The African effect
I was in the bush with one of my closest friends two weeks ago and the red-chested cuckoos were calling.
These are migratory birds that arrived back in South Africa at the start of summer and their monotonous “piet-my-vrou…” call signals the beginning of such a beautiful time of year here.
I was describing to her how this one sound has the capacity to evoke in me years’ worth of happy memories and feelings. The red-chested cuckoo is just one of these though. There are so many other sounds, smells, shapes, qualities of air and animals that tie me to this land. For those of you that have been to Africa, I know you understand what I’m saying. Somehow this immeasurable mix of natural ingredients invokes an awakeness in you, something ancient and remembered. It’s a place that brings you to life.
I’ve written a poem about this African Effect and some of the qualities that make Africa what she is for me.
I look forward to experiencing her with you once again.
Are you ready to be Wild Again?
Africa is many things to me.
She is the intensity of a lowveld thunder storm on approach and the subtlety of jasmine scent on the wind.
I hear her in the drawn-out “trip, trip treeep, treep…” of the lesser-striped swallows building a new mud home on my stoep, meaning Christmas is on approach.
She’s the universal humour of a warthog running with short, hurried legs for a midday mud bath,
and the joyful stotting of impala lambs when rains have cooled the air.
I feel her in the happiness of the first, peeking shoots of green grass and in the grumpiness of wearing a wet poncho.
She’s in the emergence of alates, the princes and princesses of the termite underworld,
and in the comedy and foolhardiness of a dung beetle’s efforts.
She reminds me of her resilience in the sudden emergence of the shongololo, tortoise and chameleon after a long dry winter,
and her creativity in the taste of amarula in a morning coffee enjoyed under the canopy of a Marula tree itself.
She gently touches us through the warmth and colour of the Indian Ocean’s corals and shocks us awake with the biting, cold beauty of the Atlantic’s kelp forests.
She’s felt in the enormity of the coastline and the songs of whales that inhabit it.
I feel her humour in the rolling of eyes as a Cape Town local reminds you, again, of the beauty of the mountain.
She reminds you of her imagination in the striking intensity of a carmine bee-eater, lilac-breasted roller and woodland kingfisher’s plumage.
She’s there in the bobbing dance of a ‘blue-headed’ lizard,
and in the laugh of barking geckos in the Kalahari dusk preceding the emergence of the unusual ones – aardwolves, brown hyenas, aardvarks and pangolins.
I feel her sacredness in the light filtering through Leadwood trees and in the curving fullness of an apple leaf.
She shows the extremes of her character in the Kalahari Desert and the verdant, life-giving Delta it envelopes.
Her penchant for the fabulous is heard in the pop of the champagne bird and the applause at the boldness of the red-crested korhaan’s suicidal mating display.
She celebrates with the squeak of bats in the evening sky that signal it’s time for a cold G&T, back dropped with the drama of the Drakensberg mountains.
She rallies us through a potjie, a braai and the joy of a rugby game even if you don’t care who wins.
And she travels in a good pair of veldskoens.
She awakens through the roar of a lion that reverberates through every cell of your being and the unmistakeable shrieks of hyenas being hassled by wild dogs.
She comforts through the rumbling of an elephant and the call of the fish eagle that makes every African gasp and then smile without fail.
She teaches of ancient art forms through the spirit of a tracker.
She creates art in the beautiful absurdity of a giraffe’s design.
She calls you deeper into yourself through the shape of a leopard that whispers of mystery.
There is a feeling of aliveness this land embodies because, it is true, she is indeed alive…
She is alive with animals, with adventure, with connection and with you.
In each of her many names and faces she is calling to you, asking…
“Are you ready to be Wild Again?”
We create safaris in 12 African countries. Your adventure starts here.
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A safari holiday is the best family holiday out there! What sets a safari apart from any other family holiday is that for a few hours each day, the whole family is together on a game-viewing vehicle or boat, out in the wilderness. This means no cell service, no screens, no busyness or distractions, no work or school responsibility, just dedicated time together searching for some of earth’s most enigmatic animals. There is such a sense of adventure and spaciousness that is missing in our day-to-day lives. And on a safari, there is something interesting for every generation in the family.
umVangati House is a great addition to a safari holiday in the Lowveld as it is situated on the outskirts of the Blyde River Canyon, the third largest and lushest canyon in the world. The canyon is easily accessible from the Timbavati and Sabi Sand Game Reserves and adds a whole new dimension to a stay in the Lowveld
Founder, Private Guide and Safari Planner
Being born the daughter of David Attenborough (it’s true but he’s probably not the one you’re thinking of) I don’t believe I ever really had much choice about what direction my life would take. I grew up in the city of Durban, South Africa but for as long as I can remember nature has called to me. Whenever I could I would escape to the forests around my home barefoot and in search of chameleons and red duiker to befriend.
And so in 2010, after completing my Journalism and Media Studies degree, I followed that calling to the wilds of Southern Africa to become a game ranger. I planned to stay for a year but it turned into ten. During that time, I worked at Phinda Private Game Reserve, Ngala Private Game Reserve and Londolozi Game Reserve, some of South Africa’s most prestigious lodges and immersed myself in the natural world. I learnt to track animals with Zulu and Shangaan trackers and spent as much time as I could on foot approaching animals with my guests. I also put my photojournalism degree to use by becoming a specialist photographic guide. I travelled to Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, India and throughout South America in search of wildlife. My greatest adventure was living in Gabon training local guides for the WWF and Smithsonian Institute, where we spent weeks at a time living like early nomads in the dense and remote coastal forests, fulfilling a life-long dream of tracking and habituating wild gorillas. Seeing how embodied and present animals are inspired me to begin practicing yoga. I am a qualified vinyasa and yin teacher and spent six months training under a Hatha master in Boulder, Colorado. I am also a certified Martha Beck life coach. With this mixture of knowledge, interests and skills, I started Wild Again to help others really experience the wild places I know and love so much. Through my specialised Wellness Safaris that incorporate yoga, meditation, mindfulness and personalised life coaching I continue to grow more conscious safaris that return people to nature and to themselves. As we re-wild ourselves we hear the earth, our common mother, again. It is only then that we can co-create with her healing.
Tell us if you’re keen to plan a safari or join a retreat. We’re ready to create your dream experience.
