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More from the journal

Hummus-stuffed broccoli with charred red pepper pesto

Food & Drink

Hummus-stuffed broccoli with charred red pepper pesto

A plant-based main worth cooking properly. Charred broccoli steaks layered with hummus, butternut puree, charred red pepper pesto, and toasted pumpkin seeds. Serves four.

Sian Loehrer

Vegan safaris in Africa: an honest look at where plant-based travel actually works

Guides

Vegan safaris in Africa: an honest look at where plant-based travel actually works

Plant-based safari travel works well across Africa when the chef has a proper brief. A composite week, the questions guests actually ask, and where vegan still requires real planning.

Sian Loehrer

Kosher drinks and snacks on a game drive

Guides

Kosher safaris in South Africa: how a bush kitchen actually works

The honest guide to keeping kosher on safari in South Africa. Three tiers of catering, real pricing, Shabbat in the bush, and how we put one together.

Vikki Jackson

Modern luxury safari lodge lounge looking out across the Botswana bushveld

Guides

What's actually changing in safari travel in 2026

We do not love the trend pieces either. But after twenty years of designing safaris, the real shifts in 2026 are worth naming. Here are the four we are seeing in our own bookings, and the two we think are oversold.

Vikki Jackson

Wildebeest crossing the Mara River during the Great Migration in northern Serengeti, Tanzania

Guides

How we plan a luxury African safari (the long version)

After twenty years of designing safaris, this is how we actually do it. Not a checklist. The order we ask the questions in, what we trade off, and why we say no to certain combinations.

Sian Loehrer

Aerial view of the Okavango Delta channels and palm islands at sunset

Guides

What a Botswana safari actually costs (and why it's the most expensive in Africa)

Botswana costs more than any other safari country in Africa. The reason is not greed. It is policy. Here is how the pricing actually breaks down, what each tier gets you, and why we still send most of our clients here.

Vikki Jackson

Family safari in the Okavango Delta, Botswana — mokoro through papyrus channels

Journeys

Three generations in the Okavango

A family of seven across grandparents, parents, and three children. Eight nights, two camps, one table. How we built a multigenerational safari in northern Botswana that worked at every age.

Sian Loehrer

Sabi Sand luxury safari in South Africa, ranger and tracker on Land Cruiser at golden hour

Journeys

Nine days in Sabi Sand and Cape Town for a fiftieth birthday

A couple, nine days, two halves. Five nights at Singita Boulders in the Sabi Sand and four at Ellerman House in Cape Town. The real itinerary, the real moments, and what we built around her.

Sian Loehrer

Vikki Jackson, co-founder of Marula Hill safari travel

Voices

A conversation with Vikki Jackson

Vikki Jackson, co-founder of Marula Hill, on moving to South Africa with her family in 1994 and being the one who stayed, why hyenas are the ones to watch, and the small details that make a lodge actually work.

Vikki Jackson

Ximuwu Lodge review

Field Notes

Ximuwu Lodge review

Ximuwu Lodge in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve is the most thoughtfully accessible safari lodge we know. Here's our honest review.

Vikki Jackson

A conversation with Sian Loehrer

Voices

A conversation with Sian Loehrer

Sian Loehrer, co-founder of Marula Hill, talks about how she designs safaris, where she'd go right now, and what first-time travellers always ask.

Vikki Jackson

Wheelchair accessible safaris in Africa

Guides

Wheelchair accessible safaris in Africa

A practical guide to wheelchair accessible safari destinations and lodges across Africa, from Kruger to the Okavango Delta.

Vikki Jackson

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One of us will write back.

Replies come from Vikki or Sian. No obligation, just a conversation.

Prefer to write to us directly? sian@marulahill.com · WhatsApp +27 82 459 0648