Our weekly conservation newsletter
Okavango flooding like never before & our final photo entries
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From our CEO – Simon Espley
WHAT ARE WE DOING?
According to a BBC report, a tourist in Seychelles complained about being woken by birds at dawn. At a Thai resort in a primary forest, guests were so disturbed by frogs croaking at night that staff were asked to go out and round them up. Then there was the guest at a Kenyan tented camp who complained about a hippo brushing against their tent.
If this widening disconnect between modern humans and real life doesn’t alarm you, consider this: the same report suggested many children at tourism resorts have lost both the appetite and ability to play outdoors or appreciate nature. Nature simply doesn’t provide enough stimulation anymore.
Apparently, we’ve become so conditioned to sanitised, air-conditioned environments that traffic, sirens and screens lull us to sleep, while birdsong and frogs disrupt our circadian rhythms.
Now add the explosion of AI-generated fantasy masquerading as reality, and the expectation gap grows even wider. How long before children would rather visit Wakanda to marvel at pterodactyls hunting Homo sapiens and volcanoes erupting every few minutes?
This is why real safaris matter. Not staged experiences. Not digital fantasy. But authentic encounters with wild Africa: unpredictable, humbling, sometimes uncomfortable, always unforgettable.
Contact my awesome crew for a safari that celebrates and benefits nature and local people.
Safari njema, good people.
Simon Espley – CEO, Africa Geographic
Click below to listen to this editorial
Or, listen to all Simon’s past editorials here
From our Editor – Taryn van Jaarsveld
One of the most arresting images in this week’s Photographer of the Year selection shows a Damaraland elephant mother carrying her stillborn calf across the Namib Desert: touching, smelling and lifting the tiny body long after death.
Scientists have documented similar behaviour around the world: elephants standing vigil over dying relatives, carrying dead infants for days, revisiting bones and carcasses, and even appearing to bury calves beneath soil and vegetation in India. Separately, discoveries of large numbers of elephant bones in the same area (usually linked to droughts, poaching or natural die-offs) helped inspire enduring myths like the elephant graveyard made famous in The Lion King (an image that still haunts a whole generation of us!). What remains undeniable is elephants’ unusual engagement with death, and how deeply this behaviour unsettles us.
This is the final week of new entries for Photographer of the Year 2026, and it’s a spectacular one. Next, our judges begin the difficult task of narrowing down the finalists through our last rounds of voting.
This week, we explore the rare flood conditions creating one of the Okavango’s most extraordinary safari seasons in decades. It’s not too late to be one of the lucky few to witness this extraordinary phenomenon – we’ll help you plan. Plus, if you’re planning your first safari, check out our beginner’s guide to safaris below.
Our stories this week
FINAL PHOTO ENTRIES – 1
Here are our favourite pics from the final week of entries for Photographer of the Year 2026, as chosen by our judges
FINAL PHOTO ENTRIES – 2
Our top photos selected for Week 12 of Photographer of the Year. Finalists stand a chance to win a trip to Nyungwe, Rwanda
DELTA IN FLOOD
Rare floodwaters are transforming Botswana’s Okavango Delta into an extraordinary season of water, wildlife and safari exploration
BEGINNERS SAFARI GUIDE
Your first time going on safari? Here’s a complete guide to safari planning for beginners – where, when, how and more
We are often asked what makes an Africa Geographic safari different. It starts with deep local knowledge, carefully chosen lodges, and an understanding that timing and place are everything.
Every journey is tailored and designed to reveal Africa at its most extraordinary. We’re proud to announce that this approach has earned Africa Geographic nominations for the World Travel Awards 2026 in two categories: Africa’s Leading Luxury Safari Company and Africa’s Leading Tour Operator.
It’s an honour to be recognised for the journeys we love creating every day. If you would like to support us, you can vote for Africa Geographic here.
Travel Desk – 2 African safari ideas
Southern Africa mega safari – 22 days
Be swept off your feet with wall-to-wall wildlife action on this iconic southern African safari. You’ll visit Greater Kruger to experience the Big 5 and rarer treasures. You’ll also visit South Africa’s mother city, Cape Town, and her winelands. Plus, you’ll experience the wilds of the Okavango Delta and Chobe Riverfront in Botswana, and the majesty of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe – for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
The iconic Kenya safari – 12 days
Journey to where iconic landscapes meet, from Kilimanjaro to the Mara and northern Kenya’s wild frontier. Discover Kenya’s most iconic landscapes, from Nairobi to the elephant plains of Amboseli, the predator-rich Maasai Mara and the wild frontier of Laikipia. Search for giant tusker elephants, the world’s rarest antelope, the Big Five and three hyena species, meet orphaned elephants, feed endangered giraffes and connect with local communities, with flights between destinations maximising your time in the wild.
Still dreaming of the ultimate African safari escape? Browse our safari ideas here. Or click here to plan your safari.
Your safari impact
Your safari just helped expand the range of Africa’s most endangered predators.
Thanks to your booking with Africa Geographic, we’ve just donated a portion of our safari earnings to the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Wild Dog Range Expansion Project: an urgent project with the goal to secure safe habitat, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and give Africa’s wild dog population room to recover.
With only around 700 breeding pairs remaining, African wild dogs are among Africa’s rarest carnivores. Every viable kilometre of habitat matters, and your safari booking has helped secure it.
This is what travelling with Africa Geographic means. A portion of every safari we book goes directly to projects like this – because the places you explore deserve to be protected, and the animals you encounter deserve a future.
Plan your dream African safari with us – and travel knowing your adventure funds conservation that counts. You can also help support the EWT Wild Dog Range Expansion Project – every contribution makes a difference.
WATCH
From ghost-like melanistic leopards to bizarre hyena mysteries and dazzling Kruger birdlife, the first episode of our Top Wildlife Clips of 2026 series is packed with unforgettable safari moments from across Africa. Journey with us from the Okavango Delta to Namibia’s dunes as we showcase April’s most thrilling wildlife encounters, captured by our tribe of safari-goers in the wildest corners of the continent. (06:04) Watch here
Cover image: Giraffes can dance. Two young giraffes engage in gentle necking. “It was as if these two giraffes were practising – their slow motions were so elegant.” Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. © Vicki Jauron
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