SOUTH AFRICA WALKING SAFARI AND YOGA RETREAT
October 5-16, 2024
Pafuri Hutwini Trails Camp, Bateleur Camp and Southern African Wildlife College, Greater Kruger National Park
Take a glance here at the retreat itinerary
SOLD OUT
We are each born with it…
the drum of our heartbeat and the ocean of our breath that are constantly reminding us to come hOMe to our truest nature.
Africa is where all humankind arose and took its first steps and that ancient drum beat is calling us back to the wilds. The moment you step foot on African soil you regain a sense of belonging. Amongst wild animals, lush landscapes, and endless skies, we come hOMe to nature and come hOMe to the truest sense of ourselves.
Through a deep immersion into and close observation of this wild place, we remember ourselves as the very nature we revere and return hOMe to ourselves.
Join this journey of rediscovery in the South African bush.
THE EXPERIENCE
There is something in our genetic code that remembers that Africa is where all of our earliest human ancestors first evolved 2 million years ago. Wilderness guide and psychiatrist Ian McCallum puts it so well when he says, “We have to remember that our identity is intimately tied to the earth itself. To lose one's sense of union with wild places is to pre-empt what I believe is one of the most overlooked conditions in modern psychiatry – homesickness. Often presenting as a restless depression, homesickness and a loss of wildness are the same thing. The cure to homesickness is to remember where we came from and where we belong.” And once we know where we belong it is our task to return to these places to receive their medicine.
Pafuri is one such place to come home to. It jogs your genetic memory and re-awakens your sense of belonging to wild places.
Despite living in this modern era, we are best adapted to living in a natural environment. It’s likely because 99,9% of our evolutionary passage was spent as hunter-gatherers and our minds and bodies are not sufficiently prepared for what the technological era expects of us. Despite the increasingly technologically connected world we live in, it seems modern humans feel more disconnected from others every day. The results are not difficult to see. Depression, anxiety and feelings of hopelessness plague the modern human.
And the cure to this lies in healing the human-nature split. We invite you to take precious time out from your busy life to deep dive into an awe-inspiring immersion of pristine wilderness. Through the powerful practices of walking, meditation and yoga, we re-find our rightful place in it.
About Pafuri
The private Pafuri concession – within the world-famous Kruger National Park – lies in a vast, almost inaccessible triangle of wilderness between the Limpopo and Luvuvhu rivers, along South Africa’s north-eastern frontier. Between them, the two great valleys embrace one of Africa’s most spectacular landscapes, with mountains and gorges in the west giving way to plains, pans, baobabs and fever tree forests in the east.
This ancient land, particularly the low-lying floodplains near the confluence at Crooks’ Corner where our camp is located, harbors an abundance of life. It’s a natural choke point for wildlife crossing from north to south and back, and forms a distinct ecological region. Huge herds of elephant, buffalo and other game congregate here, especially when the surrounding bush lies parched before the rains. Predators and scavengers, ranging from the great cats and hyenas to servals, genets, civets, caracals, amongst many others, find shelter here.
The area is also famous for its elephant herds in winter (when we are there), which come to drink from the Luvuvhu river. The wildlife roams without the hindrance of borders in a trans-frontier park that spans 3 countries. The diversity also brings a profusion of birds, with numerous sightings in what bird lovers regard as South Africa’s most rewarding birding destination. While comprising only about 1% of the Kruger National Park’s actual area, Pafuri contains plants and animals representing almost 75% of the Parks total diversity.
Walking Safari
A walking safari invites you to participate with nature rather than merely observe. Through walking you get to know the place and yourself on a deep, experiential level. Our walks will be led by Amy Attenborough, a professional trails guide, conservationist and yogi. We will be kept safe by her and another armed professional trails guide so that any wildlife encounters are exhilarating rather than fearful. Our playground is the famed Kruger National Park, one of the most renowned wildlife areas on the planet.
The Camp
The camp is set on the banks of the Luvuvhu River where many animals camp to drink (particularly in the dry season when you will be visiting). Staying true to its leave no trace policy, the camp is set up seasonally and is only open from 1 April - 30 October each year, giving the land time to regenerate.
Guests are housed in Meru style tents, with exquisite attention to detail, and all the necessities for your comfort – crisp linen, an ensuite bathroom, private outdoor bucket shower with water manually heated to your preference. The experience is as close to nature as you can possibly be, whilst having all creature comforts catered to.
About Bateleur
Bateleur is located in the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, which lies adjacent to the Kruger National Park and enjoys Big Five game and exceptional natural beauty. The lodge is luxurious, spacious and eco-friendly. There are game drives twice daily, as well as optional walking safaris.
Guests are treated to a hands-on, interactive demonstration on bushcraft and survival skills, perfected by the San Bushmen. This includes skills like: lighting fires, making ropes & water containers and setting snares - all using naturally occurring materials from the bush. Here we focus our attention more on tracking and finding animals that, as we witness, offer valuable teachings to us through their way of being. This is a restful and indulgent part of your safari and the perfect place to integrate your learnings from Pafuri.
About the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC)
The SAWC is a private conservation training institution that aims to equip people with the necessary knowledge and applied skills to conserve and protect Africa’s natural resources and biodiversity in viable, inclusive and economically successful ways.
During your 2 nights at the College we will do the following activities that align with their four-tiered conservation approach:
1. Boots on the Ground - visit the ranger training unit and ranger demo
2. Free running pack hounds - K9 dog unit demonstration for tracking and apprehension of poachers
3. Eyes in the Sky - Aerial support talk and demonstration with the pilot responsible for surveillance, game counts and the anti-poaching reaction unit. Two lucky guests will get to fly in the fixed-wing plane!
4. Inclusive Education - a visit to a school in the local community.
This retreat offers you the unique opportunity to get involved behind-the-scenes, in a fully immersive way, giving you exclusive insight into Africa’s conservation world. This experience is not available to the general public and has arisen from long-standing relationships with the College and its staff.
*Please note that the activities may change slightly on the day depending on what is happening in conservation at the College at the time. This is not a tourist-based experience and will shift according to the needs of the College.
Who is This Retreat For?
This is an exclusive, next-level wilderness safari retreat, designed for those who’ve already done much inner journey work and self-reflection, who appreciate the precious gift of long periods of silence, & who can recognize beauty in both the small and large creations of nature.
A medium level of fitness is required (we will walk between 6-12km daily at a slow pace).
RETREAT CONTENT
October 5-16, 2024
Take a glance here at the retreat itinerary!
– Daily dawn & dusk guided walks: exploring your rightful place in the wild. We may drive to a certain point in the reserve and walk from there.
– Afternoons include a yoga practice in incredible locations followed by game drive and sundowners.
– Meditation practices aside the Luvuvhu River and a top remote rocky outcrops with vast stretches of wilderness below to expand awareness.
– Journaling prompts and optional midday coaching.
– Sharing our stories around the fire and under the Milky Way in the evenings.
– Star gazing.
– Free middays to relax, swim in the river, read, sleep and integrate learnings.
– Game drives and optional walks at Bateleur Camp
– Bush skills and survival demonstration
– 2 days of conservation activities at the Southern African Wildlife College
Investment
– Fully inclusive Double Occupancy (Sharing) rate: R133,000 and $1000 USD
– Fully Inclusive Single Occupancy rate: R151,550 and $1500 USD
*Please note the retreat price is set in Rand and USD as some suppliers charge in Rand and some in USD and you will need to pay in two currencies at time of booking.
This Includes
– 2 guided walks per day with two trail guides
– daily game drives
– daily yoga and meditation sessions facilitated by Tara and Amy
– 3 nourishing meals per day, sundowners, all drinks and snacks
– glamping tented accommodation
–conservation levies and community development levy
– all conservation activities
– transfers to and from the camp including taxis to/from Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport to Pafuri and onwards to Bateleur and the Southern African Wildlife College
* Space strictly limited to 7 guests, and pre-booking with a non-refundable 30% deposit to reserve your place.
This Does not Include
– Your investment will not include airfare, visas, travel insurance or gratuities.
GETTING THERE
Arrival
– Fly into OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg (JHB) on 4 Oct 2024.
– We advise you to arrive the day before because our trip starts at 5:30am on 5 October 2024. We advise everyone to stay overnight at the Protea Hotel or Intercontinental Hotel (both at the OR Tambo International airport) and the shuttle will depart from here on 5 October to arrive at Pafuri in time for your first afternoon walk.
Departure
– We say farewell to new and old friends after a morning activity at the SAWC on 16 October 2024 at about 11am. You will catch a shuttle back to OR Tambo International Airport arriving at about 6pm. Ensure that your flight out/onward travel is after 9pm on 16 October or the morning of 17 October, allowing for possible delays.
We do encourage you to stay and savour southern Africa so please let us know if you need advice/help booking onward travel. Just ask!
YOUR HOSTS
Meet Tara
With some teachers, the lessons are planned. They are practiced. They are rehearsed. And they are perfected to a tee. But Tara Eschenroeder offers a different experience. Teaching was Tara’s dharma long before she realized it. She grew up with a bow and arrow in her hands, learning to pull back with just enough aim and control to send her arrow into the abyss, knowing and trusting it would hit its intended mark. And so she enters each class, each workshop, each lesson.. Having prepared her body and mind to become that bow - that vessel - that let’s her lesson go.. Weaving its way into the provided space and landing wherever it is intended.
Tara felt that call in 2007 when she first felt the spark of a tiny flame. And instead of approaching that flame fearing the heat, she chose to approach it with love, stoking the fire that was burning within for her passion of yoga. By the end of 2009, she received her 200 hour RYT under Arlene Bjork and Grace Yoga Training Systems. She continued to follow what she knew and trusted her path to be, and she obtained her 500 hour RYT through Om On Yoga under the guidance and wisdom of Jennifer Elliott.
Inside the studio, no two classes or workshops are ever the same. Students are not told what to do, they are empowered to listen to their own bodies. And while there are general cues throughout of “warrior” and “downward dog” (almost always accompanied by their sanskrit name), one is also just as likely to hear cues of “listen to the animal within,” “move through honey, “ride the wave of your breath,” or, simply, just an encouragement to “dance.” Her mentoring sessions follow a similar pattern. Mentees are not told what to do but instead empowered to listen within with offered guidance- never forced, and always an open-minded invitation to explore. Tara’s Psychology degree from James Madison University and Elementary Education License from Mary Baldwin College give her a studied foundation for helping others, but it’s her natural instincts and open heart that help students see the best in themselves.
Traveling is Tara’s home, as she spends much of her time around the country holding workshops, retreats, and classes. She has also received additional teaching credentials with Project Yoga Richmond and YoKid Stretch Your Limits, as well as serving as a proud Ambassador for Lululemon Athletica. Yet, so much of her teaching is done off of the yoga mat. Tara openly and outwardly lives the teachings has been inspired to share. Just as she would encourage a student falling out of a pose to take themselves lightly, she does the same as she navigates through challenges. And just as she would encourage a student to trust themselves as they spread their wings into something new on the mat, she is a living example of trusting what she knew was her calling as she spread her own wings. She approaches life with that same love that she used to approach that initial flame, and she encourages each person with whom is comes in contact to do the same. And by doing so, she is living out her truth and her drishti of being a vessel of blessing.
Meet Amy
It’s true what they say about a name because being born an Attenborough, Amy doesn't believe she ever really had much choice about what direction her life would take. After completing her Journalism and Media Studies degree Amy followed her deep love of nature to the bush. She planned to stay for a year, which quickly turned into ten.
During that time, she worked at Phinda Private Game Reserve, Ngala Private Game Reserve and Londolozi Game Reserve, some of South Africa's most prestigious lodges. She took a particular liking to walking, spending as much time as she could on foot approaching animals with her guests. She has travelled to Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, India, Uganda and throughout South America in search of wildlife. Her greatest adventure was living in Gabon training local guides for the WWF and Smithsonian Institute, where they spent weeks at a time living like early nomads in the dense and remote coastal forests, fulfilling a life-long dream of tracking and habituating wild gorillas.
Nature has always been her biggest teacher. Seeing how embodied and present animals are inspired Amy to begin practising yoga. She is qualified as a vinyasa and yin teacher and spent six months training under a Hatha master in Boulder, Colorado. She is also a certified Martha Beck life coach. With this mixture of passions and skills, Amy leads specialised wellness safaris that incorporate yoga, meditation, mindfulness and personalised life coaching in order to restore body, mind and spirit in the most beautiful wilderness locations on the continent.
Her company, Wild Again, expands the traditional scope of a safari and facilitates wilderness experiences that heal the human-nature divide and restore wellbeing. Pafuri is one of Amy’s favorite places on the continent!
BOOKING
Email Nicci and Tara at nicci@wildagain.africa and beckesch@gmail.com. with your choice of accommodation
We will then call for a 30% non-refundable deposit to secure your spot.
Nicci will email you a Welcome Packet, information about your remaining payments in installments, and more after the deposit is submitted.
Full detailed itinerary can be found here!
