This episode takes you to the heart of one of the world's most luxurious game reserves. Jacques Smit, of Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve in South Africa, explains how they work with authorities and local communities to give visitors extraordinary up-close animal encounters while respecting and conserving the wildlife and ecology of the area.
Leave your pre-conceptions at home - there's a lot more to safari than lions and elephants.
Jacques explains how there are no fences between the wildlife and the accommodation lodges at Sabi Sabi, so it's not uncommon to have a lion on the roof of your lodge or a family of elephants drinking from your private pool. He says staff protocols unobtrusively keep guests safe while allowing the animals to roam freely.
Sabi Sabi, which has been operating as a private reserve since 1979, adjoins the vast and world-famous Kruger National Park in the north-east of the country.
If you've ever wondered what it's like to go on safari, worried if the animals are safe and protected, or pondered why you'd choose a private reserve for your adventure, then this is a must-listen episode for you.