“Have we forgotten that wilderness is not a place, but a moving feast of stars, footprints, scales, and beginnings?” – Dr. Ian McCallum’s poem, Wilderness
In an ever-changing world, nature is the one constant. The wilderness, so aptly described by my dear friend, conservationist, poet and psychiatrist Dr. McCallum as a moving feast, has always been here. And yet, that very nature, our original source, is what we have become most disconnected from.
For us, the only wilderness we know intimately is Africa – our magical playground as children and safe haven as adults. Our new ultimate luxury African safari experience, Sand, Sea, City & Safari, aboard our Emirates magic carpet, shares the most breathtakingly beautiful and astoundingly biodiverse corners of that wilderness with you. The ultimate journey of contrasts, this trip will showcase the true jewels of Namibia, South Africa, and the Seychelles – three wildly different, out-of-this-world destinations.
The level of logistical expertise, behind-the-scenes access, and insider know-how that underpins this spectacular itinerary is almost impossible to describe – I’ll save it for a night of storytelling, sundowner in hand, around the campfire. Sand, Sea, City & Safari pioneers an entirely new frontier of seamless, ultra-luxe, exploratory African travel.
Explore Africa’s ancient landscapes
Imagine landing amidst the rippling, red desert dunes of Namibia’s Sossusvlei, the world’s oldest living desert and Africa’s largest conservation area. This extreme landscape holds so much mystery, oscillating from dunes to the dry clay pan and knotted camel thorn trees of Deadvlei. Nature’s innate intelligence is alive and well here, with every dry, kaleidoscopic acre somehow thriving with flora and fauna. From hot-air balloon rides and game drives across the shifting sands, we’ll move on to the cosmopolitan playground of Cape Town – a cultural and culinary hub nestled between the mountains and the sea. From there, it’s a quick helicopter ride to the sublime Delaire Graff Estate in the Winelands for a few days of unwinding and farm-to-table dining.
Onward to Sabi Sands, a vast area renowned for its leopard population alongside exhilarating opportunities to witness the Big Five up-close. The unbridled joy and stillness that settles into your soul is interrupted only by the natural sounds and rhythms of the bush – lions roaring at dawn, the slow gait of elephants ambling by, if you’re lucky a pack of wild dogs rustling in the grasses, all while the soundtrack of the emerald spotted wood dove remains a constant playlist in the background.
Our grand finale delivers a complete change in visual field, shifting from the bright ochre dunes and Fever tree-dotted panorama of the bush to the infinite blue of Petite Anse, Seychelles. This secluded speck in the Indian Ocean is the ultimate Eden, replete with coral reefs, thick forests and pristine white sand beaches.
Biodiversity beyond belief
This extraordinary trip is an homage to the staggering topographic contrasts that exist alongside the culture, wildlife, and untouched spaces this continent holds. Preserving Africa’s tracts of nature, the last untamed and pristine wild spaces our continent has left is forever at the forefront of my mind.
The collective concern for the fragile ecosystem from which we all originated continues to push us to dream bigger and do more. Just think…Africa is home to 20% of our planet’s land, a quarter of its mammal species, and a fifth of its bird species. A sixth of our world’s plants are endemic here, as is a sixth of our remaining global forests – the lungs our world relies on for that critical element that fuels all life – oxygen. In other words, Africa’s biodiversity is off the charts.
Join us on a moving feast for your senses and soul. One where you’ll arrive as explorers and leave as restorers, forever changed.
Sand, Sea, City & Safari will take place May 13-30, 2024, and costs $165 300 per person. There are just four spaces left on this specialist trip. We aim to minimize the environmental impact of ROAR AFRICA travel, purchasing carbon credits equivalent to our emissions, contributing to wildlife preservation and investing in the communities that host us. To learn more, kindly contact welcome@roarafrica.com.
