The Sunday Mail
As Africa opens up, now is the time to explore its wide plains, vast herds and myriad ways of remaining in your ‘bubble’.
Fresh air, wide-open spaces and endless, undisturbed horizons – an African safari has all the elements for a healing holiday post-Covid.
Then there is the obvious therapy of observing animals in their natural habitats.
Oblivious to the traumas gripping our planet, cheetahs continue to scan the plains, elephants crunch their way through woodlands and lions calmly snooze in thickets. It is a reminder that the world is still turning at a time when it seems like our own lives keep being ground to a halt. Wilderness invites escapism from urban drudgery, too. Vast savannahs supersede streets, dry riverbeds replace roads, and escarpments are a liberating alternative to metallic edifices suffocating skylines.
These are places where you can see the sun rise and set; where stars shine so bright the entire universe feels within your grasp.
From the moment bush flights touch down on airstrips, galloping zebras and honking wildebeest drown out Covid death counts and news of transmission rates. And across Africa, the medical statistics aren’t that alarming. Inexplicably, the continent has experienced far lower rates of infection than Europe. Namibia and Rwanda have been granted UK travel corridors, and quarantine-free travel to countries such as South Africa is expected to follow. Throughout the continent, borders have opened and preparations are being made in readiness for tourists to return next year.
But even safari sanctuaries are taking precautions, creating titanium-strength bubbles to avoid any chance of Covid creeping in.
Book entire camps or lodges for exclusive use, sidestep crowds by moving nomadically with a mobile rig, and discover hidden corners where few people have trodden before. With thousands of square miles available, social distancing is a breeze. There is no rule of six here, no tier restrictions or looming lockdowns – just the freedom to explore and find out what nature has in store.
Zimbabwe
Transiting through airports is often the most stressful part of a holiday – and more so in Covid times. Taking no chances, family-owned property Matetsi Victoria Falls has cut out any potentially troublesome intermediaries by finding ways to fly guests direct from international entry points to the private 136 000-acre reserve.
Anyone arriving at Victoria Falls can take a scenic helicopter ride above “the smoke that thunders”, while guests coming via Harare have an option to land by charter at a new private airstrip. Once on site, listen to hippos chuffing along about 15km of private Zambezi river frontage, ripe for a sunset cruise. A four-bedroom lodge and two nine-suite camps are available for buyouts – or make the most of escaping UK restrictions by arranging a gathering and booking the whole lot.
Namibia
There is probably more chance of crossing paths with a pangolin than a person in one of the world’s least densely populated countries.
With fewer than eight people per square mile, social distancing is not an issue – and Namibia’s sweeping dunes and mist-shrouded coastlines add to the feeling of space and freedom.
Self-driving along good roads in a 4WD with pop-up tents, it is possible to cover vast distances without ever bursting your safari bubble: search for cheetahs in Etosha, study rock paintings in the Erongo Mountains, or cook a breakfast braai at sunrise in the Hoanib Valley. The absence of malaria is an attraction for families, while a recent decision to ditch the country’s five-day Covid-testing rule now makes long stays viable. — The Telegraph.
