The Return: A South Africa Walking Safari & Yoga Retreat
September 28 - October 4, 2026
Pafuri Hutwini Trails Camp, Southern African Wildlife College Greater Kruger National Park, South Africa
See full itinerary here
We are each born with a deep resonance - a drumbeat of the heart and the ocean of the breath that constantly beckons us back to our most authentic selves…
As Homo sapiens, we took our first steps in Africa, and that ancient rhythm is calling us home to the wild. The moment you set foot on African soil, you'll feel a sense of belonging you never knew you were missing.
Amidst wild animals, vast landscapes, and endless skies, you'll come home to nature and to the truest sense of who you are.
This retreat is a journey of intentional disconnection - a conscious choice to step away from a world that begs for our distraction so we can reconnect with what is real and true.
Through deep immersion and close observation of this pristine wilderness, we remember that we are not separate from nature; we are it.
We learn to speak the language of the wild places - the silent whispers of the wind, the tracks left in the dirt, the calls of the animals - so we can become a voice for the voiceless and a force for their (and our) preservation.
This is a journey of profound connection: with yourself, with your source, and with the community around you.
THE EXPERIENCE
There is something within our genetic code that remembers Africa as the birthplace of humanity.
As psychiatrist and wilderness guide Ian McCallum 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."
He believes that a loss of wildness and homesickness are the same thing, and the cure is to remember where we came from and where we belong.
This retreat offers you a precious opportunity to step out of the relentless demands of modern life and dive deep into an awe-inspiring wilderness. Through the powerful practices of walking, meditation, and yoga, we re-find our rightful place in the world. Pafuri is one such place to come home to - a place that jogs your genetic memory and re-awakens your sense of belonging.
About Pafuri
This private concession, located in the world-famous Kruger National Park, is a vast triangle of wilderness along South Africa’s northeastern frontier.
This ancient land harbors an abundance of life and is a natural choke point for wildlife. The area is particularly famous for its huge herds of elephant and diverse birdlife.
While making up only 1% of the Kruger National Park, Pafuri contains nearly 75% of the park's total biodiversity.
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.
Your walks will be led by Amy Attenborough, a professional trails guide, conservationist, and yogi with 16 years guiding experience, along with another armed professional guide, ensuring your safety as you immerse yourself in the natural world.
The Camp
Our camp is set on the banks of the Luvuvhu River, a vital water source for many animals, especially during the dry season when we are visiting. The camp is set up seasonally, ensuring a leave-no-trace policy that allows the land to regenerate.
You'll stay in comfortable Meru-style tents with all the necessary comforts, allowing you to be as close to nature as possible while still having your needs met.
About the Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC)
The Southern African Wildlife College (SAWC): This retreat offers you the unique opportunity to get involved behind the scenes of African conservation in a fully immersive way. During your two-night stay at the college, you'll gain exclusive insight into the world of conservation through activities that align with their four-tiered approach:
Boots on the Ground: Visit the ranger training unit and witness a ranger demo.
Free-Running Pack Hounds: Watch a demonstration by the K9 dog unit, which tracks and apprehends poachers.
Eyes in the Sky: A talk and demonstration with the pilot responsible for aerial surveillance and anti-poaching efforts.
Inclusive Education: A visit to a local community school.
This experience is not available to the general public and is the result of long-standing relationships with the college and its staff. Please note that activities may change slightly based on the day-to-day needs of the college, as this is a working conservation organization, not a typical tourist experience.
Is This Retreat for You?
This exclusive, next-level wilderness safari is designed for those who have already embarked on a journey of inner work and self-reflection. It is for those who appreciate the precious gift of long periods of silence and can find beauty in both the smallest and grandest creations of nature.
A medium level of fitness is required, as we will walk 6-12 km daily at a slow, deliberate pace.
Ready to return to where it all began?
RETREAT CONTENT
September 28 - October 4 2026
See full retreat itinerary here!
– 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 atop 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.
– Sharing our stories around the fire, under the Milky Way.
Investment
Fully inclusive Shared Room rates:
Total cost per person: R136 555 ($7,900 at 8 Oct '25 ROE)*
- deposit per person - R40 966 ($2,388 at 8 Oct ROE) due on confirmation
- balance payment per person - R95 589 ($5,512 at 8 Oct ROE) due 90 days before travel
*The $USD amount quoted above is at the current rate of exchange (ROE) and all invoices will be charged in South African Rands (R)
This Includes
- 2 guided walks per day with two trails guides; daily game drives
- daily yoga and meditation sessions; all facilitation by Tara and Amy
- 3 nourishing meals per day; sundowners, all drinks and snacks
- glamping tented accommodation
- conservation levies and community development levy
- transfers to and from the camp including transfers from Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport to Pafuri, Pafuri to the South African Wildlife College (SAWC) and SAWC to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport
- Flight from Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport to Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport
* Space strictly limited to 7 guests, and pre-booking with a non-refundable 30% deposit to reserve your place.
This Does NOT Include
- Airfare, Visas, Insurance
-Accommodations in Johannesburg
- Gratuities for staff
GETTING THERE
Arrival
Fly into OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg (JHB) on 27 September 2026.
We advise you to arrive the day before because our trip starts at 5:30am on 28 September 2026.
We advise everyone to stay overnight at the City Lodge or Intercontinental Hotel (both at the OR Tambo International airport) and the shuttle will depart from here on 28 September 2026 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 South African Wildlife College on 4 October 2026. The shuttle will take you to Hoedspruit Eastgate Airport to catch your flight to Johannesburg.
You will depart Hoedspruit at 14:30pm and arrive in Johannesburg at 15:30pm. Ensure that your flight out/onward travel is after 18:30pm on 4 October.
We do encourage you to stay and savor southern Africa so please let us know if you need advice/help booking onward travel. Just ask!
BOOKING
Email Robyn (info@wildagain.africa) or Tara (beckesch@gmail.com) to book your spot.
A 30% non-refundable Rand deposit is due upon confirmation to secure your place.
A Rand balance will be due 3 months prior to travel.
Payment Options for Travel in Rand
* Electronic bank transfer
* Credit card - please note that this payment option does incur a 3% charge from the transfer company. If you select this option I will send you a unique link that includes the credit card charge
Robyn will email you a Welcome Packet containing more information once the deposit is submitted!
Your journey awaits!
It’s time to come hOme.
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!
