Top Five Unique African Experiences for 2023/24

When I think of iconic African scenery, I picture Amboseli; vast open plains, forests of flat topped Acacia and great herds of elephant, set against a backdrop of snow capped Kilimanjaro. What Amboseli has been missing is a spectacular safari property to bring the region to life. Owned and run by a team with over 40 years experience creating and operating safaris across Africa, Angama Amboseli is going to be one of the most exciting new properties in East Africa in 2023.

The lodge will be set on the 5,700-acre Kimana Sanctuary and will have just 10 beautiful tented suites. With exclusive and unrestricted access to Kimana you can expect complete privacy for your game viewing.

As we have come to expect from Angama’s properties in the Masai Mara, this superb safari will be enhanced by excellent amenities at the lodge including the Photographic Studio, Gallery, Games Room, and a pool with one of the finest views in Africa! This is one not to be missed.

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Madagascar is the fifth largest island in the world and over 90% of its plant life, mammals and reptile species can be found nowhere else - including several which are critically endangered. As you explore the island the scenery changes from lush rainforest to arid deserts, there are avenues of mighty baobabs, mangroves and idyllic private islands.

You may ask what has prevented this natural nirvana from reaching its potential as a high-quality travel destination? The answer is infrastructure. Madagascar has been a challenging destination for the luxury traveller, but that is changing.

The once complex network of scheduled flights can be replaced with convenient light aircraft charters, where three-star was once the top end in Madagascar, a selection of superb properties have been popping up in recent years ensuring that the quality of accommodation now does justice to the island’s natural beauty.

If you have not yet explored Madagascar, I highly recommend speaking to our team to learn more.

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Northern Tanzania is home to several of the continent's icons: the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara. The region is scenically spectacular and offers a wildlife experience that is hard to beat, but one of the things I enjoy most about a safari in northern Tanzania is the chance to see something of life in Africa.

Northern Tanzania’s safari regions are in such close proximity to each other it often makes sense to forgo light aircraft transfers and instead travel by road in the company of an excellent private guide. From the tiny villages of traditional pastoralists to bustling small towns, or children making their journey to school along the russet dirt roads of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, watching life go by makes these journeys fascinating.

If you are keen to discover the community side of safari as well as the wildlife, then I highly recommend including some time at the Lemala camps during your Tanzanian adventure. Whether you want to hear from the village chief in Tarangire why he is prioritizing education, learn about the training programmes offering career progression to their teams, or spend time seeing first-hand how Lemala are empowering Tanzania’s women and girls, these will be some of the highlights of your holiday.

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The Laikipia region of central Kenya is a patchwork quilt of private wildlife conservancies, most home to just a handful of exclusive safari properties. Segera Retreat is exactly as the name suggests, an idyllic retreat in the heart of 50,000 acres of private wilderness. This is a place where, in keeping with current travel trends, you can linger for longer.

A collection of one to three-bedroom villas and houses, those who wish to tuck themselves away in their own private wilderness can do so. For those looking for more interaction, the main Retreat has a star deck, wine tower, stables, pool and spa where guests can gather to unwind and share stories of the day’s adventures.

The safari experience at Segera now makes it a viable one-stop safari destination, but the conservancy offers so much more. Try your hand at traditional bee-keeping, take an African Art tour, spend a night under the stars at Nay Palad Birds Nest, head out with Segera’s anti-poaching unit, take to the skies in the original Out of Africa biplane, or spend time in the company of Segera’s local communities. And that is before you have spent a morning in the spa, enjoyed a cookery lesson, or whiled away an evening in Segera’s outdoor cinema.

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For me, the most important element of a trip to Namibia is isolation. This is a place of spectacular beauty, where you feel breathtakingly small amongst towering sand dunes or gain a sense of the passing of millennia sitting atop an ancient rocky kopje in Damaraland. These are not moments that should be shared with hoards of other people.

In Damaraland, base yourself at Onduli Ridge set on a private concession within the Doro Nawas Conservancy where you can spend your days tracking desert-adapted rhino and elephant and your nights with nothing but a mosquito night between you and the starry African sky.

For a multi-generational family or small group of friends, consider exclusive-use properties such as Onguma Camp Kala, which opens next month and is set to be one of the finest safari lodges in Namibia’s wildlife capital, Etosha.

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