Spotted in South Africa

Written By Kerry McManama

Sub-adult (~18 - 24 months) male cheetahs, resting after filling their bellies with their kill (out of frame — you’re welcome) | Marataba Game Reserve, South Africa

For as long as I can remember, I have been dreaming in spots …

I may not be an “animal” person, but I am a nature, culture, and adventure person. I had hoped to fulfill my safari fantasy for my 40th birthday, though the universe had other plans; that momentous occasion fell in April of 2020, at the top of the Covid pandemic. After waiting it out with the rest of the world, I fell ill with a debilitating case Long-Covid, further delaying my wish. In 2025, feeling well enough to shout, “Don’t postpone joy,” I booked a trip to South Africa with my sights set on spots — on maps, coats, and bucket lists.

When my friends asked what I hoped to experience, I told them, “See the animals, meet the people, touch the land, but mostly just … feel the air over there.” Returning home with thousands of photos and more adorable animal nomenclature than my heart could hold, I was compelled to start the travel blog I had been scheming for a decade. I named it for the feeling I always seem to chase when I travel — not escaping from reality (although these days, we could all use a break), nor racking up frequent flyer miles or dinner-party stories, but simply, welcoming new air into my lungs and allowing myself to be changed by it.

 

Won’t you join me as I share the air over in … the South African bush?

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Trip Details
Tour company: Natural Habitat (Nat Hab)
Tour: Women in the Wild — Secluded South Africa
Dates: June 12 - 22, 2025 (10 days)
Game reserves visited: Madikwe, Marataba, MalaMala

Tour
While I prefer to plan my own trips, there were so many unknowns for me in shaping a safari experience. I knew it was in my best interest to go with a tour. I gave my travel agent nearly impossible parameters — ideally no children or honeymooners, fellow travelers close-ish to my age, no giant busses — and voila, he delivered with the Nat Hab Secluded South Africa tour, one of their women’s journeys.

Take a look at all Women’s Journeys on offer.

This was truly a luxe holiday with door-to-door white-glove service, only four fellow travelers and an Expedition Leader on my tour, stunning lodging, and even private, small-plane transfers.

Fellow Explorers
I lucked out. With ages ranging from forties (that’s me) to fifties, sixties, seventies, and even eighty, the women I traveled with were generous, easy-going, interesting, and most importantly, a ton of fun. We shared awe, photography tips, and oxtail stew. We now have a group chat , called, “Wild Women.” I call that a win.

Prepare to be dazzled

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I was never so charmed as the moment I learned that a group of zebras is called a … wait for it … Dazzle! My fellow Wild Women and I wanted to petition to the powers that be to change the group name for impalas (currently: “herd” — snore!) to Razzle. Zebras and impalas are often spotted chilling together in the bush and we really wanted to say, “Look! It’s a Razzle Dazzle.”

As a person who loves words, I was besotted to learn the following animal group names:

  • Mongooses — Business

  • Hippos — Bloat

  • Rhinos — Crash

  • Giraffes — When moving: Journey; when still: Tower

That last one about did me in!

Other things I fell in love with:

  • Sundowners — when the guide finds a (open! safe!) spot on your evening drive to sip fancy cocktails and watch the sunset

  • Hospitality — every South African I met felt like family, so kind and helpful and curious and talkative; I’d go again just to spend more time with the guides and lodge staff

  • Neutral fashion — when I originally read the suggested wardrobe palette, I was not excited, but I spent a few months seeking browns and greens and found a new side of my personal style

 

Can you spot the spots?
Cheetah | Lion | Leopard

 

Aunties in the bush

I learned that in lion prides, cubs are cared for not only by their mothers but also by their mothers’ sisters — the aunties of the bush.

Our guide at MalaMala explained that this lioness was the aunt of these cubs. She kept watch as they tumbled with each other while their mother dozed nearby.

For this auntie of five, the word pride suddenly carried a new depth of meaning.

Cheers to sundowners

Happy girl with a blueberry-lavendar gin and tonic and a horizon whose heart beat in tune with mine. Oh — this is just after a chaotic and miraculous baboon crossing.

The air in the South African bush is …

wild and whispering
sherbet sunsets
worthy of the wonder

 

Gallery | Spots, Stripes & More

COMING SOON

  • Shopping and packing — a celebration of beige and Patagonia products

  • Special preparation (medical) — just a shot and some malaria pills

  • A day in the life of a safari guest

  • The sheer awe of spotting my first cat (Yes, I am a regular National Geographic journalist now, whispering about lions, cheetahs, and leopards as simply, “cats”)

  • The way I felt both small and huge when I spotted my first elees (Of course, the full “elephant” is far too formal for where we are in our relationship now)

  • How I only knew rhinos were in arm’s distance when I heard a tiny crunching noise (our ginormous friends snacking on greens)

  • The many sounds of the bush — growls, hisses, squeaks, trumpets, grunts, barks, and wahoos

  • The baboon-proof doors at MalaMala

  • The beautiful basket collection I amassed after a Bloody-Mary brunch

  • The time I said to myself, “Welp, if this is how I go — it will have been worth it!” when surrounded by a few hundred cape buffalos

Kerry McManama