Safari in South Africa
This was a wellness retreat with Ekam Wellness where veterinarians can earn CE credits by learning about the animals and guided yoga sessions.
Trip Recap
- Days 1 to 2: Long layover at Heathrow; stayed in airport, missed exploring London’s charm.
- Day 3: Morning game drives, yoga, and incredible food made for a memorable retreat!
- Day 4: Witnessed lions devouring a wildebeest—an unforgettable early morning adventure!
- Day 5: Searching for elephants made the drive completely worthwhile!
- Day 6: Bush walking with a guide was an unforgettable, immersive wildlife experience!
- Day 7: Visited an orphanage for endangered animals, then enjoyed lunch in the mountains.
- Day 8: We enjoyed a delightful dinner and cultural songs by the campfire!
- Day 9: Our last morning game drive was unforgettable before heading home.
- Day 10: Headed home, reflecting on unforgettable adventures from the trip.
Highlights
There’s never a dull day! You never know what animal you’re going to see, a kill, a hunt, or a rare behaviors!
Our guide Jimmy was truly the best! He found most of the animals first and would radio in where they were to the other rangers. This allowed us to get a first look before the other vehicles arrived which meant we could then drive away to give the animal some space.
Days 1 to 2
I did an overnight flight to Heathrow Airport (London), a long 12 hour layover, and then another overnight flight into South Africa. I was traveling solo for this part so I didn’t leave the airport as I had my bags with me plus most things were an hour long train ride away where I didn’t want to risk not making it back or having to explore while hauling my luggage. If I were to do it again, I would probably leave at least for a little bit to just do things like go to a coffee shop to get out of the airport and then kill time going back through security. There were a lot of stores and restaurants in the airport to keep my busy for a bit but by the time I got bored, it would’ve been risky to leave especially given how strict security is at that airport where I decided to just stay.
After arriving in South Africa, all trip participants met up in the airport and then traveled via large private van for about 3-4 hours to get to the camp.
Day 3
Each day, we do a game drive in the early morning and then late afternoon until sundown. The middle of the day is open to do whatever you want. Since ours was a wellness retreat, this is when we did yoga sessions by the watering hole. Other people staying on property for vacation played games, enjoyed the bar, enjoyed the pool, used the spa services, and explored the gift shop.
This is cabin style lodging so it’s comfortable but not a luxury hotel experience. You have outdoor showers and no air conditioning or heating. Since it’s cold there in June, we had heating pads that kept us very warm at night. Leggings and a hoodie were too warm to wear to bed so we were usually in shorts and a t shirt for sleepwear. The weather goes from comfortably warm to very cold in the mornings and evenings so we had everything from shorts to parkas packed and used it all.
The water is clean so you can brush your teeth using the sink water. Everything is filtered. The food was incredible! They also clean up your room every day while you’re on the game drives. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
The meals were incredible! I had food intolerances plus we had a few vegans on the trip. They handled our food well. Be aware that celiac-level gluten free may have cross contamination as well as not quite the same amount of protein or fat that a vegan with very balanced/monitored meals can make themselves. I recommend bringing some food and snacks to supplement if you have any food accommodations. There's always tea and coffee available as well!
Day 4
We heard the lions in the very early morning make a kill so our guide, Jimmy, was super excited to find where they were. We got up close to the lions eating a wildebeest!
Day 5
Our guide specifically wanted to try to find the elephants so it was a good amount of driving but worth it!
Day 6
Instead of the usual safari drive, we did a bush walk with our guide (armed with a rifle). We specifically stayed far away from where the lions were as a result! We got to see the herbivores on foot, learn animal prints, animal droppings, and how our guide tracks the animals every day for the game drives. We ended the bush walk with a surprise lunch at an outdoor fire pit picnic area the staff set up for us.
Day 7
We went to an endangered animal orphanage (no photos or name mentioned to protect the organization from poachers) in the morning. After, we drove into the mountains to have lunch.
Day 8
The staff prepared a special dinner at the same place we had lunch after the bush walk. They sang around the camp fire for us along with other fun cultural things to close out our amazing week with them!
Day 9
We did our last morning game drive and then began the journey home.
Day 10
Travel day back home
Anything you would add or do differently?
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I would’ve done a tiny bit of pre-travel on the way there or back but didn’t want to worry about safety while traveling alone initially for the flights.
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Be advised that you'll need to entertain yourself from breakfast after the game drive to the evening drive. Since I was there for a yoga retreat, we had our own activities.
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I know I get hungry so I brought oatmeal packs to make quickly during the morning coffee time before the game drives as it can be a few hours on an empty stomach. I brought snacks as well since the afternoon game drives can sometimes go a bit late before heading to dinner.
