Travel Icons Reimagined
When we think we know something, that’s often when we’ve stopped thinking. Start again, re-imagine, and you’ll begin discovering again. Here’s how that principle works for some of our favourite destinations: places where authentic, personal, and fascinating experiences can be combined with comfort and even luxury. When we think we know something, that’s often when we’ve stopped thinking. Start again, re-imagine, and you’ll begin discovering again. Here’s how that principle works for some of our favourite destinations: places where authentic, personal, and fascinating experiences can be combined with comfort and even luxury.
When we think we know something, that’s often when we’ve stopped thinking. Start again, re-imagine, and you’ll begin discovering again. Here’s how that principle works for some of our favourite destinations: places where authentic, personal, and fascinating experiences can be combined with comfort and even luxury. When we think we know something, that’s often when we’ve stopped thinking. Start again, re-imagine, and you’ll begin discovering again. Here’s how that principle works for some of our favourite destinations: places where authentic, personal, and fascinating experiences can be combined with comfort and even luxury.
Frontiers Beyond the Obvious
What is the truth about a country? Is it the obvious destinations that all tourists go to, dwelling at each just long enough for a photo? Or is the truth revealed by the way you see those destinations – longer, more personal, closer, and in the company of an expert who can explain them? Perhaps it’s about discovering the places that the crowds don’t go to; those places off the beaten path that remain most authentic. Certainly, it’s about meeting and understanding the people as well as the wildlife.
What is the truth of a word like ‘safari’? Like any word, it’s a tool for understanding and knowledge, but when it comes to tools, there are simple ones and there are others with many uses. Beyond its classic African plains origin, a safari is a versatile device and a passport to exploration in new contexts; in the Arctic’s shifting ice floes, the rugged heart of Australia, or Borneo’s hidden riverbanks.
What is the truth of a word like ‘safari’? Like any word, it’s a tool for understanding and knowledge, but when it comes to tools, there are simple ones and there are others with many uses. Beyond its classic African plains origin, a safari is a versatile device and a passport to exploration in new contexts; in the Arctic’s shifting ice floes, the rugged heart of Australia, or Borneo’s hidden riverbanks.
Yes, we are simplifiers who sometimes stick to the obvious, but a lot of us are also inventive, adaptive and imaginative. And that gift of imagination? Sometimes, it’s just re-imagination.
Let’s reimagine some icons and start discovering again:
Let’s reimagine some icons and start discovering again:
- 1. Australia Beyond the Outback
- 2. The Arctic: A Safari Most Chilled
- 3. Borneo Big Five, Orangutans & More
- 4. Peru: Authentic, Personal & Sacred
- 5. East Africa: Safari Originals Enhanced
1. Australia Beyond the Outback
Think Australia is all red dust and kangaroos at sunset? Think again. This huge continent unfolds from lush coastal rainforests and snow-tipped alpine peaks to vibrant reef ecosystems and windswept desert plains.
Beyond Uluru lies a world of authentic experiences: working ranches, inspirational conservation transformations, astonishing Aboriginal rock-art galleries, safaris full of extraordinary animals, and luxury boats slipping into rocky tropical chasms.
Each immersive itinerary we can curate for you will celebrate Australia’s rich indigenous heritage, history of resilience in the most challenging yet beautiful of places, and unparalleled biodiversity. Ready for an adventure that shatters stereotypes? Dive into our full guide to discover adventures far beyond the well-trodden Outback tracks.
Read article to discover the real Australia >
Beyond Uluru lies a world of authentic experiences: working ranches, inspirational conservation transformations, astonishing Aboriginal rock-art galleries, safaris full of extraordinary animals, and luxury boats slipping into rocky tropical chasms.
Each immersive itinerary we can curate for you will celebrate Australia’s rich indigenous heritage, history of resilience in the most challenging yet beautiful of places, and unparalleled biodiversity. Ready for an adventure that shatters stereotypes? Dive into our full guide to discover adventures far beyond the well-trodden Outback tracks.
Read article to discover the real Australia >
2. The Arctic: A Safari Most Chilled
Embark on a luxury safari in a new context: Canada’s Arctic frontier; a place where polar bears emerge from snow dens at first light and narwhals surface along the floe edge. Exclusive stays in remote and intrepid, yet comfortable huts place you in the heart of ‘Polar Bear Alley’, offering close encounters with these majestic predators. In the icy north, on Baffin Island, expert guides lead small-group expeditions to capture images of bears perched on drifting icebergs. At dusk, the Northern Lights play across the sky.
As the ice melts at the floe’s edge, witness a dramatic profusion of life: pods of narwhal arching through waters, seals and belugas close to your kayak, flocks of migratory seabirds swirling above, and bears on their constant hunt. By snowmobile, helicopter or even hot air balloon, the scale of the landscape unfolds. Look closely and you’ll see caribou, ptarmigan, foxes and hares too.
Read article about safari adventures in the Arctic >
As the ice melts at the floe’s edge, witness a dramatic profusion of life: pods of narwhal arching through waters, seals and belugas close to your kayak, flocks of migratory seabirds swirling above, and bears on their constant hunt. By snowmobile, helicopter or even hot air balloon, the scale of the landscape unfolds. Look closely and you’ll see caribou, ptarmigan, foxes and hares too.
Read article about safari adventures in the Arctic >
3. Borneo Big Five, Orangutans & More
One species – the orangutan – is what attracts most people to Borneo, but the world’s third largest island is far more than its iconic old man of the forest. Those who know a bit more perhaps come to see the ‘Big Five’, adding proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, helmeted hornbills and estuarine crocodiles to their list, but if your aims in life go beyond just seeing what everyone else wants to see, Borneo is richly rewarding. There are tens of thousands of species here in its multiple habitats, many of which are rare and endemic; many more of which are extraordinary in form or habits. If you can imagine a creature, it may live in Borneo.
Seeing is believing, but understanding requires more. In Borneo, we can pair you with experts to suit your passions, give you privileged access to inspirational conservation initiatives, and let you play your part in securing the future of Borneo’s wildlife in all its spectacular forms.
Read article to explore Borneo's rich possibilities >
Seeing is believing, but understanding requires more. In Borneo, we can pair you with experts to suit your passions, give you privileged access to inspirational conservation initiatives, and let you play your part in securing the future of Borneo’s wildlife in all its spectacular forms.
Read article to explore Borneo's rich possibilities >
4. Peru: Authentic, Personal & Sacred
When it comes to somewhere as famous as Machu Picchu, we believe that it matters less whether you see it than how it’s experienced. Your time in a place so enigmatic and sacred should be hushed and untroubled, not rushed and cursory. You should arrive in comfort – perhaps in a luxury private rail carriage or from a nearby exquisite lodge – be shown its wonders by the holder of ancient truths and depart to dwell a while at less-visited ancient sites.
The ingredients here are rich and varied. In the lush forests along the banks of the churning river, ecologists will show you a world where orchids and hummingbirds thrive. Mysterious terraces, thought to be the origin of diverse crops, are where you can learn gastronomic skills, both ancient and modern. Artisans keep skills alive and do so because some people who come here pay more than a passing interest.
Read article to find Peru, most personal >
The ingredients here are rich and varied. In the lush forests along the banks of the churning river, ecologists will show you a world where orchids and hummingbirds thrive. Mysterious terraces, thought to be the origin of diverse crops, are where you can learn gastronomic skills, both ancient and modern. Artisans keep skills alive and do so because some people who come here pay more than a passing interest.
Read article to find Peru, most personal >
5. East Africa: Safari Originals Enhanced
The very word ‘safari’ is entwined with Kenya and Tanzania, countries that developed the form and content of this kind of adventure from the outset. If someone says ‘Serengeti’, ‘The Mara’ or ‘Ngorongoro’, images immediately spring to mind of the classic experience. Those places are rightly still revered, but there are others too. They’re places that are less well-known, where remoteness brings both thrilling journeys and quietly personal encounters.
Private and community-owned conservancies are places to witness landscapes being transformed and wildlife returning. They’re also locations where you’ll make genuine connections with the custodians of the land and be welcomed into their lives. Accommodation is small-scale, stunningly located and often the pinnacle of luxury.
Read article about East Africa's reimagined safaris >
Private and community-owned conservancies are places to witness landscapes being transformed and wildlife returning. They’re also locations where you’ll make genuine connections with the custodians of the land and be welcomed into their lives. Accommodation is small-scale, stunningly located and often the pinnacle of luxury.
Read article about East Africa's reimagined safaris >
Why Travel with Journeysmiths
We are a boutique travel specialist. For over 30 years we have been crafting the finest tailor-made holidays to the world’s wild places. Your time is precious and with a world to see, we understand the importance of getting it absolutely right for you every time.We are a boutique travel specialist. For over 30 years we have been crafting the finest tailor-made holidays to the world’s wild places. Your time is precious and with a world to see, we understand the importance of getting it absolutely right for you every time.