You dream about Safaris…
But how do you really feel about benign masochism (also known as an adventure)?
When we design your Safari the first thing that happens is a conversation about your likes and dislikes. If you have the time, we will talk to you until you have told us everything you think is important… and then we might ask you a couple of extra questions as we will already know where you want to go and which surprises and events could be added to make it even more special. No two Rothschild Safaris are alike, because we specialize in the truly tailor-made.
And we also specialize in those parts of the map that used to be marked: Beyond here there be dragons.
Which means that you may concentrate exclusively on luxury and happiness and fabulous meals wherever you go… but you may also choose to indulge in a little sprinkling of adventure.
Outside your comfort zone:
There will be communities who will love to meet you. But some of their circumstances may affect you strongly.
There will be activities that will require an adventurous spirit.
There could be the discomfort of early morning rising for game drives (tucked into a blanket with a hot water bottle in winter).
A Safari in our century can provide all of this…
but why should you deliberately push yourself into demanding territory on holiday?
Scientifically proven benefits of daring to venture out from your safety zone you should consider:
Allowing yourself to be open to the hardship of others will create a resiliency that will improve and enhance your own life.
Nature can be an incredible teacher. On Safari you have to leverage fatigue, hunger, discomfort and sometimes even a little healthy fear towards earning the reward of seeing incredible game and landscapes.
Nature also teaches us that nothing is permanent. Birth and death is often laid at our feet in the wild. Like gifts.
At the same time, all your senses are elevated as you focus on your environment and quickly develop a better awareness of your surroundings. This awareness will often extend back to your home environment and you will sometimes notice things you have never taken note of before. You may take a temporary cure from ‘nature-deficit-disorder’
When I first moved to the city having grown up in the bush I was stopped three times by the traffic police for not turning my headlights of the car on after dark… It took me that long to get used to streetlights and how easy it was to see in the city compared to the utter blackout (unless it is full moon) back home in the bush.
There is something about the uniform and the hardware you wear for adventure activities. Life jackets and bungee clips, it all places you within the potential physical danger sphere. And you have that frisson of knowing that you are about to discover things about earth or yourself or both imminently.
Richard Louv, author of Vitamin N, The Essential Guide to a Nature Rich Life believes that kids spending unstructured time in nature is the key to developing into curious and capable humans (in his defense he never met me and I don’t think we can hold my driving-around-with-no-headlights against him!) Developing neurological systems by stimulating balance and organizing senses will also guard against frustration, controlling emotions and hyperactivity.
And that is only the start of it. A healthy dose of adrenaline will result in a host of positive physical outcomes.
*Adventure is scientifically proven to give you a natural high by releasing dopamine and serotonin.
*It may also help you to burn through energy. Your metabolism kicks into high gear and reaches for the sugar and fat… at the same time, your heart starts beating faster to compensate.
*Arousal is arousal is… well, arousal. Your body isn’t really all that great at telling the difference between mild fear and attraction. When you are scared you release oxytocin which is a bonding hormone.
*Controlled fear is a means of teaching yourself to engage and reset the bar of your stress sensitivity.
*Activation of white blood cells occurs as a physiological fear response (adventure may save your life!)
Images via Julian Hanslmaier,Shifaaz shamoon, Peter Conlan, Benjamin Davies, Jonas Wurster, Simon Migaj, Tomas Sobek, Richard Price, Austin Neill, Robb Leahy, Andraz Lazic