The oft repeated comments from returning safari clients about their safari are, “awesome, life changing!”.

And it’s exemplified by the behavior of children on safari. Children see things as they are, having not yet learned to hide their true feelings. On safari children put down their hand-held gadgets, and engage with this new world around them, filled with “awe and wonder”.

I’ll be leading a small group on safari to Zambia, the place where I grew up, and which I remember with the same awe and wonder as any child today setting out on safari.

Africa Map

Map of Zambia with National Parks

But let’s start at the beginning! We’ll be going in November 2024. Why then? For one particular reason that some of you may already have heard about. It’s the time of year a family of elephants visit their favorite fruit trees which bear fruit in November. But there’s a catch! To reach the fruit trees they have to walk through the lobby of Mfuwe Safari lodge, located in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park!

To be in the lobby when the elephants visit the trees is indeed an experience full of “awe and wonder”. Especially if there are young elephants negotiating the lobby steps for the first time. To see the patient mothers helping the young elephants is to realize that besides us and Artificial Intelligence there are other thinking, feeling, beings out there.

Whle we’re at Mfuwe lodge we’ll visit some of the local enterprises the lodge has helped to start up such as Tribal Textiles, where women have learned to make handcrafted products, some of which are made using the batik process.

Tribal Textiles

Mfuwe

We’ll also visit the school supported by Mfuwe.

Mfuwe School Visit

Zambia is one of the largest water catchment areas in Africa, with several river systems, all with different flora and fauna. Besides Mfuwe and the South Luangwa Park we’ll also visit the Lower Zambezi National Park. As the name suggests the Park runs beside the Zambezi river giving us an opportunity to fish for the elusive Tiger Fish, Zambia’s prized fighting fish for amateur and accomplished anglers.

Tiger Fishing Lower Zambezi

The Lower Zambezi National Park also enables us to do boat drives, along the many water channels off the main Zambezi River, to see its wildlife.

Boat Drive Lower Zambezi

The post “Let me Take You on an Awesome Safari to Zambia, the Place where I Grew Up and still Call Home” appeared first on Holden Safaris.

Apparently by November 2024 visitors to Morocco had reached 16 million tourists, recording a twenty percent increase over the same period the year before in 2023.

Morocco projects 17.5 million tourists for 2025.

In light of this Holden Safaris decided to go and take a look for ourselves.

With my colleague Sonia Marsh, we set off after our safari to Zambia, flying into Casablanca on the 20^th November 2024, where we were met by an Airport Representative, our wonderful guide Samir, and driver Addis.

We were to spend ten days with Samir and Addis, the time they took to show us the sights and sounds of Morocco.

We first drove to Fes via Rabat, arriving in time to hear the muezzin calling the people to evening prayers, from the minaret atop the nearby mosque to our hotel.

After a good night’s sleep, and a fortifying breakfast, we plunged straight into what is described as the “world’s largest living medieval medina-city.” It consists of 9,000 narrow lanes, alleys, and souks, and richly deserves being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The hustle and bustle was overwhelming with everyone it seemed hurrying about their business. We soon discovered that the medina was a hive of activity, with everyone engaged in some sort of enterprise, be it selling produce, manufacturing any number of artifacts, all interspersed with architectural gems built in the Middle Ages. 

And then it was on to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, Volubilis, evidence that the Romans at one time were present in Morocco.

From the Romans we traveled deep into the desert to meet the Berber people and learn about their culture.

We ended our trip in the throbbing city of Marrakech, pulsating with luxury hotels, extensive markets, and where modern meets old in every form.

My lasting impression from our visit to Morocco is the harmonious way three religions managed to live side by side for centuries, Muslim, Christian, and Jewish, and how today, old similarly co-exists with modern, as in cultures and architecture.

A trip to Morocco is like no other, leaving one feeling that one has entered into remnants of a biblical age. An experience not to be missed and which can be savored for years to come.

The post “Morocco Set to Overtake Egypt as Africa’s Most Visited Country” appeared first on Holden Safaris.

I had just taken a short flight from the nearby remote Skeleton Coast and landed at Natural Selection’s luxury Safarihoek lodge in the Etosha Heights Private Reserve.

Take off Skeleton Coast Namibia

Landing Etosha Heights Namibia

And this was our traditional African welcome at the Safarihoek Lodge:

Safarihoek Welcome

Our days were then spent game viewing without seeing another vehicle or person as we roamed the Private Reserves 60,000 hectares.

Lioness Etosha Heights

Lion Kill Etosha Heights

And then when we stopped for the traditional African sundowner, Nico, our Himba guide, told us about the culture of the Himba, one of several indigenous tribal people living in Namibia.

Sundowner Etosha Heights

As the sun set on the vast expanse of the Etosha Heights Private Reserve we marveled at how we had again, as at the Skeleton Coast, seemingly stepped off our frenzied earth for a brief moment.

Sun Setting Etosha Heights

Elephants Retiring for the Night Etosha Heights

Back at Safarihoek Luxury Lodge dinner by candlelight awaited us, along with entertainment from the staff, singing the praises of a liqueur made from an African wild fruit. You can sample it here in the US by going to your favorite beverage store and asking for a bottle of Amarula. Drink it with your coffee or neat with ice, and imagine you are sitting in Africa, watching the sun set on the place from which we are all said to have originated, and feels like home.

Dinner by Candlelight Safarihoek

In Praise of Amarula

Please give me a call if you want to learn more about a safari to Namibia, the location of the world’s oldest desert with desert adapted wildlife.

Kalani bwino (all the best)

Safari Jim

949-500-0094

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If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to experience walking on the moon you don’t have to wait for Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos’ moon shot. You can visit Namibia as I just did! The capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, is a short plane ride from Cape Town. Walking in the world’s oldest desert, or staring out to an angry sea, from probably the world’s most forbidding coastline in the aptly named Skeleton Coast, one feels removed from the world we know. It seems there can be no life in this desolate landscape. And yet, unbelievably, there is! Along the fog shrouded Skeleton Coast are enormous seal colonies numbering in their thousands. And in the Namib Desert are desert adapted elephants, giraffes, and it’s claimed, the largest population of free ranging Black Rhino in Africa. Elephants in Hoanib Valley, Namibia Giraffe in Hoanib Valley If you decide to join the rhino researchers on a walk you’ll have to be briefed on how to handle a charging black rhino weighing over a ton! It’s quite simple really. As rhino have excellent hearing but poor eyesight simply pick up a few rocks. Throw some to your left and some to your right. The sound of the falling rocks will confuse the rhino which will stop its charge not being sure of where you are standing. Thankfully, on this trip, I didn’t have to put this theory to the test! Black Rhino, Namibia For those who like a hike try climbing the highest sand dunes of any desert in the world. From the top you can see to the ends of the earth! The Highest Sand Dunes in the world And if all this activity is too tiring for you there’s a comfortable tent with bed and bathroom to retire to for the night. Hoanib Valley Tent The stillness of the night, and dark sky, where you can see the stars like nowhere else on earth, will make you feel you have left earth and gone to the moon! If you haven’t been to Namibia and would like to know more please give me a call. Kalani bwino (stay well)

The post Eight Days Traveling on the Surface of the Moon appeared first on Holden Safaris.

And when I’m there I always take the opportunity to visit a part of Africa that I have not visited for some time. This year I’m revisiting an ancient land called Namibia, home to the world’s oldest desert.

As I make my plans to fly into Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia, I’m reminded of the first time I went to Namibia. It was 1970 and I was taking a break from studies at University in South Africa.

And what a contrast between my first visit and this latest visit! My first visit I was riding a motorcycle. I frequently found myself off the road and bouncing across the desert. The long straight roads lulled me into a stupor.

Motorcycle Diaries Namibia  

Motorcycle Diaries Namibia  

Motorcycle Diaries Namibia

On this occasion I am flying; from Cape Town to Windhoek, and from lodge to lodge, as I make my way around Namibia.  Just as you will when you book a Flying Safari to Namibia with Holden Safaris.

Kwessi Dunes Small Plane Landing (Credit: Natural Selection)

Another difference between my first visit and when you visit may be the way you admire the world’s tallest sand dunes in the world. The images below show the adventurous way to see the sand dunes and a more relaxed way. The adventurous way is called “dune surfing”!

  Motorcycle Diaries Namibia 

Climbing the Dunes (credit: Natural Selection)

You’ll also be surprised to see lions, elephants, giraffes, and the elegant orxy antelope, all living in the desert.

Hoanib Valley Lioness (credit: Natural Selection)  

Hoanib Valley Camp Elephants (credit: Natural Selection)  

Giraffe (credit Natural Selection)  

Oryx (credit: Natural Selection)  

And while the somewhat austere and forlorn looking tent beside the motorcycle in the image below was my abode on my first visit;

Motorcycle Diaries Namibia  

you’ll be in much more luxurious surroundings as in the images below:

Accommodation double room  

Shipwreck Lodge View (credit: Natural Selection) 

Shipwreck Lodge Misty Cabins  (credit: Natural Selection)

Although safaris are booming and lodges filling up, as the seal colony in Namibia shows us, there’s always room for one more!

Shipwreck Lodge Seal Colony (credit: Natural Selection)

So please call me on 949 500 0094 to find out more about a Flying Safari to Namibia.

Yendani bwino (Have a great safari!)

Safari Jim
949-500-0094
jimh@holdensafaris.com
www.holdensafaris.com

Jim Holden on Safari

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Safari lodges are filling up and everyone it seems is going on safari in 2023.

A custom safari takes a lot of planning as we find those places that others tend to miss. And as a result those hidden places are not crowded and make for a unique experience.

Take for example a visit to Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa. Many safaris include Soweto in their itinerary. But they drive through looking out the bus windows. Some stop to look at Nelson Mandela’s simple brick built house. The famous Statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, lived in Soweto before becoming a political activist.

Nelson Mandela House in Soweto

At Holden Safaris we take you deeper. The majority of homes in Soweto, a sprawling shanty town of over a million people, are small tin houses, all squashed together with no obvious town planning.

Johannesburg Soweto House

We take you inside those tiny one room houses where the owners proudly show us how they live. A small house has to be kept neat and tidy with everything in its place. The image below is of the bedroom.

Bedroom

And the one below is of the kitchen:

Soweto House Kitchen

A closer inspection of the bedroom and kitchen images shows they’re in the same one small room!

One of the most moving experiences of being on safari is learning and seeing how other cultures live. We see the simple life we sometimes yearn for when our modern developed world gets too loud and stressful.

Come and meet the gentle, warm people of Soweto on a custom safari designed just for you by Holden Safaris.

Hamba Kahle (let’s go in Zulu)

Safari Jim
949-500-0094
jimh@holdensafaris.com
www.holdensafaris.com

Jim Holden on Safari

The post It’s Not Too Late to Plan a Custom Safari for 2023 appeared first on Holden Safaris.

At Holden Safaris, time is our friend! We like taking however long it takes to find out how different you are from everyone else, and help you design your very own custom safari.

How many of your friends who’ve been on safari to South Africa for example, lingered a few days in Johannesburg? “Nothing to see here”, say the bigger tour operators with their set departure tours. Really? Not so.

Ever heard of the word “Ezinyangeni”? It’s the medicine or “muthi” market. It’s where local people go to consult a traditional doctor, a “sangoma” who refers them to an “inyanga” or pharmacist to obtain whatever is needed for a cure.

Take a look at the image below of our “white” Zulu guide Andy Coetzee. He’s explaining to me the dose of the muthi or medicine just prescribed for me by the Sangoma, and purchased from the Inyanga. I was prescribed what turned out to be old shredded South African bank notes. The dose was to take a pinch of shredded bank notes, place them in a fireproof bowl, set them alight, and then sprinkle the ashes around the desk in my office. I was assured by the Sangoma the muthi would bring me instant wealth! And do you know, it works! Whenever I need more custom safari inquiries, I burn another bowl of shredded bank notes!

And here’s an image of some of the Inyanga’s secret potions. Don’t ask what is in the different sacks of muthi!

Here’s an image of “white” Zulu guide Andy. He’s standing in the store where young Zulu men go to be fitted out in their traditional Zulu dress for traditional events, such as weddings, graduations, and funerals.

The post Use a Custom Safari to Experience what Others Don’t! appeared first on Holden Safaris.

At Holden Safaris my specialization is custom safaris. Not many safari operators have sufficient experience to put together custom safaris. To successfully plan and operate a custom safari requires many years of safari experience, and extensive safari contacts in the different safari destinations. Having grown up in Africa, managing several large safari operators both in Africa and the USA, blowing my own trumpet, I can say I’m a rarity in the safari business!

Successfully executing a custom safari is much more than choosing a safari destination, selecting dates, and listing a few interests.

You will not be doing justice to yourself without having what I call “the conversation” between you and me. The “conversation” ensures we do indeed plan the safari that will most closely meet and exceed your expectations.

Custom safaris are totally different to set-departure group safaris. Group Safaris have a set itinerary with different departure dates, planned months, sometimes years, in advance. Anyone wanting a group safari can simply book the same group safari itinerary as everyone else, on the dates that suit them. By definition, every part of a custom safari has been carefully planned to suit the particular client taking the custom safari. It takes a lot of work, attention to detail, and a wide knowledge of how safaris work. And the devil is in the details, making sure that all the connections work smoothly, getting from one safari lodge to another.

Planning a safari in Africa is nothing like planning a vacation to say Europe where mistakes can be quickly rectified. A lot can go wrong with a custom safari! Having peace of mind, working with an experienced custom safari operator, is worth all the man-hours put into planning the safari.

Take a look at the testimonials on the testimonial page for an appreciation of what goes into planning and executing a successful custom safari.

As with most things in life, the more one puts into something the better it usually turns out.

The post What it Takes to Plan and Execute a Custom Safari appeared first on Holden Safaris.

It’s also an opportunity to thank you all for your support in 2022, helping us to get back to some sense of normalcy, after two years of Covid.

I say “some sense of normalcy” when actually safaris are booming, and far from normal at this time of year! But in a good way of course.

The Fall 2022 Consumer Travel Sentiments study from the American Society of Travel Advisors has some interesting statistics as reported recently by Travel Weekly:

• 77% of Americans would rather take a vacation than buy a computer, a television, a car, or other goods.
• Despite inflation fears, Americans are not holding back on booking travel.
• 40% of travelers are spending more on travel now than they did before the pandemic.
• Despite inflation and a weak economy, 40% of research respondents say nothing is going to stop them from taking a vacation.
• 70% of Americans are looking at travel as a reward for enduring the last two years of Covid and lockdown. “Revenge Travel” is the coined phrase!
• Many Americans feel that they need a vacation, being beneficial for their mental health (80%) and well being (76%).

So there you have it! Travel as a result is booming.

And what better for one’s mental health and well being than a safari in Africa’s unique wilderness.

If any of you are thinking of taking a safari in 2023, the best advice is, “don’t delay, call me today!”

Here is some of what awaits you on a safari:

or this:

Everyday on safari is different. It’s the best tonic to refresh and rejuvenate the soul after two years of Covid!

Krismasi Njema,

Safari Jim and the team at Holden Safaris.

The post HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM HOLDEN SAFARIS appeared first on Holden Safaris.

“Meet Esther Mahlango, a Celebrity Artist from South Africa, painting in the Ndebele style. On a safari to South Africa, you’ll be able to recognize the colorful Ndebele Houses, painted in the style made famous by Esther Mahlango, after watching this video of Esther and learning about her impressive accomplishments as an artist.

“Safari Jim.”

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