There are few others holidays that one can take in life to rival something quite so spectacular as a luxury Africa safari! These days, it is so easy to undertake a safari in complete and varying degrees of comfort. Whether one is looking for a private mobile tented safari with private vehicle and guide, allowing one complete flexibility  and exclusivity each day, to staying at a luxury permanent camp to the ultimate designer lodge, happily all these safaris are now possible to do!

Luxury Africa Safari with AfricanExplorations.com

The next difficult question would be – which country?  Well, for first time safari goers, little equals East Africa with its large, infinite savannah plains and concentrations of wildlife, to the delights of Zambia which is uncommercial, beautiful and plentiful of wildlife and probably the finest country for walking safaris, to Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Rwanda, Madagascar and South Africa. Each country has its own special and unique factors – and we are here to assist you with our wide choice of luxury safaris, all tailored to you by our African experts from Africa!

Luxury Africa Safari with AfricanExplorations.com

Luxury Safari in Africa- There can be few dreams realised like a luxury safari in Africa. This, surely, must be the ultimate holiday that anybody could ever dream of going on!

Luxury comes in many guises and as the famous HSBC advert that one sees plastered all over airport walls in Africa and Europe alike, aludes to, is that each person’s idea of heaven and hell come in equal quantities and have different meanings!

Beho Beho with AfricanExplorations.com

For some, an idea of heaven, is having the most amazing wildlife viewing perhaps in the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania and then returning to a hugely luxurious lodge, where fresh roses are flown in daily to be placed next to your bath, which has views over the Crater floor, a chandelier above your head and a butler who waits upon you, even filling your bath so you can simply step into it when returning from your safari.

Abu's Camp with AfricanExplorations.com

For others, it is having a private camp erected just for the two of you, or perhaps even your family in the middle of the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, during the wildebeest migration, with millions of animals around you. Or going one step further, perhaps in the Katavi National Park, where you have a flycamp erected for just the two of you and your guide and staff, sleeping beneath the stars at night and showering beneath the southern cross!

Again, for others, it might well be having a truly sensational private guide to accompany you throughout your safari, explaining every detail to you and perhaps even be flying you in their own private aircraft, which means that no time is wasted and you can do some wonderful game spotting on a low level flight!

Luxury Safari in Africa with AfricanExplorations.com

Perhaps it is taking a hot air balloon across the Namib Desert at first light, watching the colours change hue before you, the silence simply deafening! Or even taking a flying safari up the Skeleton Coast in Namibia which is about the best thing you can ever do in this country!

Chada Camp with AfricanExplorations.com

For others again, perhaps in Kenya, to have your own private villa in Laikipia and finish off with a private villa in Lamu. Or take Prince William’s route, of staying at a rustic log cabin at the foothills of Mount Kenya, accessible only by helicopter.

Travel on horseback through the Okavango Delta, or even on an  elephant back safari in Botswana. Whatever your idea of luxury is, we have the expertise and the passion to fulfil your dreams!

Luxury Safari in Africa with AfricanExplorations.com

Luxury African Safaris – These are the sort of safaris that we arrange extremely well. But what is the definition of luxury? Well, to some, it is to have a large tented camp, with en suite bathroom facilities, complete with hot water from a bucket shower beneath the stars. To others, it is enjoying a chilled glass of wine for sundowners, whilst looking out over a lake filled with hippos cavorting and grunting.

Shompole with AfricanExplorations.com

Jacks Camp with AfricanExplorations.com

To others, it is the more definite sense of the word, staying in a design inspired lodge with the finest Frette linen, perhaps a private plunge pool, on call butler service so that when you return from a game drive, your steaming bath already awaits you. For others still, it is not being blighted by other people  and therefore having your own private air charter to whisk you to each place, your own private 4 x 4 vehicle and specialist guide. Definitely having a pristine game viewing experience all to yourself must also be categorised as luxury!

Luxury African Safaris with AfricanExplorations.com

Whatever your idea of luxury may be, let us at African Explorations realise your dreams for you – the only  limit is the realm of your imagination!

African Safari Holidays – The very best kind of holiday imaginable! I spoke about African safaris in my last blog, dated 02nd November, so do have a look at that, as it really covers exactly how one feels when travelling on an African safari and why I think its the best holiday that anyone can ever travel upon! What I didn’t go into, however, was the sort of accommodation that one can choose whilst on safari, or the various ways in terms of guiding, that one can undertake. In some countries, i have friends of mine who are some of the most amazing guides, who have their own aircraft and are ace pilots. They will both guide and fly you to each of your camps. This is particularly good if travelling to far flung camps. Your guide will arrive at camp with you and guide you in the open 4 x 4 vehicles when you are on safari.

Sand Rivers Selous with AfricanExplorations.com

A lot of our clients are really interested in photography these days. We can arrange for anything from joining a dedicated photographic safari where much time and information is dedicated to the technical aspects (as well as the artistry) of taking an excellent photograph. This is wonderful as it is a skill you will keep for life! There are even art safaris where you can join artists and paint or draw and the same principle applies. Having a private guide when there is a party of four or more often makes a lot of sense. Firstly, you are having the finest knowledge shared with you, you develop a rapport with your guide and invariably become firm friends! In addition, there is continuity – so no sharing a vehicle with other people and having to come back to the camp or lodge because of meals and no having to pander to other peoples interests (lovely if you share them, not so great if you don’t!) . There is flexibility and the continuity I mention comes from travelling to each place, knowing what you have seen before and comparing notes, rather than being asked the same questions or being given the same information many times over. Tedious even for the most ardent wildlife enthusiast! Yes, it costs more money, but safaris as never cheap and you may as well do it properly the first time around! There is also no value that one can place on the difference of having a good safari and a truly sublime safari!

African Safari Holidays with AfricanExplorations.com

Richard's Camp Masai Mara with AfricanExplorations.com

Lastly, one can either stay in a tented camp or a designer lodge, depending upon one’s comfort and taste (and budget!), OR – and again for parties of four or more, have a private camp erected just for you. This really is the ultimate and can be done as plainly or as stylishly as your budget will allow! However, we dont compromise on the guides and a basic level of comfort! Here a camp is set up in the best wildlife viewing areas – particularly important in all countries, but especially at the time of the wildebeest migration, which occurs in Kenya and Tanzania, when 1.5 million wildebeest and 500 000 zebra and a multitude of predators congregate on the plains of the Serengeti/Mara ecosystem! But, best of all, talk to us! We all come from Africa, have a passion for the continent, its wildlife and its people – and to be honest, nobody knows it like we do!

Wolwedans Dune Lodge with AfricanExplorations.com

African Safaris are simply magical! Coming from Africa, I know I am biased, but I really cannot imagine taking either myself or my family on any other kind of holiday! It is filled with magic, wonder, gorgeous colours, smells, vibrancy, adventure, breathtaking scenery, awesome wildlife and a people whose friendship you will come to treasure for years!

African Safaris with AfricanExplorations.com

It really is a non stop sensory overload! Whether it is learning about the various tribes that inhabit this diverse and fascinating continent – tribes whose stories teach their children about the rights and wrongs of every day life and survival in general. Tribes who dance with amazing rhythmic energy and who move into a trance to mark celebrations. Wildlife to stir your very being, as you sit and witness  the entire spectacle unfold before you – watching a pack of wild dog, Africa’s most efficient predator, move towards a kill, skilfully communicating their every move with each other. Watch a honeyguide bird lead people and honey badgers to a nest of bees. Learn about the night sky and the solar system. Remember what being in touch with nature is all about – and how much better we all feel for being so much closer to it!

African Safaris with Nicola Shepherd's AfricanExplorations.com

Ride horses amongst the legendary wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara in Kenya, sail on Lake Malawi or in Madagascar, dive in Mozambique, walk in search for wildlife in the selous in southern Tanzania or even Luangwa in Zambia, canoe in the Mana Pools region in Zimbabwe, game view by open vehicle, documenting the most spectacular animals with your camera.

Kutendala with AfricanExplorations.com

All this, and so much more, is waiting for you on an African safari!

Chada Camp Katavi with AfricanExplorations.com

custom safaris – These are the only kind of safaris and vacations that we arrange. They really are the best, because they allow you to dictate exactly how you want your safari or vacation to run, what sort of accommodation you would like to stay in (a lovely tented camp, some rustic ‘fly camping’ with a small tent and a bedroll, or to stay in luxuriously designed lodges with the most extraordinary special touches.

Shompole Lodge with AfricanExplorations.com

We always place you in the best game viewing regions for the time of year when you are travelling. We all come from Africa, having lived there most of our lives and we love the bush and know it  intimately! In addition, we only send you to places we have stayed at ourselves and have received our rigorous stamp of approval!

Chada Camp Katavi with AfricanExplorations.com

The guides are so important, and you can either have a private guide, perhaps teaching or perfecting your photography, or you can share the guide that resides at the camp in a shared vehicle, or you can even have a guide fly with you from camp to camp or if you decide to perhaps have a private camp set up for just you and your party, then the guide will accompany you throughout the trip, driving you from place to place whilst guiding you. This is one of the best ways of experiencing real Africa, with the villages and farms and gorgeous scenery.

custom safaris with AfricanExplorations.com

The only limit is the realm of your imagination and our suggestions are infinite! We look forward to arranging your custom safari to Africa!

Luxury African safari- This is the sort of safari that so many people dream of! To be close to wildlife, enjoying the sights and sounds which are so uniquely African, yet coming back to sheer comfort in the evening is simply heavenly!

Zarafa camp with AfricanExplorations.com

The days will be spent either viewing wildlife from an open vehicle, getting really close to lion, cheetah and if one is lucky – leopard, as well as a myriad of antelope, giraffe, zebra and elephant. Perhaps alternate that with a walk, with your professional guide, who brings the bush alive to you, explaining all the homeopathic properties of each plant, bush and tree, as well as determining the spoormarks or the prints of the animals on the earth, discovering how fresh the tracks are and in which direction they are heading. They might even have taken down prey and there will be drag marks to show you. Complete the day with sundowners taken around a hippo pool – a more gentle and soporific experience is hard to beat as they grunt and vie for territory. Watch the sun set over the African plains, the birds coming in to roost and a silence decending once more upon the land, until the moon rises and the animals once more start their hunt.

Royal Malewane with AfricanExplorations.com

You, however, will be safe and sound back at camp, dining on excellent cuisine beneath the stars, with like minded fellow travellers, laughing and recounting the stories of the day before adjourning around the camp fire, watching the embers of the fire and learning about the solar system and searching for the southern cross. Fall into a beautifully comfortable and large tented camp or villa, perhaps have a shower beneath the stars or even a bath to ease the day away. This and a myriad of other treasures is the basis of a luxury African safari!

Jacks Camp luxury African Safari with AfricanExplorations.com

Gorilla Trekking Rwanda – This is the most amazing kind of safari and generally on everyone’s wish list!  The feeling of  being close to a primate of this magnitude, to observe their actions, listen to the gentle mewing sound or the rapid beating of their chests and observe for an hour in complete silence and wonder – is something which is simply unforgettable. It is a truly humbling experience and the overall sense one is left with, is the remarkable gentleness of these beasts.

Gorilla Trekking Rwanda with AfricanExplorations

One can visit them in groups of maximum six people, and the main difference between viewing them in Uganda and Rwanda is that the accessibility in Rwanda is much easier, as it is only roughly 2 1/2 hours drive from Kigali and the visibility is invariably better, being a bamboo rather than a primary montane forest. Virunga is home to approximately 200 mountain gorillas.

When I was last in Virunga National Park, my guide was one of Dian Fossey’s assistants and he describes what an amazing woman she was.  Her graveside is closeby. It was gorgeous to walk through the undulating farmlands, with the children following behind, running and laughing and practising their English on you.

There are some wonderful place to stay, too. Drive through pretty villages and ascend to Virunga Lodge, which  is set on two lakes, Bulemba, which feeds into the Congo and Ruhondu. It looks something more akin to the Norwegian fjords and is staggeringly beautiful.  The six volcanoes surround the lakes and on a clear day, all can be seen! The other gorgeous place is Sabyinyo which is thoroughly spoiling. Park fees have just increased in Uganda to $750.00 per day and will not doubt follow in Uganda.
The following is one of our favourite clips that we find very funny – we hope you do too!
Whatever you do, go and see them – it will be one of the best things you have done in your life!

African Safari Tours – the word ‘tour’ being a slight misnomer, because we don’t actually arrange group tours, only individually tailored safaris, whereby each client is treated in a very special manner. All the time in the world is accorded to each individual, discovering their hobbies and interests and timescale of travel and budget, and then assembling the most perfect, unique safari just for them! Whether it is a single person, a couple, a family, or groups of friends

African Safari Tours in Namibia with AfricanExplorations.com

However, we equally recognise that for some single people, that they would feel more comfortable if they were to travel with a group, and for that reason, we have devised some really fabulous tours to Namibia, Botswana, Northern Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.  In Namibia, these can either be incorporating camping in the rugged and gorgeous Damaraland/Kaokoland region or doing a more traditional styled safari, taking in Etosha National Park and the desert of the Namib Rand and Sossusvlei. In Botswana, this would be starting from Maun and ending up in Victoria Falls, staying in the Moremi, the Okavango Delta and Chobe National Parks and in Zambia, it would be staying in the glorious Kafue region. In Uganda, this would be incorporating gorilla trekking in Bwindi.  In Tanzania, this is for twelve days and one sees the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Eyasi, with just the perfect amount of culture and wildlife and one mainly stays in an authentic, African tented camp – eschewing any type of anonymous, large hotels. You can then end up at the beach of Zanzibar, Unguja or Mafia Island – and in southern Africa, one can either end up in Mozambique lake Malawi or South Africa for some coastal r and r. Either way, do contact us as we all emanate from Africa and nobody knows the continent as we do!

African Safari Tours in Botswana with AfricanExplorations.com

African Safari Tours in Tanzania with AfricanExplorations.com

Safari Holidays – do also look at the blog on African Safari which pretty much talks about why one would take a safari holiday over, perhaps,  just a beach holiday. I think one of the most important issues these days, is education – whether that of an adult or of a child. This is what a country rich in culture offers in abundance!

Safari Holidays with AfricanExplorations.com

Of course, the wildlife is second to none, and I can hardly think of anyone who doesn’t have some sort of passing interest in wildlife, whether simply to admire, or take a deeper scientific interest in. Couple that with the most mesmerising tribes, whether they be the bushmen of the Kalahari in Botswana and Namibia, the Zulus of South Africa, the Samburu, Maasai, Rendille, Turkana or any of the abundant number in Kenya, the Hadzabe and Maasai in Tanzania (and I am only scratching the surface). The point being that a safari holiday comprises 50 % culture and 50% wildlife, and a balance is necessary.

Safari Holidays with AfricanExplorations.com

I can also honestly say, that in over twenty years of arranging other people’s safaris (in addition to my own), that practically everyone returns completely smitten by Africa and also stating that it is one of the best things – if not the best – they have ever done in their lives. Now  – not many places/continents can have that effect on individuals! But Africa does – every time! And how lovely to get the children away from social media – facebook/television screens/ wii’s and the like – and entrench them back into an old fashioned society with old fashioned values – and surprise, suprise – they have so much more fun! These children return completely transformed – it is worth it simply for that one factor!

Then add on a wonderful beach holiday at the end on the coast of East Africa or Mozambique or Mauritius, Seychelles or Madagascar – where one can have a private villa, a gorgeous, romantic hotel, a Robinson Crusoe hideaway, or even a catamaran – and it simply rounds off the most wonderful holiday in the world!