Tag: exclusive use

Daunara Safari Special

Posted on by James

Pay for 3 nights, stay for 4.

That’s a good deal no matter where you’re talking about, but in the Okavango Delta, it sounds almost too good to be true.

Daunara Safari Camp, one of the newest offerings in the Delta, is running this incredible special for 2025, but with enquiries already starting to flood in, we would advise not to wait if a trip to Botswana’s own version of Eden is something you’d be interested in.

This lovely camp is in the south-east of the Delta, a short scenic helicopter flight from Maun, which is a pioneering safari town in the north of Botswana on the edge of the Thamalakane River.
The Camp is perched on the edge of a permanent water body, perfectly situated for days full of adventure and activity or for you to take time to escape from the world and reconnect with life as it ought to be lived.

At Daunara, your days are tailor-made, from the staff’s heartfelt hospitality to the camp’s thoughtful design, your stay is a constant adventure in nature with walking, fishing, game drives, community visits, mekoro (plural of mokoro – the traditional dugout canoe of the Okavango) and so much more. All in your own time at your own pace, with guides who immerse you in the heart of the Delta experience.

They want you to experience a welcome so warm in a home so comfortable that you don’t want to leave. And it works!

The camp comprises five spacious tented suites, each offering panoramic views of the wild. The layout, dictated by the positioning of prominent trees, allows for both privacy and shared communal experiences, with three standalone suites and two interconnected family suites.

A raised wooden walkway, mirroring the winding Delta waterways, connects the tents, ensuring guests remain immersed in the natural environment as they move about the camp. The central camp area includes a family-friendly house kitchen, an intimate sitting room, a fully stocked bar, and a stand-alone wine cellar, alongside outdoor spaces like shaded verandas, a sunken firepit, and a  lap pool.

Other noteworthy features include a state-of-the-art gym and a massage tent overlooking a second waterhole often frequented by huge zebra herds.

The boma, a modern reinterpretation of a traditional African outdoor gathering space, is a standout feature consisting of three interconnected separate circular forms for dining, lounging, and outdoor cooking, all centered around an enormous fire bowl. This playful yet functional design offers a unique guest experience.

For those looking to attach something out of the ordinary and extra special to their trip, a visit to Elephant Havens, a nearby elephant orphanage, is a must.
The orphanage has a herd of young calves that have been rescued from the wild, and in the fully immersive experience, guests get to help the caretakers feed the little ones as well as give them milk during their twice-daily walks out in the bush.

It’s a unique and magical way to get up close to these magical creatures!

Owner-run, Danaura provides the attention to detail that Iconic Africa looks for in the high-end camps we like to send our guests to, and with this current special running, there’s not better time for a visit.

Get hold of one of our agents through info@iconicafrica.com to start planning your trip…

Singita Kilima – the Hill of Plenty

Posted on by James

This exceptional exclusive-use property is uniquely situated on Sasakwa Hill in the 350,000 acre Grumeti Reserve, in Northern Tanzania. Grumeti is known for exceptional game viewing and is part of the ancient footpaths of the annual wildebeest migration.

The reserve was created by the Tanzanian government in 1994 in order to protect the path of the annual wildebeest migration and the indigenous biodiversity of this vast and important ecosystem.

In 2002, the Grumeti Community and Wildlife Conservation Fund (now known as the Grumeti Fund), a not-for-profit organisation, was granted the right to manage and conserve these 350,000 acres, for the benefit of Tanzania, Africa and the world. Four years later, Singita took over the management of the property to enhance low impact, luxury tourism.

With a surplus of big cats year-round, elephant and buffalo herds, and of course the spectacle of a million wildebeest moving through the area during June-September, the Grumeti Region provides some of the best game viewing in Tanzania.

Now with Singita Kilima added to the already stunning Singita portfolio in the region, one is spoiled for choice…

Offering meticulous service and effortless luxury, Kilima is ideal for shared experiences among groups of friends or extended family gatherings. Game drives in your own private vehicle and personalised wilderness adventures add moments of anticipation and exhilaration to the soft and steady pace of your day.

Kilima offers seclusion and privacy. Here, easing into tranquility and lightness-of-being comes naturally.

When not out on game drives or bush walks, guests can unwind in the various living spaces, watch movies in the media room, enjoy a wellness treatment or stay active in the fitness space.

Mealtimes are a relaxed affair, there are well-stocked ‘bar-delis’ with fresh and healthy snacks on offer throughout the day. Wine-tastings offer the opportunity to discover a fantastic selection of wines and your personal chef will provide delicious meals on request – with ingredients sourced locally and often with a definitive East African flair.

Each tailormade exploration with your personal Field Guide celebrates the freedom to spend unfiltered time in wide-open spaces and while no two Singita game drives are ever the same, you are bound to be enchanted by vivid encounters with Africa’s most iconic wildlife – which flourish and thrive through the tireless efforts of Singita’s non-profit conservation Funds & Trusts.

Embrace the quiet pace of an ancient landscape, far from the noise of the modern world.

An infinity swimming pool anchors the spacious outdoor areas, complimented by private heated pools in two of the suites. A range of wellness experiences are designed to align guests with the restorative power of nature, fostering a sense of harmony with the extraordinary landscape surrounding them.

The property accommodates a maximum of ten people in five suites that vary in décor, size and colour palette. A mix of indoor and outdoor areas create an easy sense of comfort while every aspect of the property celebrates the views of the magnificent grasslands below.

If you are interested in exploring this part of Africa, where the horizons seem infinite and you feel as if you are truly living the quintessential safari experience, get in touch with us through info@iconicafrica.com, and let’s start planning your Serengeti adventure…

Amanzi: Lower Zambezi’s Living Eden

Posted on by James

If tranquility in an African bush setting is what you are after, with the gentle current of the Zambezi River flowing past your private deck, a cold Zambezi Lager in one hand, a pair of binoculars in the other and a herd of elephants swimming across the river int he distance, Amanzi Luxury Tented Camp is the place for you.

Set far from the madding crowd in the Lower Zambezi National Park – a place swiftly gaining a reputation as one of Africa’s new hotspots for sensational game viewing – Amanzi is the most remote of the camps in the region, as well as being exclusive-use only, meaning you’ll enjoy a far more intimate wildlife experience.

Guided walks, game drives and river excursions offer multiple exciting ways to explore the area, and all offer their own unique way to immerse yourself in of the continent’s most special wildernesses.

Amanzi is a small camp, being comprised of only four classically styled luxury suites.
Two suites are stand-alone and one is a double-bedroom family styled suite, with the two bedrooms being designed in exactly the same way as the stand-alones.
Wooden walkways link the rooms to the lounge and dining area, and move further through the riparian thickets to the pool and teak viewing deck, situated just above the mighty Zambezi River.

More often than not guests don’t even need to leave their suites to view wildlife, as large hippo pods frequent the area and elephants are an almost constant presence around the camp.

Whilst historically areas like Hwange in Zimbabwe, the Okavango in Botswana, and the Kruger National Park and surrounds in South Africa have been at the forefront of the Southern African wildlife scene, Zambia’s Lower Zambezi National Park is fast coming into its own as a premier destination for wildlife viewing.
Leopards abound here, packs of wild dogs dominate the floodplains in the dry season, and the local lion population are frequent hunters of the large buffalo herds.

If it’s up-close wildlife encounters that you are after, in a setting almost tailor-made for photography, look no further. The fact that Amanzi is out beyond all the other camps means that a lot of the time, you are all alone with the animals you are viewing.

With amazing rates currently available for Iconic Africa guests (for both international and SADC visitors), this is a fantastic time to think about a safari into this part of the continent. As the area grows in renown it is likely that more and more visitors will want to head there, but for the moment there is still exclusivity and plenty of space to be found.

Get in touch to start planning your safari…

Singita Castleton: Leopards, Luxury and Lawn Tennis

Posted on by James

Whilst many would have played a casual game of Sunday tennis and wandered off the court to drink a refreshing post-game G&T, very few would have done it with a pride of lions in attendance, or served for the set with an elephant casually feeding from a nearby marula tree.
Yet both scenarios are a distinct possibility at Singita Castleton, an exclusive-use camp in the heart of South Africa’s Sabi Sand Reserve.

The former home of Luke Bailes’s (Singita’s Founder) Grandfather, Castleton Camp combines the most refined elements of a private safari lodge with the rustic charm of a country farmhouse.
The property sleeps up to 12 people, perfect for larger and extended families, or travelling groups who would like a camp all to themselves. Two Land Rovers would cater for a full camp, covering twice as much ground with double the chances of finding the wildlife for which the area is famed. Of course one doesn’t even have to leave the camp to enjoy spectacular sightings. A large waterhole at the end of the clearing in front of the swimming pool ensures a constant stream of wild visitors, with a resident waterbuck population always in attendance, elephants and rhinos moving through daily to quench their thirst, and the predators often skulking in the shadows nearby. Singita Sabi Sand, of which Castleton Camp is a part, forms part of a greater leopard population that is the densest yet measured in Africa, and sightings of these often elusive cats are common, even from the verandah.

Whats The Difference Between Game reserve And National Park Leopard

The layout of Castleton is a main homestead area flanked by six double en-suite cottages. The extensive wine cellar, country style kitchen and tennis court, as well as state-of-the-art wellness facilities such as a fitness centre, yoga pavilion and double and single massage treatment rooms ensure that guests lack for nothing that is to be found in the larger camps further north towards the Sand River.

The outdoor boma is partially open to the surrounding bush, so dinner under the stars is alive with the possibility of spotting a nocturnal visitor.

Exclusive-use camps like Singita Castleton are swiftly gaining in popularity throughout the industry, and are redefining what the idea of “luxury” is. It’s not just about thread-count, the exclusive wine list or the wifi speed, but rather it’s the ability to have only you and your closest friends and/or family sharing an intimate wildlife experience second to none.
One of the first exclusive-use camps of its kind, Singita Castleton has had years to refine its offering to a point where it really is the industry leader, and one would be hard-pressed to find an offering of similar quality anywhere in Africa.