If you’ve visited Londolozi or even simply followed us online, you’ll understand that it’s more than just a destination, Londolozi is a feeling. It’s a place full of character that creeps into your heart without expecting it, and soon enough it becomes your home away from home. Beautiful micro-moments you experience with us, the ones that allow for connection, nature immersions and unique experiences, are what you take away with you after your stay. It’s the conversations you have with your butler, to following leopard tracks on a dusty track. It’s telling stories around the fire in the boma, to having that first cup of coffee on the deck before morning game drive. The Londolozi experience is a feeling, and it’s often due to an amalgamation of all the little things that a place, so far away from your home, can form in your heart. Here are 20 telltale signs that show you’ve felt, what we affectionately call, The Londolozi Effect:
1. Your list of favourite foods has expanded to include pap, sheeba, the renowned Londolozi Muesli, and of course the mouthwatering malva pudding.
2. Your butler has become an integral part of your extended family, and you’ve mastered the pronunciation of words like “Avuxeni” and “Inkomu,” determined to get at least one whistling word just right.
3. Watching Animal Planet can no longer satisfy your safari cravings; you have to get your weekly dose of the Londolozi Virtual Safari.
4. You’ve braved the Body Activation experience at the Healing House, and you’re steadily improving your plunge time in the freeze pool beyond the initial 3 minutes.
5. You now view the birds in your yard with a different perspective, noting their calls and behaviours. You might even consider yourself a budding twitcher.
6. Your tracking skills have noticeably improved. So much so that you no longer see your pets’ paw prints in the yard as mere marks but rather as a narrative, treating them as valuable clues in a detective-like quest to locate their whereabouts.
7. You never knew you had such a talent for capturing exquisite wildlife photographs. Your amateur home snapshots are being replaced by true masterpieces. While your natural talent plays a part, your Photographic Studio Session might have lent a helping hand.
8. Your morning coffee just doesn’t quite hit the mark anymore. It pales in comparison to Londolozi’s Amarula Coffee or the Ama-Choca-Chino. You’re tempted to have some of that liquid magic shipped to your doorstep.
9. Your usual TV shows no longer hold the same allure for your evening entertainment. Your idea of pure bliss is now gathered around a crackling fire in the boma, serenaded by the enchanting harmonies of the Londolozi Choir. You find yourself yearning for the return of your “bush TV.”
The Londolozi Choir
10. Your daily dose of magazines and newspapers no longer captivates you. Reading the Londolozi Blog has become an essential part of your daily routine, and you’re well-informed about all the happenings in the bush. Naturally, you’re passionately invested in the well-being of the Tsalala Female!
11. You yearn to replicate the night sky of Africa on your home’s ceiling.
12. While you once enjoyed your local yoga class, your standards have now soared to “yoga-with-a-view.” During your Downward-Facing Dog pose, you keep an eye out for elephants grazing along the Sand River and Vervet monkeys swinging in the Ebony trees.
Celebrating Ten Years of Safari Yoga
13. Your go-to sundowner drink has become a South African, botanical-infused Gin and Tonic. It must also be served on the hood of a Land Rover; otherwise, it just doesn’t taste the same.
14. You’ve seriously contemplated a career change to become a wellness therapist, all to spend your days at The Healing House!
15. While you still love taking a shower back at home, you can’t help but daydream of having an outdoor shower overlooking the Sand River while listening to nature sounds.
16. You’re up to date with the latest Pink Pouch handover and have your suspicions on who will be next…
The Pouch in all it’s glory.
17. You’re all for seeing the back-of-house now, after doing the Londolozi Village Walk. Not only that but you’re now inspired to grow your own food, start a worm farm and are looking into getting off the grid. You’ve even snapped a selfie with the Mandela mural…
18. You’d happily swop out the skyscrapers in your city for the Leadwood Forest; the street lamps for the Milky Way; the neighbours cat for a genet; your ceiling lights for lanterns; your commute to work with a game drive; your favourite restaurant with the Camp Decks; and the sound of traffic for the flow of the Sand River.
19. You’ve felt #TheLondoloziEffect and have written a Love Letter to Londolozi…
20. Reflecting on these 20 points has filled you with nostalgia – it’s undoubtedly time for another dose of The Londolozi Effect!
We’re sure there are a few more signs out there. We’d love to hear in the comments below how your journeys to Londolozi have left an impact on you…
Jemma Thorpe
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