THE JOURNAL
A safari, written well
We publish four kinds of writing. Atmosphere. Practical advice. The voices of the people on the ground. And the trips we have actually built. Read whichever pulls at you.
01
Stories
Atmosphere and place. Photo essays, lodge writing, conservation features.
02
Guides
Practical answers. Seasons, costs, comparisons, what to pack and when.
03
Voices
Guides, trackers, lodge owners. The people we trust on the ground.
04
Journeys
Real safaris we built. The brief, the route, what we changed mid-trip.
02 · GUIDES
The questions you should ask
Honest answers, written without the marketing voice.
All Guides →
The big question
How to read a safari quote: what all-inclusive really covers
Two quotes for the same week can sit a long way apart and both be honest. Here is what each line covers, what all-inclusive really means, and where the differences hide.
Read the guide →
Guide
How to read a safari quote: what all-inclusive really covers
Two quotes for the same week can sit a long way apart and both be honest. Here is what each line covers, what all-inclusive really means, and where the differences hide.
Guide
Safari specialist or big operator: who should plan your safari?
A fair look at when a large safari operator is the better call, when a small specialist is, when to book direct, and what to ask any of them before you pay.
Guide
Kruger park fees are going up: what it means for your safari quote
New Kruger fees start on 1 November. Here is who actually pays them, and why most Greater Kruger guests pay a reserve levy instead.
Guide
Greater Kruger in summer: is a hot, dry season still worth it?
A hotter, drier summer is on the cards. Here is what that means for your days in the bush, from people who live here.
Guide
Gay travel in South Africa: an honest safari and city guide
Cape Town, Johannesburg and the bush: an honest guide for gay and lesbian couples planning South Africa.
Guide
Where the herds are: the Great Migration month by month
The migration moves all year. Here is where the herds tend to be in each season, and how we plan a trip around them.
Guide
Walking safari: why you see Africa differently on foot
You cover less ground on foot, and somehow you see much more.
Guide
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.
Guide
Is a safari safe for gay and lesbian couples?
An honest, country-by-country answer for same-sex couples planning a safari.
Guide
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.
Guide
Sandringham Private Game Reserve: should you go early, or wait?
Greater Kruger's newest reserve opens in August 2026. Our honest take on who should book Sandringham early, and who should give it a few seasons.
Guide
South Africa's online traveller declaration: what it means for your safari (and what it doesn't)
A five-minute customs form now stands between you and the arrivals hall. Here's what it is, who needs it, and what nothing to declare actually means for a normal safari guest.
Guide
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.
Guide
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.
Guide
Sabi Sand or Kruger
Two reserves, one fence line, very different mornings
Guide
Gorilla trekking, Uganda or Rwanda
Two countries, the same forest, two very different days
Guide
Do you need travel insurance for a safari
What safari travel insurance must cover, and why standard policies fall short
Guide
Booking a whole lodge: how sole-use villa safaris work
What sole-use villa safaris mean in practice, who they suit, and what to ask
Guide
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.
Guide
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.
Guide
How a kosher bush kitchen works on safari in South Africa
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.
Guide
When to go to Mozambique: a month-by-month read on weather, water and wildlife
A month-by-month read on Mozambique weather, water and wildlife. Whale sharks, humpbacks, mantas, cyclones, dry season.
Guide
How long should a safari trip be?
The whole trip, not just the bush. Why 7 to 10 nights works, how many of them belong on safari, and when to stretch to 14.
Guide
Which malaria-free reserve in South Africa suits your group?
Big Five reserves in South Africa where no malaria prophylaxis is needed
Guide
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
Guide
Vegan safaris in Africa: an honest look at where plant-based travel actually works
Plant-based safari travel works well across Africa when the chef has a proper brief. A composite week, the questions guests actually ask, and where vegan still requires real planning.
Guide
Planning a wheelchair-accessible safari: what we check
A practical guide to wheelchair accessible safari destinations and lodges across Africa, from Kruger to the Okavango Delta.
Guide
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.
Guide
Solo women on safari
How to plan a safe, well-organised solo safari in southern Africa as a woman
Guide
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.
Guide
Namibia or Botswana, which safari should you choose
Red dunes and distance, or water and density
Guide
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.
Guide
Botswana or Zambia, which safari should you choose
One country is water. The other is silence under your boots
Guide
Is a safari worth it? An honest answer
Honest answer for first-time safari travellers. What you actually get, when to go, and how to plan it well.
Guide
Honeymoon safaris in South Africa
Where to go, what to expect, and how to pair bush with beach
Guide
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.
Guide
How to plan a luxury safari in South Africa
A working guide to building a trip you won't regret
Guide
What a Botswana safari costs, and why it costs more
Botswana usually costs more than other safari countries. The reason is policy, not polish. What each tier buys, and how season and flights change the bill.
Guide
When to go on safari in South Africa
The bush wears a different face every month, and some are kinder than others
Guide
What a luxury safari in South Africa costs
What a luxury safari in South Africa includes, why one lodge costs more than the next, and where the bill tends to grow.
Guide
When to go on safari in Botswana
The Delta has two good seasons. They are completely different trips
Guide
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.
Guide
What to pack for a safari
A short, honest list from the people who keep getting the WhatsApp message at 11pm the night before
Guide
How to choose a safari lodge
What actually matters when choosing a safari lodge, and what turns out not to.
Guide
How we plan a luxury African safari (the long version)
This is how we plan a safari, from a home 40 minutes from many of the lodges we book. Not a checklist. The order we ask the questions in, what we trade off, and why we say no to certain combinations.
We design safaris around the people travelling, not the brochure.
VIKKI JACKSON · CO-FOUNDER
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Voices
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.
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Voices
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.
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Voices
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.
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Voices
A conversation with Vikki Jackson
Vikki Jackson, co-founder of Marula Hill, on moving to South Africa with her family in 1994 and being the one who stayed, why hyenas are the ones to watch, and the small details that make a lodge actually work.
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Voices
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.
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Journey · Jun 2024
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.
Journey · Apr 2024
Nine days in Sabi Sand and Cape Town for a fiftieth birthday
A couple, nine days, two halves. Five nights at Singita Boulders in the Sabi Sand and four at Ellerman House in Cape Town. The real itinerary, the real moments, and what we built around her.
Journey · Jul 2023
Three generations in the Okavango
A family of seven across grandparents, parents, and three children. Eight nights, two camps, one table. How we built a multigenerational safari in northern Botswana that worked at every age.
FIELD ODDMENTS
Conditions observed on safari
A running list of the things that happen to people out there, written up with the seriousness they deserve. Symptoms include whispering at a leopard and eating breakfast very, very slowly. A new entry every Sunday.
Open the dictionary- No. 1Checkout DenialEating breakfast very, very slowly.
- No. 2Leopard VoiceWhispering to a person thirty centimetres away.
- No. 5Khaki CreepMore than one garment in a colour described as stone.
EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE
Read the whole archive
Want to see every piece we have published, ordered by date? Open the full archive. Or send us what you are planning and we will start a conversation.
