In South Africa, the braai is more than a meal—it’s a tradition. A gathering around fire, where meat meets flame and stories linger long after the plates are cleared. At Avula Safaris, we’ve taken this age-old custom and given it a bushveld twist, elevating the...
When you picture a luxury safari lodge, you probably imagine game drives, campfires, and sweeping bushveld views. But for many guests, the culinary experience becomes one of the most memorable parts of the journey. At Avula Safaris, our lodges blend fine dining with...
The bush has a way of slowing you down. Out here, your day isn’t measured in emails or meetings—it’s measured in the first calls of the francolin, the arc of the sun over the thornveld, and the cool, quiet moments around the fire when the day’s stories are told. I’ve...
Some moments on safari take you by surprise—not for their intensity or danger, but for their quiet, soul-stirring beauty. One such moment happened not during a hunt, but as the day surrendered to dusk. Our rifles were slung, the sun dipping low, and we were heading...
Before the first hint of light, the bush is wrapped in its own kind of magic. The air is cool, damp with dew, and filled with the soft scent of wild sage. Somewhere in the darkness, a nightjar calls, its haunting trill carrying over the still land. The fire from the...
Everyone dreams of seeing the Big Five. The lion’s roar, the elephant’s presence, the leopard’s stealth—they’re the poster animals of the African bush. But every once in a while, a safari surprises you. Not with the size or danger of a creature, but with its charm,...
It was my second night in the Eastern Cape bushveld, and the air was thick with silence. That heavy, expectant kind of stillness that presses against your eardrums and makes you acutely aware of your own heartbeat. The fire had long since burned down to embers. My...
The Eastern Cape is a land of contrast—rolling hills meet rocky outcrops, thick valley bushveld gives way to open plains, and somewhere in that varied terrain, the ghost of the bush moves. The kudu. Known as the “grey ghost,” the kudu is a master of camouflage and...
The rain came quickly. One moment the sky was its usual pale blue, scattered with lazy clouds, and the next—a wall of grey swept across the horizon, pushed forward by a low grumble of thunder. We were deep in the reserve, tracking a rhino cow for a darting procedure....
The alarm buzzed long before first light. Camp was still, cloaked in darkness and dew. Somewhere in the distance, a lion’s low rumble echoed across the savanna. I swung my legs from beneath the warm covers, pulled on boots still dusty from yesterday’s walk, and...
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Avula Safaris means Open Journey, and it’s more than a collection of private game reserves, it’s an authentic African hunting experience like no other.
It’s an invitation to get lost. To find yourself. To seek beyond the known, and hunt beyond the kill. Avula is more than a destination. It’s the start of a much greater journey, for the adventurer in you to adventure true.