Sitting in a Jeep of Safari outdoors, I found myself leaning from the door while a lion walked silently towards us, his eyes with gold films looked forward, a soft breeze whispered his hair.

Our guide, Raymond, whispered that he would not be scared when the lion passed less than 6 feet from my side of the vehicle. I shook my head, was not scared; He was intuitively giving the lion the respect he deserved. After death, I turned around and I saw that I was focused on the laser not on us, but a lionea in front of him.

I was in Shamwari Private Game reserve as part of the adventure of southern Africa of Alaska’s by John Hall. During this 10 -day tour of South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Chobe River, our goals were to look for the five greats, visit one of the seven natural wonders of the world and better understand African nature and culture.

A commitment to exceptional experiences

An Alaska trip expert for more than 40 years, Alaska by John Hall, of family property, began offering worldwide adventures about a decade, looking for partners of related ideas that shared the same commitment to provide exceptional experiences and customer service to the guests.

This is the biggest challenge: finding a small family business that allows us to create the John Hall standards in Alaska and not fit in a cookie cutter.

“This is the biggest challenge: finding a small family business that allows us to create the standards of John Hall in Alaska and not fit in a cookie cutter,” said Elizabeth Hall, president of John Hall, Alaska, when he was asked who associates the company. “We have worked hard for our reputation, and it is extremely difficult to put it in the hands of another person and make sure that it still meets our standards.”

Other world adventures offered in 2025 include explorations in Antarctica, Galapagos, Australia and New Zealand and Michigan. In 2026, the company will expand to Italy, Costa Rica and Washington, DC

My León meeting was not only one of the amazing wildlife sightings that a customer can wait during his time in Africa with the operator.

The trip begins in Cabo Cabo

When the adventure group of southern Africa arrives in Cape Cabo, they will be received by a representative of John Hall and transferred to the accommodations for the night, the Table Bay hotel, located in the Waterfront de V&A.

Related: a guide from South Africa, through Nelson Mandela’s eyes

I had actually arrived in the city a few days before with my sister and joined the guests of other John Hall in a gout prior to Robben Island, where Christo Brand, prison of the prison of Nelson Mandela, gave us a private tour and shared stories of his time with the anti-apartment activist and politician of South Africa. Additional excursion options before the drop include visiting Cape Point and see South African penguins and visit the Table Mountain.

In Safari in Shamwari

The next morning, our group of 20 boarded a motor coach to move to the airport for our flight to Port Elizabeth. Upon arrival, we transferred to Shamwari Game Reserve, we settled in our spacious rooms in Long Lee Manor, reserved exclusively for our group, divided into smaller groups and set out to our first game units.

The days in Safari in Shamwari began early, with play units for dawn for better possibilities of detecting animals, where guides were very careful to show respect for animals. The stomach rumbled, received us in the mansion with a luxurious extended breakfast to satisfy our appetite. The afternoons were having lunch and relaxing next to the pool in preparation for last -hour units that extended until night.

We continue with the sunsets, a safari tradition where the guides of the plains serve cocktails and horses. Then, he returned to the mansion for dinner before spending a deep sleep to recharge for the adventures of the next day.

Throughout our six game units, Raymond worked his magic; We saw four of the five greats that make their homes in the reserve: Cape Buffalo, elephants, lions and rhinos. Although he tried to find the fifth, a leopard, she eluded us, and we all agreed to “leave it to nature.” We were lucky to see also the cheeries, giraffes, zebras, hippos, impalas, kudus, babouins, wild boars, hyenas and innumerable species of birds during our time in the reserve.

The smoke that breaks

After three days in Safari, we took a charter flight to Zimbabwe to register at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which offers views of the iconic Victoria Falls bridge.

In addition to a private guided tour of Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world, John Hall, Alaska, offers optional excursions (at an additional cost) so that guests can make the most of their time here; These include a helicopter flight on cataracts, the zambezi river and the surrounding throat, and riding a horse along the river. I opted to visit an elephant rehabilitation installation to approach the Giant Gentiles.

Related: Review: Afombie & Kent’s Southern Africa Safari & Rail Adventure

The nights in Victoria Falls were sailing through the Zambezi River at sunset, enjoying cocktails and horses of D’Aeuvres on the upper deck reserved of a river boat before a private dinner and addressing the vintage train of Bushtracks Express for an exclusive trip on the railroad, with a stop at the Victoria bridge and dinner.

Chobe river safari

The final stage of the adventure of South Africa by John Hall was a two -night stay aboard Queen Zambezi, rented exclusively for our group. Looking at night, the three -story river boat spends the days floating down, offering spectacular views of the earth and the animals that freely roam.

Instead of Jeeps, we address smaller flat back boats for “game units” on the Chobe River, which flows between Botswana and Namibia. During our morning and afternoon outings, we saw many of the same animals that we had seen on land from the water, including Cape Buffalo, Los Lions, Los Jabalís and more elephants and the hippos we could count on. Early optional excursions in the morning (including) included bird and fishing observation, along with a visit to the nearby town, which gave the opportunity to connect with the locals and listen to their stories.

On the last day of the trip, we took a Kasane flight to Johannesburg to start our walks home. Even before boarding the 18 -hour flight to the United States, I was making plans for a return trip to Africa; The spirit and beauty of the country seized my heart and did not let it go.