Out of Africa beyond the soundtrack
South Africa
© Chris Joubert
My love affair with Africa begins with the film Out of Africa. And yet, flying over the Green Kalahari, this romance turns physical. Red earth burns beneath, yellow grass shimmers and acacia trees stretch dark shadows across the dust. Just when I think I understand vastness, the Zambezi River cuts deep into stone and invites me to look straight into the bones of the continent. And out there in the bush, five unmistakable silhouettes are already waiting.
Big five, zero rush
Big five, zero rush
I arrive at Earth Lodge in the Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve on the edge of Kruger National Park and notice how it melts into the hillside, with no fences to interrupt the view. Here, wildlife roams freely and sightings remain private. The morning light is pale gold as we pass a lion lying in the grass, yawning lazily. By noon, elephants move through silver-green marula trees.
A rhinoceros snorts; a buffalo gazes at us with prehistoric patience; even the leopards seem relaxed enough to mate. The Big Five in a single day feels powerful and here, quietly inevitable.
Less water, more wonder
Less water, more wonder
From the bush, I travel north towards Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi stretches wide between Zimbabwe and Zambia. I arrive expecting thunder. Instead, I find depth. In the dry season, the falls tell a different story: with less water rushing through, I look into the Zambian gorge and see layers of rock shaped over millennia. It is not the roar that stays with me, but the sense of time carved into stone.
Walker Bay, far from ordinary
The journey bends south towards the Western Cape. Two hours from Cape Town, Walker Bay opens wide and soft with salt and wild herbs drifting through the air. Here, safari turns botanical with research protecting the highest density of fynbos – a unique vegetation found almost nowhere else on Earth – and some plants don’t even have names yet. Add whales drifting past Hermanus from July to September, and conservation suddenly feels emotional.
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© Trevor Kleyn
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© Marcus Westberg
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© Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
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© Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
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© Chris Joubert
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© Marcus Westberg
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© Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
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© Dook
The Cosa touch
The Cosa touch
What stays with me is a quiet inner peace, paired with a deep love for a continent that feels profoundly familiar. There is gratitude in every memory, and an awareness that this beauty is fragile, not guaranteed. Travelling with Cosa invites you into journeys shaped with intention, quietly luxurious, and designed to change how we move through the world.
Africa has already decided you’ve waited long enough. Cosa simply handles the details.
