SOLE-FULLY SINGITA....Under African Skies

 

Dear Friends

 

 

In this issue we focus on Singita's work - their three East Africa lodges and mobile camp in the western Serengeti and their Global Award for Tourism received for their work at Pamushana in Zimbabwe. ROAR AFRICA visited Singita Grumeti last month.   The lodges are spectacular and their community and conservation work is inspiring.  Here's a little more about our experience.
 
If the African skies inspire you then have a look at the truly sublime video of Conservationist Kerri Wolter and paraglider pilot Walter Nesser flying with the endangered Cape Vulture in South Africa.

 

Speechless in the Serengeti....

  Serengeti Sunset

Serengeti Sunset

 

I'm mad about the bush.  Even after a lifetime of safaris something ingnites my soul when I am back out there reconnecting with "me".  I can never quite put my finger on it but I recognize the effects -  its a feeling of compelteness and fulfillment and peace. I feel light, hopeful and happy. I can breathe....!  My soul has just been in another place where I don't pay much attention to it. 

 

Last month on a trip in Tanzania, I had my breath knocked right out of me by the vision before me.  Arriving at Sasakwa I stood in awe, mesmorized by the expanse of  landscape and  sky before me.  Like two oceans above and below me, stretching as far as the eye could see.  Why is it that certain moments want to be remembered more than others?  They become the luminous pictures of our lives. My interpretation of Africa was once again thrown into a confused spiral as I tried to absorb this beauty before me. Africa emerges as a world of opposites, of roughness and delicacy, of beauty and grit, of lush vegetation and desert.  Images both beautiful and haunting.  The sky was a kalidescope of color and movement like someone was putting on an electric light show for us.  It's not possible to convey the beauty.  Arriving at Singita Sasakwa was one of the most breath taking, experiences of my life and it simply defies all description.  

 

From a more practical side Singita Sasakwa Lodge, perched high above the plains, is one of three Singita lodges in this enormous private concession (340,000 acres).  This means that you'll have this wild stretch of Africa almost all to yourself. Sasakwa Lodge is built in the style of an Edwardian manor house. Stone walls, deep verandas, high ceilings, stately furniture, silverware and ornamental pieces complete the picture. Each cottage has a private infinity-edge pool overlooking where the land stretches to forever. The bedrooms with inviting four-posters are beautifully appointed, displaying typical African influences with touches of wood, leather and grass, alongside crisp linens and imported chandeliers.  

Sasakwa Cottage

Sasakwa bath

  

The staff are wonderfully warm and couldn't be more welcoming.  Our guide Arnold was absolutley brilliant and he traveled with us as we moved to each of the 3 Singita camps.  He was incredibly knowledgeable and it was also very intersting to learn about his life having grown up in Tanzania as a young man.  He took us on a community tour and opened our eyes to the fascinating inspirtational programs that Singita has in place.  

 

Singita have 120 anti poachers on staff, almost all of who were previous poachers themselves.  People in the villages produce veggies and fruit and sell them to Singita to use in the kitchen.  There is also a captive rhino breeding project to try to reintroduce the poached-out animals back into the area.  The game is harder to see than some other places.  The distances are so vast and there are no trackers as the land does not provide for adequate tracking.  But the herds of animals are huge.  As we left we flew over about 200 elephant grazing beneath us.  All 3 camps are very different from one another.  At Faru Faru you have the modern chic safari experience and are hosted by the wonderful fun couple Brad & Kate.  At Sabora you get to play Meryl Streep and Robert Redford as Bjorn enlightens you on the antiques and collectors items in each tent.  

 

At both of these camps you fell like you are one with the land and then there is  Sasakwa where you can only feel like you own all of it....

Singita Launches Mobile Safari Camp in Tanzania....

 

Singita Game Reserves has launched Singita Explore, a transformational new travel concept that will take guests on a private mobile safari to some of Africa's most remote and romantic wilderness sites. The new product has been custom designed to meet global trends and the demand from discerning travellers for 'privacy, exclusivity and closeness to nature'. Singita Explore will be rolled out in East Africa on the first of June 2011 within the 340 000 acre (142 000ha) Singita Grumeti Reserves, situated along the Western corridor of Tanzania's legendary Serengeti.

A completely exclusive, true 'mobile' camp, Singita Explore is a unique, modern safari experience unlike any other. Singita Explore puts the adventure back into 'going on safari', offering a journey of exploration on an exclusive-use basis for between 2 and 12 guests only. It is an ideal component of an East African safari itinerary within the Singita Grumeti Reserves, including stays at its three different lodges: Singita Faru Faru, Singita Sabora Tented Camp and flagship Singita Sasakwa, the only Relais & Ch�teaux property in East Africa.

Singita Mobile Camp Lounge areaSinigta Mobile Camp Bedroom

Touching the earth lightly, everything about the mobile camp is designed for minimal energy consumption with little environmental impact. Guests will return from game drives to en-suite hideaways where canvas walls frame contemporary details infused with the durable textures of Africa. 

Unlike other camps, which are seasonal and semi-permanent, Singita Explore will be disassembled on demand, and moved to different locations in accordance to nature, its rainfall patterns, vegetation, and game movements that include the annual wildebeest migration - one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth. The mobile safari camp will be fully staffed with a private guide and game viewing vehicle, chef and a camp host, with each itinerary individually tailored according to guests' personal interests, and preferred safari activities.

 

Global Award for Tourism Tomorrow

Singita Pamushana
Pamushana Sunset

 

I wrote about my visit to Zimababwe's Singita Pamushana back in November, so it is with great pride that I am able to share the news that Singita Pamushana has been awarded "Global Winner" at the World Travel & Tourism Council's Tourism for Tomorrow Awards.

 

One of Singita Game Reserve's nine low-impact/high-end game lodges in southern and East Africa, Singita Pamushana is often referred to as 'one of southern Africa's best kept secrets'. It was selected as winner in this prestigious global competition amongst two other outstanding finalists in the Conservation category: Fr�gate Island in the Seychelles; and The Jane Goodall Institute/Budongo Ecotourism Development Project in Uganda.

 

Read more about Pamushana and this award on our blog ROAR AFRICA TAILShere.


 

Soaring with Vultures - spectacular video


One day in 1998, in South Africa, I followed a yellow-billed kite into a thermal on my paraglider. We soared together close enough that I could see the individual feathers on its wingtips making adjustments. I still get goosebumps more than a decade later.

Watch this beautiful footage of Kerri Wolter doing it for the joy AND for a cause: the protection of the Cape Vulture. Less than 2,900 breeding pairs remain. Conservationist Kerri Wolter and paraglider pilot Walter Nesser fly with them. The footage is sublime.
Kerri founded the Vulture Conservation Program in Magaliesberg, South Africa. A beautiful place to fly! Support the program here.
Flying with Vultures - Path into the Future
Flying with Vultures - Path into the Future

This was also part of the filming of the documentary series Path into the Future.

Rob Breen
In This Issue
Speechless in the Serengeti
Singita Mobile Safari Camp
Global Award for Tourism
Soaring with Vultures
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Warmest regards The Team at
ROAR AFRICA