Safari Agency

25/05/2026

Africa Day feels like the perfect moment to celebrate the landscapes, wildlife, and quiet moments that make so many of us fall in love with this continent - and what better way to do that than through art inspired by Africa itself.

Much of South African bronze artist Heinrich Filter’s work begins with memories formed during his years guiding in Botswana and South Africa. Time spent in the bush taught him to slow down and pay attention - to movement, silence, rhythm, and the small details that often go unnoticed.

‘In Step’ grew from those observations.

An elephant and its calf move together in quiet awareness. The relationship between them became more important than detail. Heinrich wasn’t interested in simply describing elephants - he wanted to hold the quiet connection between them, steady and unspoken, in bronze.

And just enough playfulness in the calf to remind you how young it still is.

Africa has a way of staying with you like that. Long after you leave.

Happy Africa Day.

www.heinrichfilterart.co.za

25/05/2026

Steve Bolnick joined me at Indaba this year - giving agents the rare opportunity to meet the heart and soul behind Camp Mana, owner-guided and hosted by Steve & Debbie Bolnick in Mana Pools. And it reminded me again just how powerful it is when the person across the table is not only selling a safari, but still living it - day in and day out - after a lifetime in the bush.

Steve’s passion for wildlife, guiding and sharing the experience with guests remains as genuine and deeply felt today as ever. After decades in the industry, he still carries that rare spark, energy and generosity in the way he guides and shares the bush. His knowledge, humility and quiet authenticity came through in every conversation - along with Camp Mana’s ethos of treading the Earth lightly, guiding with purpose, and delivering an exceptional safari experience without ever losing the wildness of it.

In many ways, Steve embodies what makes Camp Mana so special - where great guiding defines a great safari. Deeply experienced guiding, unhurried days shaped by wildlife rather than the clock, and a safari philosophy rooted in authenticity, flexibility and genuine connection to the bush.

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by to connect, catch up and share ideas - from long-standing partners to new faces discovering Camp Mana for the first time. It was wonderful to reconnect with the travel trade community and to share what makes Mana Pools - and Camp Mana - so special.

Here’s to new partnerships, future safaris, and many more conversations inspired by Africa’s wild places.

www.campmana.com [email protected]

05/05/2026

Indaba, here we come… If you’re there too, would be lovely to catch up

Looking forward to reconnecting with familiar faces, valued partners, and friends in travel - always the best part. I’ll be there with Steve Bolnick of Camp Mana on the Zimbabwe stand (DEC2 E11), and also spending time with Mukambi Safaris and Chikunto Safari Lodge for a few meetings along the way (Zambia stand DEC2 A20)

04/05/2026

01/05/2026

Which landscape has taken your breath away?
The one that stops you in your tracks - for me, it was Busanga Plains in Kafue, Zambia.

That first sunrise - mist lifting, puku and lechwe scattered across the plains, where lion prides move in full view and there’s nowhere for the story to hide - is something I won’t forget.

Mukambi Safaris' Busanga Plains Camp sits right in the heart of it - a small, classic bush camp of just four tents and a star bed. Beautifully wild, with all the home comforts and the rustic charm of an old-school safari.

A place that tends to stay with you - and one I always enjoy sharing with agents looking for something a little different.

www.mukambi.com

28/04/2026

Earth Day, Every Day at Camp Mana

Treading the earth lightly is a way of life at Camp Mana - and reconnecting guests to the wild.

Owner-guided and hosted by Steve and Debbie Bolnick, this old-school, six-tented seasonal safari camp in Mana Pools National Park is built on a simple philosophy: offering all the comforts of a classic safari camp without removing the wild from the wilderness.

Camp Mana is a place of simple elegance, old-world safari charm, and unpretentious luxury - where elephants wander past camp, wild dogs cross the floodplain, and safari days are shaped by nature, not the clock.

Steve and Debbie’s commitment to “touching the earth lightly” is immediately clear. The camp runs almost entirely on solar power, with a generator only for emergencies, and each year Camp Mana is completely dismantled and stored away for four months. This seasonal approach allows the land to rest and recover, ensuring minimal impact on this extraordinary ecosystem.

But sustainability here is not only about infrastructure - it is also about connection.

Not long ago, our ancestors lived as part of the wild, shaped by nature rather than separated from it. For many guests, arriving in the African bush feels like a quiet return to something instinctive - a reminder of how closely we once belonged to the natural world.

This is where walking safaris become transformative.

Mana Pools is one of Africa’s greatest walking safari destinations, and at Camp Mana, walking is at the heart of the experience. To walk here is a rare privilege - to track elephant on foot, follow wild dog trails, and feel the pulse of the bush beneath your feet.

A walking safari creates more than thrilling wildlife encounters; it fosters a deeper awareness of the fragile balance of nature. It is immersive, humbling, and profoundly grounding - a literal and emotional connection to the environment.

At Camp Mana, this is safari in its truest form: low impact, deeply personal, and a reminder that sometimes the greatest luxury is simply being fully present in the wild.

09/04/2026

A New Way to Safari: Introducing Chikunto Nthawi House, South Luangwa

Opening September, Chikunto Nthawi House – The House of Time is a new exclusive-use private tented villa by Chikunto Safaris, designed for guests who value space, privacy and, above all, time.

Set in the wild heart of South Luangwa National Park, this spacious two-bedroom safari home invites a slower, more immersive experience — lingering longer on sightings, settling into the rhythm of the bush, and simply being present.

Each en-suite bedroom has its own private lounge, complemented by generous living and dining areas, an expansive deck, and a saltwater pool overlooking a wildlife-rich waterhole. When four guests stay, a private vehicle is included, allowing complete flexibility and a truly unhurried safari.

Ideal for families, couples or friends travelling together, Nthawi House pairs exclusivity with Chikunto Safari Lodge’s exceptional guiding and warm, personal hosting — creating a safari that feels both deeply connected and entirely your own.

To learn more, meet Gareth Jones for a preview at Indaba or Experience Africa.

30/03/2026

What makes a stay feel like a true retreat rather than just a place to sleep?

My visit to Samanzi – Shongwe Selection’s new adults-only retreat in Victoria Falls.

For me, it comes down to atmosphere, intimacy, excellent food and that rare sense of calm — all of which I found in abundance at Samanzi, the latest addition to the Shongwe Selection portfolio - Shongwe Lookout and Shongwe Oasis.

Samanzi is a barefoot luxury boutique lodge, offering just 15 elegant poolside cabanas, each with beautiful indoor–outdoor bathrooms and private verandahs opening onto a series of six swimming pools and nine cascading waterfalls flowing through lush gardens. There’s a wonderful sense of intimacy here — cabanas tucked discreetly into greenery, water gently moving through the property, and an atmosphere that immediately encourages guests to slow down and simply be.

Very much an elevation of the Shongwe signature style, Samanzi builds on everything hands-on owner Jamie Henson and his team are known for: exceptional quality, excellent value, and a genuinely warm, personal approach to hospitality. It is proudly independent and owner-managed, and Jamie is very much present — often around, greeting guests and quietly setting the tone, which always makes such a difference.

www.shongweselection.com

www.samanzi.com

26/03/2026

My kind of safari - where the day is led by wildlife, not the clock.

This is Camp Mana with Steve Bolnick — following tracks, spending time where it matters, and coming back when the bush says so… not when the clock does. Game drives, walks and time on the river flow into one another — sometimes all in a single day.

Owner-guided, relaxed, and exactly how safari should be.

17/03/2026

Some landscapes stay with you long after you leave them . . .

Heinrich Filter's latest sculptural bronze table carries a small African scene within its structure — giraffes beneath a tree, a leopard above, branches forming the frame itself.

I’ve always loved the idea that sculpture doesn’t need to sit apart on a pedestal. It can live within a home — quietly holding treasured objects, safari photographs, small reminders of time spent in the bush.

In that way, a piece like this becomes part of a larger story, connecting landscape, memory and everyday life.

Perhaps that’s part of why so many of us fall in love with Africa — and why it stays with us long after we return home.

We’re considering the name Where Giraffes Walk. Suggestions welcome.

Handcrafted and cast in the artist's Pretoria foundry, this is a one-of-a-kind piece designed to live within a space, not simply decorate it.