Sometimes nature gifts us a Valentine’s story out of the blue, sometimes we look amongst ourselves, and sometimes we simply feel like exploring the esoteric nature of love itself.
So what is love?
Having over a decade behind us of releasing our Valentine’s messages into the world, we thought this year would be a good time to sit back and reflect on the lessons love has taught us over the years, so for everyone’s benefit, we’ve picked out our favourite Londolozi Lessons of Love given to us by nature:
2010 Taught us that Love is Fun (and a bit ridiculous)
What’s the point if you can’t enjoy that love with someone? Go crazy, be spontaneous, go on adventures, explore, make each other laugh, be a little bit silly…
2013 Taught us That Love is About Friendship
Being a true friend is about being able to rely on someone regardless of the circumstances. It’s about affection, camaraderie, an enduring trust and respect… The Londolozi family tries daily to uphold these values in our dealings with each other, our guests, and indeed the magical wilderness area we live in.
2014 Helped Us See That Love Can Be Mysterious
For hundreds of years, people have tried to understand love. To describe it accurately, to measure it, to capture it… yet even when you are in it, it somehow remains amorphous; an unfathomable combination of an endless variety of facets: passion, intimacy, commitment, romance…
To attempt to truly understand it is an unwinnable task, but to enter into it accepting one will never truly know… now that is true love.
2016 Was About Passion
A famous John Lennon quote goes as follows:
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
Whether Lennon actually ever said that is still up for debate, but the message is pretty clear regardless.
Follow what you love with passion, whether it’s a person, an activity, a calling, and happiness is the reward you are most likely to obtain…
The Ostrich Love Story of 2017 Taught us the Power of Patience
One of Londolozi’s greatest stories, the female ostrich who waited three years for her partner.
Arriving alone onto Londolozi soil in 2013, she eventually became so lonely that she started following the Land Rovers around, seemingly for companionship. Then on the heels of the 2015/16 drought a male ostrich moved into the area. The pair met up, and the rest is history…
The small groups of ostriches dotted around the south-western grasslands that we still see today are a constant reminder of how love is truly worth the wait.
In 2019 the Dung Beetles Taught us That Love Requires Determination
Ask anyone in a successful long-term relationship the secret to their success, and chances are they will include determination on their list. The reality is that to achieve success in anything in life, dedication is a key component. That doesn’t mean that wild romance has to suffer, but in order to for long-term happiness to be real, determination is crucial. It builds momentum, strengthens commitments and empowers those with the resolve to go the distance, to where the true reward ultimately lies.
Our musings over our last decade of videos and the lessons they have imparted have led us to one irrefutable conclusion. It’s John Lennon again, but this time the words definitely did come from him. Although he may have received much of the credit from the writing of the song, the thought, the realisation and the feeling have ultimately been a universal human truth for many, many years…
All you need IS Love…
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Love the video.
Loving Londolozi and Life!!!!
James, I loved the video🤗
Fantastic video! Dungle beetles are better than Valentine birds… the moving story of the ostrich and human friendship along with mum’s love make it unique. I loved the cheetah at the end, hope there will be more news on those beautiful endangered animals. Happy Valentine!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you creative geniuses.
Well done! Spectacular way to start my day filled with love.
Wonderful Video. Thank you and Happy Valentines Day
Love this. Thank you so much, you made my day. Love Gilly.
I love your video and Africa and Londolozi…
Great video!
I added the cover lion photo to my favorites awhile back. For me it
encapsulates those “God help me” moments throughout the day!😂
Thanks for the reminder that patience is love.
What a lovely video. Thanks for sharing!!!💕🙏❤
What a beautiful video filled with love, dedication, determination, patience and lots of laughter. The lion cubs rubbing against mom shows so much love between them. I loved the ostrich story, because we were surprised one morning to find a white hen in our yard. So beautiful and she was not scared of the dogs, so we kept her and named her Hessie. She eventually thought she was a dog and would sit next to me while I was played ball with the dogs. We then got a rooster to give her a mate and now they have given us many chickens and eggs. Love conquers all. Well done James!!! wonderful video.
Mahalo for warming my heart this morning. I feel the love although we’re 12 times zones apart. Be well. Hope to see you in October.
Wishing you all Happy Valentines Day and may your lives be filled with love.
Thank you for this wonderful video and reminder, James, that indeed, Love is All We Need!!
Wishing you all fun, friendship, passion, patience and determination in the mystery of love🙏💕 perhaps you could add Commitment, as all of you at Londolozi show that, bringing these beautiful videos to our homes for us to enjoy through this difficult time. With gratitude and love Cally
Wonderful video and write up.
You have outdone yourself this is so beautiful- Londolozi is Love❤️
LOVE LOVE LOVED this video!! Happy Valentine’s Day to you’all!!
Well said and it is true, all we need is love and lots of nature. Love conquers all things. Love is never boastful, jealous or inpatient. Happy Valentine’s to all you wonderful people and rangers, you have the most beautiful place in the entire world. Londolozi!!!
James, thanks so much for the uplifting video! We are sharing it wherever we can!
I don’t know how I missed this in my daily mail, but seeing it today, Valentines Day, made it even more special. Thanx for the best email of my day!!👍🎥
Londolozi videos are the best!
großartige Berichte. Wir sind dabei. Auch haben wir vor, dieses Jahr Euch zu besuchen. Wir lieben die Wildtiere und wir lieben die Lodges-
Beautiful! And 2020 taught us Love sustains us too!