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Finding Your Wild Self At Londolozi As A Family – Londolozi Blog
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This year, we have extended the invitation to rediscover the essence of your wild self, a journey of connection and awakening that transcends the ordinary. Here, amidst the vibrant tapestry of nature, families from across the globe journey, drawn by a shared longing to reclaim their wild selves and forge a deeper bond together and with the natural world. I find myself reflecting on the countless souls who have embarked on this extraordinary quest, each one finding their wild selves in myriad ways – whether its the exhilarating rush of a game drive, wading barefoot through Taylors Crossing, a wellness journey, finding their village in the heart of Africa, or the mesmerizing spectacle of the star-studded night sky.
What I’ve learnt, is that Londolozi is more than just a destination; it’s a sanctuary of aliveness, a sanctuary where the whispers of the wild beckon us to remember our inherent connection to ourselves and all living beings. Here, we are invited to shift from the relentless pace of modern life to the timeless rhythm of nature, from the world of doing to the world of being. Every moment offers an opportunity to reconnect with our true nature and embrace the wildness that resides within us all.
We recently had the privilege of having the Tunstall family stay with us, and Lauren kindly shared her story about how she and her family have found, and continue to find, their wild selves here at Londolozi together.
Lauren, thank you for sharing your definition of your wild self with us!
Our wild selves are calling… and we belong here
Letter written by Londolozi friend and guest Lauren Tunstall
“Life, come in Life. Can you hear me Life?” I could only laugh when Ranger Nick would call this into his radio when communicating with our tracker, Life, who was on foot in the bush tracking for us. These words reverberated within my soul much like a lion’s roar does on a crisp winter’s morning in Africa.
I first heard of Londolozi as a young girl. I can’t remember which came first: watching Bush School (Londolozi’s educational television programme in the early 1990s) or a play date at the Varty family home in Johannesburg as Bronwyn, Boyd and I were at the same school for a brief period. Either way, the track had been laid; I knew I had to experience Londolozi for myself one day. It was my first bucket-list destination in life.
Crossing Fintfoot on the Tracker seat with Tracker Advice
It took me a good thirty years to get there and from the very first trip, I felt a sense of belonging. I went with my own young family twice in 2021 after Covid travel restrictions had been lifted in South Africa and more poignantly for me, after I had completed the various stages of cancer treatment. We recently went again over the 2024 Easter weekend, this time free of both Covid and cancer fears.
Every trip to Londolozi has abounded in incredible Big Five sightings. The kind of sightings that get your pulse racing and excitedly make their way to dinner party conversations around the magic of the bush. Lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo, cheetah, wild dog – we’ve been treated to all of them across our trips. What sets Londolozi apart for us as a family however, are the little moments, out in the bush and in camp, that give depth and colour to our experiences and leave us with a sense of connection to the bush and its animals.
Each trip, we’ve had a different ranger and tracker pairing and each trip, we’ve loved experiencing the bush under their expert guidance. We’ve enjoyed bok-drolletjie shoot outs and bush brain-teaser puzzles with Ranger Andrea and Tracker Sersant; impala lily photo shoots and elephant dung soccer matches with Ranger Nick and Tracker Life; and, collecting marula nuts and being barefoot and grounded in the mystical leadwood forest with Ranger Jess and Tracker Advice.
Bok-drolletjie competitions with Ranger Andrea
Alumni Ranger Nick Sims & Lauren’s son capturing Impala Lillies
Ranger Jess Shillaw sharing the magic of the Leadwood Forrest
Collectively these rangers and trackers have shown us how to slow down and really look at, listen to and respect our surrounds. We’ve re-routed a game drive so as to allow a line of processionary caterpillars to safely cross the road to the tree on the other side; we’ve waited for impala to move off in their own time as they had in fact been on the road first as gently pointed out by our ranger to my son who had been insisting we nudge them along; and they’ve shown us how to cut the engine and be still. It is in these moments of stillness, without the hum of the engine or the crunch of the road beneath our tires, that we’ve heard the urgent chit-chit of a squirrel alerting us to a predator in the area; the crunching of a bone leading us to a lioness and cubs feeding on a kill; and the chuff (a whispered greeting) of a mother leopard in search of her missing cub.
Observing the processionary caterpillars crossing the road – sometimes it’s the smallest of creatures that are so magnificent!
Sersant showed my daughter how to approach giraffe on foot in the open bush without frightening them away; an exercise in trust and patience for my then 8-year old little girl whose world had been turned upside down by Covid and her mom going for treatment for cancer. Life can be harsh and confusing; it can also be simple and beautiful.
And then there is the tracking, a firm highlight of every trip. On one of our trips, we followed tracks for about an hour before we were rewarded with a sighting of a herd of buffalo, comparable in size to those found in the Masai Mara, making its way to a watering hole for an evening drink and resting spot. My children consider themselves rangers and trackers in training and jump out of the game vehicle at every given opportunity to crouch down and try identify the crests and dips left imprinted in the sand by the animals who have passed that way before us. They’ve also now learnt to look beyond the familiar track on the road and take in any other signs the bush can offer such as wrinkles in the sand and bent tufts of grass in a sandy embankment from where an elephant rested the night before. Little clues left for us to interpret stories that unfolded before us if we are still enough to connect to our wild self and really see them.
Tracking with Tracker Life & Alumni Ranger Nick Sims
Aspiring Rangers & Trackers!
Tracking with Tracker Advice Ngwenya
On the last game drive of one our trips, we were making our way back to camp when a flock of birds flew up in a cloud on our left and then danced across our path in perfect synchronicity, weaving hypnotic patterns in the purple dusky sky much like a murmuration of starlings. I remember Ranger Nick saying at dinner that night that in that moment he had thought to himself I love my job. It was easy to understand why; I think we all felt connected to that flock’s dance across the evening sky.
We generally like to explore new destinations as a family. We travel as much as we can to as many different places as we can. And yet, we find ourselves continuously planning another trip to Londolozi. I read a quote the other day that said,
“When we travel we begin to shed the layers of who we once were and become a little bit closer to who we’re meant to be.”
This is what Londolozi has become for us a family: a space to cut the engine of routine, shed layers of who we build ourselves up to be in the hum drum of life, be still and become a little bit closer to our wild self. It is in these moments of stillness in the African wild that I find the space and breathe to answer back, “I can hear you calling Life. I am here”.
Our most recent trip with Jess & Advice
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Shannon Dawson
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