The Essence of Africa
It’s late spring and the bushveld is dry and hot. Elephants hurry to the river in large herds, kicking up dust as they go. White fronted bee-eaters make nasal calls as they zip past. The rich, evening light filters through large Ana trees that hold leopards in their branches. The air is bathed in a soft jasmine-like smell and every time I drive or walk through a patch of it I find my whole body relaxing and I smile. Everyone around exclaims “what is that gorgeous smell?” It’s a scent that comes from the pin-cushion flowers of the woolly caper-bush (capparis tomentosa) and it’s found in all my favourite wilderness areas.
Something we often hear from our guests is that they get a certain feeling on safari. Alive, relaxed, present, connected and joyful are some of the ways it’s described. It’s this that many have questioned how to better keep alive when they return home. At the heart of what we do is connect people to the wilderness and so (with the help of the African bushveld) we’ve designed a way to transport you across time and space by igniting those memories and feelings…
As part of our gift to you on your safari you’ll be given a travel size, easy-to-carry, Wild Again candle to burn during your trip. What we know is that scent is a powerful tool to trigger memories because of the unique way our brains process smell. We’ve all experienced how a certain scent can instantly bring back a moment, a place, or even an emotional state. Unlike our other senses, smell goes directly to the brain’s emotional and memory centres - especially the amygdala (emotion) and hippocampus (memory). No other sense has such a direct connection and the ability to create such fast, intense, and lasting associations. As you burn this candle while you travel, you establish those scent associations. Due to popular demand, we have also created a 330g candle that can be purchased to take home with you. This is to help transport you to the African wilderness whenever you need it or to simply share the Essence of Africa with family and friends.
We have spent months mindfully working with the team from Slowveld Candles to create the perfect Wild Again scent. One reminiscent of the blend of the woolly caper bush flowers, dusty evenings on riverbanks and the first drops of rain on dry earth. We’ve carefully selected essences that focus on relaxation, upliftment, promote better sleep and improve energy levels - all the joyous benefits we see naturally occurring while on safari. These luxurious, non-toxic, hand-poured soy candles are lovingly made by artisans living here in the lowveld of South Africa. They are made with cruelty-free ingredients, recyclable packaging, and intention! Slowveld Candles are a small, local business with whom it has been a pleasure collaborating.
We look forward to sending you home with the Essence of Africa…
- Written by Amy Attenborough
We create safaris in 12 African countries. Your adventure starts here.
.svg)
Keep reading
The sky began to shift from deep indigo to dusty pink and then bright orange, the sun rising steadily to our east, casting a golden light over the plains. The bush stirred to life. Birds launched into their dawn chorus and, somewhere in the distance, lions roared - Wild Again team member, Robyn, shares her recent experience of an all-day safari in Botswana's Okavango Delta.
Tracking is different in each season, with different clues being important at different times of the year. In winter, the dry dusty earth divulges a map of clues and signs that need interpretation and intuition. Layers of tracks are time stamps for who has wandered where and when, and a combination of understanding animal behaviour and sharp observation is needed to untangle the messages.
Founder, Private Guide and Safari Planner
Being born the daughter of David Attenborough (it’s true but he’s probably not the one you’re thinking of) I don’t believe I ever really had much choice about what direction my life would take. I grew up in the city of Durban, South Africa but for as long as I can remember nature has called to me. Whenever I could I would escape to the forests around my home barefoot and in search of chameleons and red duiker to befriend.
And so in 2010, after completing my Journalism and Media Studies degree, I followed that calling to the wilds of Southern Africa to become a game ranger. I planned to stay for a year but it turned into ten. During that time, I worked at Phinda Private Game Reserve, Ngala Private Game Reserve and Londolozi Game Reserve, some of South Africa’s most prestigious lodges and immersed myself in the natural world. I learnt to track animals with Zulu and Shangaan trackers and spent as much time as I could on foot approaching animals with my guests. I also put my photojournalism degree to use by becoming a specialist photographic guide. I travelled to Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, India and throughout South America in search of wildlife. My greatest adventure was living in Gabon training local guides for the WWF and Smithsonian Institute, where we spent weeks at a time living like early nomads in the dense and remote coastal forests, fulfilling a life-long dream of tracking and habituating wild gorillas. Seeing how embodied and present animals are inspired me to begin practicing yoga. I am a qualified vinyasa and yin teacher and spent six months training under a Hatha master in Boulder, Colorado. I am also a certified Martha Beck life coach. With this mixture of knowledge, interests and skills, I started Wild Again to help others really experience the wild places I know and love so much. Through my specialised Wellness Safaris that incorporate yoga, meditation, mindfulness and personalised life coaching I continue to grow more conscious safaris that return people to nature and to themselves. As we re-wild ourselves we hear the earth, our common mother, again. It is only then that we can co-create with her healing.
Tell us if you’re keen to plan a safari or join a retreat. We’re ready to create your dream experience.
