Natural High

Natural High - Safaris and Wilderness Travel
http://www.naturalhighsafaris.com

04/06/2024

If you are looking for something different to do this summer, the Kingdom of Ladakh, an enchanting mountainous outpost lying 3500 metres up on a high plateau in India, offers something for all the family. Your visit can be as quiet or action-packed as you’d like. There are excursions to some of the oldest monasteries but also an abundance of adventurous activities such as rafting down the Zanskar, mountain biking, day hikes, overnight camping, visits to local schools and beautiful picnics by the river or in lush Willow groves.

Few holiday experiences allow the kind of immersion into local life as Shakti Himalaya’s village experiences. Each of Shakti’s village houses complete with dedicated household staff to attend to every whim, the accommodations are also extremely comfortable.

If you would like more information on the Shakti Village Experience in Ladakh, Kumaon Himalaya or Sikkim please get in touch with Gillian - [email protected] or 01747 830950

25/03/2024

I have just spent a few days at the amazing Six Senses Fort Barwara - a perfect place to unwind after time spent travelling around Rajasthan.

This enchanting 14th-century fort, formerly owned by a Rajasthani Royal Family, has been meticulously transformed into a serene sanctuary by Six Senses. It took over 10 years of careful restoration to preserve the fort's historic charm while adding modern comforts.

Not far from Ranthambore National Park you could use Fort Barwara as a base for jeep safaris in the park. However, after my visit, I would highly recommend staying at one of the tented camps nearer to the park for a true wildlife experience. Then come to Fort Barwara afterwards to relax, take leisurely strolls around the village and enjoy the amazing spa.
Gill

20/03/2024

I’ve just arrived at Brij Lakshman Sagar, Pali in Rajasthan. A wonderfully serene place set on a lake with huts built into the granite rocks. Wake up to the sounds of peacocks and amazing views.

17/09/2023

https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-mouha-support-the-mountain-crew. Target Reached!

We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and travellers to our fundraiser for our Moroccan mountain team - thank you to you all. The fund remains open and we will be sending updates on how the money is spent and the lives that it touches in due course.

17/09/2023

Target reached!
We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and travellers - thank you to you all. The fund remains open and we will be sending updates on how the money is spent and the lives that it touches in due course -https://gofund.me/9e551327

27/08/2023

“ I do not know any country like Morocco, which is so near, that offers so much while asking so little in return.. You will find the subtle blend of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic... the dry, continental plateaus, the snow which contemplates the desert, the rivers which pierce the mountains to end up lost in the sands of the Sahara, a light that proclaims everywhere that the Atlantic skirts more than a thousand miles of the Kingdom, the beautiful shadows on barren landscapes, the same shadows which vibrate under trees or shelters”

Michael Jobert, politician, writer and scholar who lived much of his life in Morocco. A late summer week spent in Essaouira and the High Atlas, at l’Heure Bleue and the idyllic Olinto could not reflect these sentiments any better.
Please call Vanessa to discuss Morocco plans.

18/08/2023

what is top of your wish list?
for a family of Natural High guests currently exploring Madagascar 🇲🇬 it was definitely the Aye-aye…
which Masoala Forest Lodge in the coastal rainforest of north-east Madagascar duly delivered -
Definitely THE place to look for this weird, elusive and curiously charismatic creatures. The largest nocturnal primate in the world, which fills the niche of woodpeckers with its long and incredibly mobile middle finger.

📸Jessie Jordan

29/06/2023

Zimbabwe never fails to deliver and surprise -

Rod is just back from a fortnight in Hwange and Zambezi (above Vic Falls) National Parks.

Highlights included a family of five cheetah, incredible numbers of elephant, mating lion and a myriad of birdlife from the very large (Ostrich, Kori Bustard, Secretarybird) to the range-restricted (Bradfield’s Hornbill - pictured).

A real treat to be able to get out on foot to experience it all in the company of top guides.

Zimbabwe’s safari pedigree is renowned - the surprise is always how well the wildlife estate and the tourism industry has held up while the country has gone from a mainstream to a more esoteric choice of destination.

Surprising too just how beautiful and varied Hwange is - certainly during the early part of the dry season while natural waterholes abound - and the Falls are in their full glory.

Easy to reach and travel around, if you have not been western Zim is definitely worth serious consideration - & if you have, rest assured it’s as good as ever.

12/05/2023

Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia

firmly on the path less trodden, this otherworldly wetland - vast and timeless - is best visited in the early dry season (early May through July) when it’s waterways are alive with wildfowl.

Home to herds of thousands of endemic & photogenic Black Lechwe & a breeding stronghold for the enigmatic Shoebill Stork. Best combined with the Luangwa Valley.

24/04/2023

Catherine’s Namibian adventures continued…

Photos taken on the Skeleton Coast - amazing! Been swimming in the sea, beach lunch, wonderful drive - saw desert elephants, quad biking, sand boarding and this morning saw a brown hyena. Off to Hoanib Valley today.

20/04/2023

Catherine loving being back in her favourite place.

Good to be back on the road and in the air of the ever stunning beauty of Namibia.

16/04/2023

Gillian loving being back in India and exploring the paths less travelled in this mesmerising country. The best season is from December to April when the summer heat has dissipated, festivals are numerous and wildlife sightings can be superb.

16/04/2023

Gillian is loving being back in India, exploring the less travelled path of this diverse and mesmerising country. The perfect time to visit is from December to April when the temperatures drop and conditions are ideal for wildlife viewing.

12/03/2023

This beautiful and moving documentary short has been nominated for an Oscar tonight and deservedly so.

Featuring a Tamil couple who foster baby elephants at the Theppakadu Elephant Camp at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. It shows the touching emotional bond that develops between them and their orphans. Set against the majestic beauty of the wild forests of Southern India. It’s a powerful reminder that humans can be the problem but also the solution.

10/03/2023

fancy something completely different?

at this time of year the Luangwa is in spate - gone the slow meandering river with innumerable sand banks covered by basking hippo & croc, in its place a mighty body of water.

Safely navigable by boat; journey into the heart of the Park, a landscape lush & green with abundant wildlife, dramatic skies and not another soul about.

a proper expedition in to one of Africa’s greatest wildernesses.

16/02/2023

is in the Djoudj National Park northern Senegal 🇸🇳

a watery wilderness just south of the Sahara and absolutely alive with wildfowl & a particularly impressive Great White Pelican colony.

Deservedly rated as one of the top birding spots in the world you certainly do not need to be a twitcher to appreciate it - worth a detour.

14/02/2023

This Valentine’s Day there is every chance that the red roses in your local florist have come from the foothills of Mt Kenya. We suggest you make the opposite journey, to the remarkable Laikipia Plateau, ridiculously wildlife rich with a feeling of freedom which is palpable – walk, ride a bike, horse or camel, safari by jeep day and night and wild swim in mercifully croc free rivers.

10/02/2023

Visiting Africa Fashion brightened up a winter wander in London. It’s hard to imagine how a continent’s contribution to global fashion, photography and textiles could fit in the V&A but this exhibition packs into a small space a big punch. Starting with the fabulous pink outfit that greets you at the entrance. From the humble home made Ghanaian kente cloth and hand worked indigo resist-dyed àdìrę fabric made by the Yoruba in Nigeria to the renowned and internationally lauded Sarah Diouf the skills, imagination and diversity of Africa is the real talent on show. Prepare to walk out wanting more.

31/01/2023

an endangered Grévy’s Zebra - a desert specialist surviving on the semi-arid grasslands in northern Kenya with isolated populations in Ethiopia.
There may be fewer than 2,500 left in the wild, & to put that in perspective there are more than twice as many critically endangered Black Rhino in Africa.

Grévy’s are one of three surviving Zebras (Mountain, Plains, Grévy’s - Quagga having been hunted to extinction in the late C19th) and is named after Jules Grévy, President of France 🇫🇷 from 1879 to 1887 who received one as a gift from the Emperor of Abyssinia, it sadly died soon after setting hoof on Gallic soil and was promptly stuffed.

Celebrating World Zebra Day this particular 📷 was taken by on the Laikipia Plateau on an expedition to Lake Turkana with times and

06/01/2023

wonderful article in the February edition of House & Garden showcasing Olly’s Arctic hideaway -

https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/swedish-lapland-cabin

the history of which is beautifully told by Lisa Samos and captured by Mark Fox 📷

05/12/2022

A great six days spent by Vanessa and Catherine in DC and New York catching up with clients and enjoying the Big 🍏

05/12/2022

A great six days spent by Vanessa and Catherine in DC and New York catching up with our clients - and enjoying sightseeing in the big 🍏

28/11/2022

Kwaheri Tanzania - somehow fitting that in a country stacked full of natural history superlatives (home to various biggest, tallest, heaviest, most numerous…) that the last land sighted should be Africa’s highest.

just seven nights on safari produced >300 birds and 43 large mammals (no rats, no bats: 15 ungulates, 12 predators).

Split between Kuro, Tarangire - recently voted the country’s best tented camp where I could have happily spent the duration - Entamanu, Ngorongoro , effortlessly elegant, affording views of both the crater floor and the distant southern plains of the Serengeti and finally a classic mobile tented camp at the Moru kopjes, deep in amongst the greatest show on earth with tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra on the march south - and so much more… every waterhole playing host to palearctic migrants on their own aerial safaris and the air alive with the calls of cuckoos.

None of this is news, northern Tanzania has been world famous for 70+ years - what is a revelation is just how real an experience it is and how fresh it all feels. The only thing in short supply was other human visitors - shared sightings were the exception not the rule and on a six hour meander to the Duma Plains we only encountered one other. November is a cracking time to visit and I would actively choose to return at this time of year in a heartbeat.

It takes a lot of work to make the magic happen so a huge thank you to all - an incredible collection of safari wizards, with special mention to Sylvanos “Silver” Mbise - a quiet man of the old school with gentle humour, endless patience, huge experience and a sharp set of eyes.

Asante sana.

27/11/2022

Central Serengeti - a whole lot more than millions of Wildebeest and Zebra

27/10/2022

40 Wild Dog frolicking in the Ruaha River. Ruaha National Park is at the intersection of the East African and Southern African ecosystems, and this pack of Wild Dogs illustrate this beautifully.

East African dogs are predominantly black with small white and yellow patches while Southern African dogs exhibit a mixture of brown, black and white. Fittingly, this pack seems to be a bit of both.

Thanks to the wonderful Ken - manager of the splendid Kigelia Camp in the Ruaha NP for taking these pictures yesterday and sending them on.

24/09/2022

the Carmine Bee-eater nesting season is in full swing along the Luangwa and Zambezi Rivers.

All Bee-eaters are beautiful and Africa hosts 19/25 of the species worldwide.

Carmines are the most gregarious and to watch them in these great flocks is a wonderful wildlife phenomenon - even for those with only a passing interest in our feathered friends.

23/08/2022

on a lagoon in the Luangwa

possibly finer place to make a list

proper bush camps and walking safaris with

07/08/2022

need a break from civilisation?

swipe right for wilderness

a half-hour hop in light aircraft from Zambia’s bustling capital Lusaka, across the gloriously empty escapement, lies the mile wide Zambezi. Navigable by boat and canoe, whose banks brim with wildlife from gargantuan eles to minuscule malachite kingfishers

06/06/2022

Did you know that zebra stripes are all unique; they are like finger prints! This adorable zebra, named Gallop, lives at the magical Ol Malo Lodge in Northern Kenya 😍

03/06/2022

Looking for travel inspiration?

Our latest e-newsletter is out - if you’d like to receive send a DM or sign up on our website

Address

Shaftesbury
SP79AW

Website

http://www.naturalhighsafaris.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Natural High posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Natural High:

Videos

Central Serengeti - a whole lot more than millions of Wildebeest and Zebra

The Lappish wilderness, Europe’s last wilderness. An intensely beautiful landscape of frozen lakes and snow-bound forests - explored by snow mobile, dog sledding and Nordic skiing.

Day 10 of our familiarisation visit with Natural High Safaris at the wonderful #lewawilderness conservancy. Seeing black rhino this close was epic. The rhino is said to be the second largest land animal, with elephant being the largest! Indulge in tranquility on a Riding Safari at Lewa Wilderness. Unforgettable. A paradise of wildlife!

Watch the sun set and the moon rise!

Day 5 of my familiarisation visit with Natural High Safaris at Ol Malo Lodge in the northern part of Laikipia, Kenya. Totally breathtaking, remote, rare and special. A must for your bucket list!

Day 4 with Natural High Safaris at El Karama Eco Lodge in Laikipia Kenya. Riding exquisite horses in breathtaking country and bumping into all sorts 🐘🐘🐘 Loved my polo pony Wilma who was a total Pro 😍 The lodge has everything anyone could want 👍 It should be at the top of everyone's bucket list ☀️

Day 3 with Natural High Safaris at El Karama Lodge in Laikipia, Kenya. A fabulous lodge with incredible staff and delicious food. Stayed in one of the River Cottages which was total luxury ⭐️

The largest Elephant herd in the world #bucketlist #zakouma #naturalhigh

If you're looking for a way to get off-grid and on to your feet, then there aren't many better ways of doing this than on a camel safari in Kenya. Led by Samburu guides this is a first-class walking safari in a wild and game-rich area of Laikipia. Like all the best mobiles the focus here is on the experience of being in an unspoiled area of wilderness. And while the camp - carried by camels - is simple, the luxury comes with fresh ingredients cooked over a camp fire, cold drinks and a comfortable bed at the end of the day.

Shortcuts

When you travel, what is it you really remember?

A simple tented camp in a hidden corner of wild Africa. A homestay above the clouds in a Himalayan village. A trek with a Berber guide whose family have walked High Atlas paths for generations. Above all, it’s being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.

At Natural High we specialise in this kind of travel. It's about capturing that sense of discovery, exploration and revelation – the journey as the destination.

All of us working at Natural High have more than 20 years’ experience of travel in Africa or the Indian sub-continent. We've lived there, worked as guides, bush pilots, camp managers and arranged or led countless one-off journeys for our clients. We live to travel, and take any chance we can to do so extensively.

We get to know the places we visit intimately and make up our own minds about what’s worth doing, rather than what makes a good photograph. We also know that the best experiences are not simply about luxury or money. Sometimes it’s the simple pleasures or unexpected encounters that make your trip truly unforgettable. And we’d prefer to offer you intelligent simplicity than impersonal luxury any day of the week.