Experience the sensual adventure of a luxury African safari

Are you tired of the predictable kind of getaway where each moment is a copy of somewhere else and truly forgettable? Are you aching for a “once in a lifetime” experience that stays with you for years? Then stop looking at brochures for Bermuda or some Greek isle, and consider something on the adventurous side for a change. Why not try a luxury African safari for a week, and then relax with your favorite cocktail beverage on some beachside resort of your choosing. The experience will ignite your senses and give you a new appreciation for why so many love the continent of Africa. Depending upon your personal tastes and definition of “luxury”, there are basically three ways to go on this outing. The most adventurous among us will most likely desire a true “tented” safari in the wilds of Uganda, Rwanda, or Tanzania. These trips can be tailored to your liking and involve living in the wild, pitching tents each day at a new site, and roaming about viewing the local “inhabitants” in all their glory. For a tamer version, select a travel package to Kenya on the Masai Mara plain. Balloon over the Great Migration and go on picture-taking journeys, before and after wining and dining at your central lodging location. However, both of these journeys require special shots and malaria pill regimens, including mosquito netting protective gear. For less hassle and medical concerns, fly the extra mile to South Africa and the Kruger National Park. No pills or shots required, and a side trip to Cape Town and the nearby wine country would be an excellent way to finish the trip. [Editor’s note: this is not correct!  Please note that whilst many South African parks are malaria free, two of them are not – these are Kruger National Park and Mapungubwe National Park.  Thank you to @WildernessEnc for pointing this out.] There are a plethora of resorts that will compete for your patronage, but the standout for many has been the MalaMala Game Reserve. Noted as a “blueprint” for all safari providers, the enormous reserve offers a photographic opportunity unlike any other to observe the “Big Five” (Lion, Elephant, Water Buffalo, Leopard, and Rhinoceros) and capture them on film for a lifetime. A typical journey begins with landing on an isolated airstrip, while the local Kudus and Springboks welcome your arrival with gazing stares from a distance. Next stop is your luxury lodge and individual sleeping cottages. After a welcoming cocktail and hors d’oeuvres, it is off to the wild for your first ride in the bush. You and four of your compatriots will sit in an open-top rover while the driver and tracker drive over hill and dale in search of anything that moves. Your eyes will soon adjust to picking up any movement hundreds of yards away, although at first, you will be astounded by the tracker’s ability to spot clearly camouflaged animals a mile away. The intensity of these daily journeys, morning, noon, and night, will heighten your senses to an amazing level that can only breathe life into memory cells long forgotten to exist. With each return to home base, you will dine and drink away the hours discussing what “miracles” you have witnessed – a pride of lions eating their kill, a cheetah chasing down its prey, or a herd of elephants crashing through the brush, all within a few feet of your rover. The animals have become accustomed to the presence of rovers, but do not stand up or exit the vehicle. If you break the “silhouette”, then you will get their attention. Leaving the security of your vehicle is not a good idea, so stay in the rover! Beaches are nice, but a safari will stir the passions of your soul. Start planning now! Tom Cleveland is a Senior Editor at Forex Traders. If you would like to be a guest blogger on A Luxury Travel Blog in order to raise your profile, please contact us.