The people behind the planning
Vikki Jackson
Co-founder. She writes the dispatches: the people and the moments that make a safari worth crossing the world for.
Her beat Guides, Stories & Voices
A note from Vikki
I grew up in Manchester and came out to Africa at 21. There were years in corporate life along the way, doing work that looked good on paper, but the bush kept winning the argument. Marula Hill is what happened when I stopped arguing back.
I've celebrated most of my life's milestones out here, and I've introduced more friends to their first leopard than I can count. My favourite animal is the hyena, which tells you most of what you need to know about how I feel about underdogs.
In the journal I write the dispatches: the sightings that go wrong beautifully, and the small human moments no brochure will sell you. And when a trip needs rethinking on the fly, a lodge switch or a last-minute charter, I'm usually the one on the phone.
Vikki
Co-founder, Marula Hill
From the journal
Everything Vikki has written
Latest
How many nights do you really need on safari?
Four nights in one private reserve is our usual answer for a first safari. Here is why, and why a night in Johannesburg on the way in makes them count.
Planning your first safari? Start with the people who can hear the hyenas
What we would tell you about your first safari if you sat down at our kitchen table. There is usually gin.
What we would tell a young woman starting out in safari travel
Both of us came out of corporate, one of us with travel experience already. This is the advice we give when a young woman writes and asks how to build a career in luxury safari travel.
Botswana has water again. Here is what that means for your safari.
Botswana is having a stronger water year. Here is what that changes, and why the right lodge and the right week still matter more than a brochure month.
Royal Malewane reopens: what we remember, and what the fact sheet confirms
The original Royal Portfolio property is back after months behind scaffolding. We haven't seen it yet. Here is what we know anyway.
We run on solar and we have not printed since 2019
Vikki and Sian on solar power, paper, and what a small safari company can honestly claim.
How do you want to feel when you get home?
Why we plan safaris around how you want to feel when you get home, not around a pin on the map.
Safari After Dark
Night drives reveal a different Africa. Quieter, older, more deliberate. Here's what we love about the bush after the sun goes down.
How we tailor every Marula Hill safari
We don't start with destinations. We start with you: your pace, your family, your idea of a good day in the bush.
When space teaches: what Saseka's refresh tells us about gathering in the bush
What a thoughtful safari lodge refresh tells us about gathering in the bush.
Inside FedAir's new Baobab lounge at Hoedspruit
The new Baobab lounge at Hoedspruit airport changes how a safari begins. Vikki Jackson on the room that holds you before the bush does.
How safari pricing works: where the money goes
From the people who build the quotes. Where every part of the money lands, what a cheaper quote usually leaves out, and how to spend it well.
Monwana, and what coming home actually means
By Vikki Jackson and Sian Loehrer. A week at the Thornybush lodge that has built its whole identity around the word home, and what we found when we tested it against the room, the drives, the afternoons and the bill.
Lion Sands Ivory Lodge. What their redesign gets right
I visited Lion Sands Ivory Lodge in the Sabi Sand. The redesigned spaces are quiet, bold, and rare. Here is what they got right.
Bazaruto vs Quirimbas: which Mozambique archipelago is right for you?
How to choose between Mozambique's two great archipelagos for a bush-and-beach trip. Geography, lodge feel, when to go.
Sabi Sand or Kruger
Two reserves, one fence line, very different mornings
What is the best month to visit Cape Town?
Cape Town rewards you differently in every season, but March to May is the window most of our clients come back to.
Gorilla trekking, Uganda or Rwanda
Two countries, the same forest, two very different days
How two women from outside the travel industry built a luxury safari brand from Africa
We are the two women behind Marula Hill. One of us came from IBM, the other from MARS Southern Africa. Here is the long version of how a private safari business gets built from outside the travel industry.
Why Rwanda is the cleanest country in Africa
A plastic-bag ban from 2008. A mandatory community work morning on the last Saturday of every month. The system behind Rwanda's cleanliness, explained.
What's actually changing in safari travel in 2026
We do not love the trend pieces either. But from where we sit, planning safaris from the Greater Kruger, 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.
Eating vegan in South Africa: a practical guide
Plant-based travel in South Africa is easier than most people expect. Here's the real picture.
Is a South Africa safari worth it?
A South Africa safari is worth it. Here's what you actually get for the money, and what to watch for when planning.
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.
The plight of the African wild dog
Around 6,600 painted dogs are left in the wild, and they are among the most endangered carnivores on the continent. Here is what is actually happening to them, and what we do about it
The smell of the bush at 5am
Why we still get up before dawn after twenty years in the bush. The case for the early game drive, written from the back of a Land Cruiser at five in the morning.
How safe is an African safari?
African safaris are safer than most people assume. Here is what to actually pay attention to.
Rovos Rail: an honest look at South Africa's luxury train
We've spent time aboard Rovos Rail. Here's our honest take on the cabins, the routes, the food, and whether it's worth the price.
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.
Zambia by birdsong
A field journal on birding in South Luangwa and the Lower Zambezi. Carmine bee-eater season, African skimmers, Pel's fishing owl, and what birds do to a safari when you let them.
Safaris designed around the people travelling
Safaris built around the people travelling, not the brochure. How we plan for LGBTQ+ guests, dietary needs, family configurations and accessibility in South Africa.
How we plan a vegan safari in South Africa
A working guide to building a fifteen-night plant-based safari, from Cape Town's Atlantic coast to two private reserves in the Greater Kruger
What does a luxury African safari actually cost?
A luxury African safari runs $1,200-$3,500 per person per night at the lodge, with two weeks for two people typically landing between $40,000-$80,000 all in.
Wheelchair accessible safaris in Africa
A practical guide to wheelchair accessible safari destinations and lodges across Africa, from Kruger to the Okavango Delta.
Multi-generational safaris in Africa: the rise of private villas
Multi-generational safaris are the fastest-growing way families travel to Africa. Private villas and exclusive-use lodges, planned around different ages. The how, the why, and what they cost.
Solo women on safari
How to plan a safe, well-organised solo safari in southern Africa as a woman
Tarangire: Tanzania's other great safari park
Huge elephant herds, ancient baobabs, and very few crowds. Here's why we include Tarangire in nearly every northern Tanzania itinerary.
Namibia or Botswana, which safari should you choose
Red dunes and distance, or water and density
Ten days alone in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Why we keep recommending it
A 10-day solo female itinerary from Victoria Falls to Makgadikgadi and the Okavango Delta. Sian walks you through how we planned it.
The Okavango is the second river
Why the Delta floods in the dry season, and what that does to a safari
Botswana with kids: why families keep coming back
Botswana is one of Africa's most rewarding destinations for families. Here's what makes it work, and how to plan it well.
Botswana or Zambia, which safari should you choose
One country is water. The other is silence under your boots
Honeymoon safaris in South Africa
Where to go, what to expect, and how to pair bush with beach
When to go to Namibia on safari
Not every season delivers the same Namibia. Here's how to match your travel dates to what you actually want from this extraordinary country.
The best luxury malaria-free safaris near Johannesburg
The best malaria-free safari reserves near Johannesburg, from Welgevonden to Madikwe, with no prophylaxis required and no compromise on the Big Five.
What dinner at a safari lodge is really like
Bush breakfasts, boma fires, gourmet meals in the wild: what food at a safari lodge actually looks like.
South Africa with kids: an honest parents' guide
Safari, beaches, penguins, mountains. South Africa has it all for families.
How to plan a luxury safari in South Africa
A working guide to building a trip you won't regret
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.
When to go on safari in South Africa
The bush wears a different face every month, and some are kinder than others
What a luxury safari in South Africa costs
From around $1,000 per person per night. What each price band buys, a realistic budget for a week, and where the bill tends to grow.
Sabi Sand, the reserve that built modern safari
Why one strip of bush on Kruger's western edge changed how the world watches leopards
Sabi Sand Game Reserve: South Africa's leopard country
The Sabi Sand has the highest leopard density of any protected area in South Africa. Here's what makes it genuinely different, and how we plan trips here.
A day on safari, hour by hour
From the knock at the door to the second sundowner
What to pack for a safari
A short, honest list from the people who keep getting the WhatsApp message at 11pm the night before
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.
From Manchester to Marula Hill: how Vikki Jackson built a safari business in South Africa
How a childhood holiday to South Africa, a mistaken olive, and a corporate career led to Marula Hill Travel.
Nothing in this section yet.
The slow letter
A quarterly note from the bush
No noise, no marketing. Just the letter we'd write to a friend who asked what it's really like out here.
