite that opened in June in the most remote corner of the reserve. Here, guests specialize in walking safaris, encountering gazelle, antelope, zebra, cheetah, and more. It is, as Tompkins has long said, a place of space, stars and silence; all the products we can get behind. samara.co.zafrom R11,000 (around £481)

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Megafauna in the Mara River

No one can dispute the primacy of Singita in the safari world, from the seminal luxury experiences founder Luke Bailes created in South Africa in the 1990s to the company’s partnership with conservation NGO The Grumeti Fund on anti-safari programs. forward-thinking and technology-based poaching. in Tanzania at Singita Grumeti. This summer, Singita is bringing back its much-loved Mara River Tented Camp, after a hiatus that saw it undergo a total redesign and refit.

Built, slightly, on a bend in the river in the Lamai triangle, a few kilometers from the Kenyan border, the camp benefits from a location at the center of mass animal migrations, which means you can come in June or Come in September and you are likely to experience the famous herd crossing spectacle. The new design is playful, its contemporary palette and lines referencing local Maasai motifs; the electrical system, 100 percent off the grid; and the sense of privacy, supreme, thanks to the entire 98,000 private acres that the camp enjoys. singita.comfrom $1,910

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Best of Botswana: Birds and Boats

Natucate founder Daniel Kaul created his organization to make it easy for people to access. adventure and experiences that would engage them in conservation efforts across all travel categories: wildlife, wildlife, communities, the built environment. From internships and gap years to volunteering and fieldwork, she pairs them with projects that allow them to make an impact. And they’re shocking: According to Kaul, some of his clients ended up using the Natucate experience mid-career to jumpstart a new life.

But you don’t have to spend a year, a semester or a month on it: Natucate also plans more conventional safaris through southern Africa, with Botswana as a strong point. A handful of walking and birding safaris in the Okavango Delta and Chobe and Moremi Game Reserves will take guests to the most wildlife-rich places in northern Botswana, where birdwatchers are especially rewarded. From Pels’ Fishing Owls to Bataleur’s Eagles, Kingfishers and Lilac-breasted Carousels, the catalog of species is extensive. Travel on foot, by boat and by paddling your own mokoro canoe, under the shade of a dedicated mobile camp. Some basic training sessions for field guides are available for those who wish to delve into the links between ecotourism and conservation. natucate.comfrom €1,850

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Supreme Privacy (and Meerkats) in the South African Kalahari

Owned by the Oppenheimer family, Tswalu is the largest private protected nature reserve in South Africa, a standard bearer for exclusivity and superior guide experiences, as well as a member of the prestigious Long Run coalition of sustainable hotel companies. Loapi is your new safari experience, a collection of six one- and two-bedroom tents, actually more like houses: glass, steel, and canvas pavilions, measuring 300 and 400m2, nestled in their own little valley at the foot of of the Korannaberg Mountains.

Each has its own pool, interactive kitchen (where families can take care of an evening with their dedicated chef), fire pit, multiple terraces, and lounging spaces; private guides take you into the bush on your own schedule. There are horses for riders of all levels, day-long photo safaris and three families of habituated meerkats that will allow you to sit within a couple of meters of them, it is best to communicate with them at dawn, since they are just emerging from their burrows. tswalu.comfrom £1,780 per person per night for a minimum two night stay

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Ancient history in Zimbabwe

Elephants, lions, hippos and medieval architecture – in Zimbabwe you can now see them all, thanks to a cool new partnership between UK-based conservators Original Travel and Past Preservers, the international network of archaeologists and historians who consult for the BBC and Discovery Channel. on documentary programming.

Together they have created experiences from Egypt and Cyprus to, naturally, Rome, and now they have an intriguing one in Zimbabwe: Original guests can spend a couple of hours or a full day with archeological scholars from the Great University of Zimbabwe, exploring the ruins. from the medieval walled city of the same name in the country’s mountainous southeast. Begun in the 11th century and expanded over 300 years, Great Zimbabwe is testament to the wealth of the trading empire that dominated Africa’s east coast at the time: the section known as the Great Enclosure, with its 11-meter walls high, it is the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara desert. It’s an unexpected and extraordinary addition to any Zim safari tour. viajesoriginales.esfrom £6,250 for 10 days