Crafted Africa Wellbeing Safari

UNDISCOVERED AFRICA

12 Days | Zambia + Malawi

Zambia and Malawi are still two of Africa’s undiscovered gems. From Zambia’s undeveloped wildlife areas of the Lower Zambezi National Park to the breathtaking untouched wilderness in South Luangwa National Park, ending in Likoma Island on Lake Malawi, both countries boast extraordinary landscapes teeming with wildlife and lots of adventure. Truly an explorer and photographer’s heaven.

We are offering an exquisitely curated adventure that combines wellbeing and mindful photography into a truly unique experience. We confidently say this one will profoundly shift your perspective on life. Something inside you will be ignited, awakened, charged up. Africa does that to people. This adventure is perfect for families and small groups.

Like a true explorer, you will experience these wild environments from different perspectives to give you a holistic understanding of the wildlife and their home. Our adventure includes mindful bush walks, tranquil canoe paddles, and awe-inspiring game drives. The day ends with a ‘mindful meditation and movement’ sundowner. Afterward, you can always top off the moment with the old explorer’s drink of choice, gin and tonic!

Our local guides know all the best places for your camera, while your trip leader, Maria Baltazzi, guides you to look through a mindful lens. One that is meant to meaningfully open your awareness to the extraordinary world around you.

This experience is for all levels of photographers and is non-technical. We can add or delete experiences, including whether you prefer not to do photography.

The price varies depending on the time of year, the number of guests, and special requests.

A WILD WONDERLAND, ZAMBIA

We first fly to the Lower Zambezi National Park to stay at the idyllic Chongwe River Camp. This camp rests on a peaceful stretch of the Chongwe River. You can listen to fish eagle calls, the faint sound of a resident family of warthogs mowing the grass outside, and see elephants wade across the river right in front of the house. At mealtime, savor fine dining in the wild, featuring local and seasonal ingredients.

UNSPOILED WILDERNESS

An exceptional wildlife region. This undeveloped rugged wilderness is made up of vast floodplains dotted by indigenous woodland areas. It is best known as the home to the Lower Zambezi National Park, renowned for its abundant game and wildlife diversity. Think hippos, buffalo, crocodiles, fish eagles, elephants, lions, leopards, wild dogs, and 370 species of birds.

CANOE SAFARI

One of the most idyllic ways to experience the sights and sounds of the Lower Zambezi Valley is on a canoe safari. Canoes seat two guests and a guide in comfort, with ample room for cameras and binoculars.

Canoeing offers you an entirely different perspective. You can glide gently along the Zambezi River and its beautiful channels or go down the Chongwe River. Either allows you to fully take in the magic of this incredible land, creatures, and plants that call it home.

Canoeing experience is not necessary.

NIGHT MOVES

Daytime game drives are exhilarating. Nighttime rides are extraordinary. As dusk falls, we set off to explore creatures that growl and go bump in the night. When genets, civets, elephant shrew, porcupine, honey-badgers, and the big predators are most active. For birders, you could be richly rewarded with nightjars, owls great and small, dikkop, bat hawk, and coursers.

MEET THE LOCALS

At the Chiawa Cultural Village, you will learn about the lives of the Goba of the Zambezi Valley, their traditions, trades, tools, edifices, and arts. Amid the modern world, they have preserved their way of fishing, farming, and surviving.

WILDLIFE H(E)AVEN

Leaving the Lower Zambezi, we fly to South Luangwa to stay at Chinzombo, one of Zambia’s most beautiful lodges overlooking the Luangwa River’s sweeping curve. It is the ultimate in wild luxury. Bellowing hippos lull you to sleep. Wake up with the eye of an elephant just outside your villa. Its six spacious guest villas rest beneath ancient msikzi trees. Each has a private pool and soaking tub with panoramic views over the river and its abundant wildlife.

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

South Luangwa National Park is renowned for its walking safari. What a heart-stopping thrill it is to experience elephant, hippo, and even lion close-up. For those intrepid enough, you will be guided under the supervision of professional and knowledgeable armed guides. Walking is the only way you really become intimate with Africa, learning about the small, seemingly irrelevant plants and animals, which are often overlooked on a game drive. The safari guides will show you an amazing secret world of tiny wonders as they lead you along well-worn animal pathways.

SKY BED

During your stay at Chinzombo in South Luangwa, we have arranged something very special for you, sleeping out under the stars!

The Africa night sky is simply magnificent. Worth coming all this way just to experience its vastness and splendor. The Milky Way seems one hundred times brighter here, where there is no light pollution. We are watched over by the Southern Cross, Orion, and Scorpio amongst an infinite number of other constellations.

“KAYA MAWA,” “MAYBE TOMORROW,” MALAWI

Saying good-bye to South Luangwa we fly to Kaya Mawa Lodge on Likoma Island. With its almost supernatural vibe, there is nowhere else on Earth quite like Kaya Mawa. Hidden away on Lake Malawi’s Likoma Island, you will be transported into a world of simple pleasures. Embraced by the warmth and hospitality of the enchanting Malawian staff, you will enjoy timeless luxury and only the best of modern conveniences. “Kaya Mawa” is Likoma Island’s version of mañana, without the urgency. Each of Kaya Mawa’s eleven rooms, and private villa, is uniquely special. Serene and secret decks for sunbathing; secluded lakeside chalets with private lounges. The days can be filled with stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, kitesurfing, waterskiing, sailing, and quad-biking. There is a PADI dive school, as well.

ISLAND TOUR

Visit the island’s cathedral, which is the same size at St Paul’s in London. Go to the fishing villages and unique Katundu projects where the women make incredible chandeliers from whatever washes up on the shore. It is up to you. You decide, and we will do the rest.

Where Adventure, Conscious Travel, And Luxury Converge

Experiences

Activity that engages you with the environment: hiking, sailing, photography, community visits. This is your guided outer journey.

Wellbeing

We connect you to your why. Why do you want to take this sojourn? Is it to unplug so you can reflect on a career pivot? Do you need to reset your priorities? Learn to manage stress better? This is your guided inner Journey.

Luxury

This compass point is all about your environment. We care about where you place your head at night. We care about what you eat, what you drink. We handpick places that are unique as well as sustainable.

Giveback

We aim to be respectful and supportive of the places we visit. Every sojourn offers a donation gift that supports the destination we visit.

Kind Words from Guests

“It’s difficult for me to express my thoughts and the raw emotions that I experienced in the last ten days; as my faith and beliefs have been magnified like I have never imagined. Thank you for making my spiritual journey such an incredible experience.”

“Maria lets your journey be whatever you want it to be, whether that be based on the walking, the history, spirituality, photography, sightseeing. Personally, it was about all of the above for me. Maria is also a qualified [mindfulness movement] teacher and offered stretching if and when we wanted/needed it. It really tops off a day of walking! I feel blessed to have experienced my journey the way I did, fun and serenity rolled into one.”

“Thank you so much for helping us to design and execute one of the most memorable trips of our lives. You took amazing care of all our travel details, so much so that it felt so smooth and easy, even though we were in a foreign country. Yet the most special part was that you not only designed a trip for us, you designed an incredible experience. Feeling blessed to have you on our trip.”

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