Ladies and gentlemen, wildlife enthusiasts, and cherished members of our global community welcome to a momentous occasion at Londolozi. As we celebrate an extraordinary milestone – 200 weeks of virtual safaris!
As we take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey that began in the challenging, first-of-its-kind year of 2020. As worldwide lockdowns began the Londolozi family, like so many of us in hospitality, were faced with huge challenges. In times of global uncertainty, what could we as a family do to try and help in some small way? How could we keep people connected and let them have a little window into the space and the hope of wilderness?
Thus, the Londolozi Virtual Safari was born. Today with just over 1 million YouTube subscribers, I can now take so many of you out on a game drive with me from all over the world.
As we celebrate the 200th week I would like to acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, alumni guide James Tyrrell ,the Londolozi Marketing team and so many guides of today. In the early days, James played a pivotal role and laid the foundation for something truly remarkable. Each Londolozi guide, daily, plays their part in bringing this Virtual Safari to life.
What started as a response to an unprecedented world situation quickly evolved into a phenomenon, growing from strength to strength with each passing week. What we initially thought might be a temporary solution to our guests not being able to visit in person has become a thriving community, with each virtual safari bringing us closer together, and fostering a shared appreciation for the wonders of the natural world.
As we mark this 200-week milestone, we stand at the intersection of gratitude and anticipation. The Virtual Safari- once considered a lifeline – has become a Sunday tradition – a vibrant tapestry of shared moments and cherished memories. Please feel free to share a few of your favourite Virtual Safari moments in the comments below…
I am excited to take you all on the new Virtual Safari adventures that lie ahead in the upcoming year.
In celebration of this milestone, we give you something a little fun and different. The beginning of a series perhaps?— “40 Questions With…”
Let us know if you would like to see more? Who shall we ask 40 questions to next?
Thank you for watching each week! Enjoy the 200th Week in Video!
To view the Vimeo link, click here.
To view the YouTube link, click here.
Great special Sean! I’d love to see you and James Tyrell do one together!
Yes! A James and Sean reunion would be fantastic!
This is fantastic!! Can’t think of a better guide to pick up the reigns from James and continue upwards and onwards. The memories etched into my head of having both of you as my guides has never and will never fade. So many good laughs shared. Two class act guides doing virtual safaris is a sound decision made by the team at Londolozi. Really looking forward to watching. Cheers, guys!
Thanks so much, John. I hope you are well. We look forward to bringing you many more amazing videos.
Hi Sean, that was awesome and I was glad you mentioned James Tyrrell as your predecessor who started the Virtual Safaris. Wish we could find out how he is and have him come back and do a Virtual Safari with you. Your favorite episode with the tiny elephant calf and herd, shielding the calf from the hyena with your vehicle and you inside was awesome and I thought you deserved more recognition for that awesome episode. Congrats on the 2oo week, fantastic and I cannot wait for every Sunday’s video and weekly foto’s. I enjoyed the 40 questions and answers you gave. Thank you it gave us insight on how your day starts and comprises of your routine to get those amazing images and video’s. Could we have Jess answer 40 questions for us please.
Thank you so much, Valmai. The sighting with the elephant was truly remarkable. We will see what we can do going forward with this.
Loved it
Yes! Continue the interviews!
I feel privileged to have been on this virtual safari journey with the Londolozi community since the beginning. It truly is a Sunday ritual. Thank you for keeping us connected!
Oh wow! That was fantastic! Loved seeing all the sights from the past! Getting to know a little more about Sean. This just makes my heart soar and brought a few tears to my eyes! I started watching right at the end of James’s stint after my retirement and have been hooked ever since! I wish I had discovered South Africa’s beauty long ago!
200 ( and 201!) is an amazing figure. Although it must be hugely time consuming for you, I’m hoping it continues – it really is massively appreciated. While I love TWIP, the videos make you feel so much more connected – everything but the smell! And you just can’t beat it for ellies walking through water, leopards climbing trees and hoisting kills, lions roaring, big cats carrying their cubs…… I still remember how happy I was when the 1st one came out at the start of lockdown, when everything seemed so grim. But watching the young Ximungwe cubs and their mother hoisting a kill felt like a lifeline had been thrown out all the way from Londolozi, and I clung on to it every Sunday.
It’s impossible to pick a favourite but no 9 was very special, also no 26 with its revisit of the honey badger rescue. No 41 included a hornbill catching a puff adder, and 69 included Senegal Bush stealing an impala kill from 2 hyenas and hoisting it in a tree. 88 featured the arrival of the 4 Ndhzenga males and 147 was an incrredible one for leopard lovers. But all have been very special, so thank you!
I vefry much enjoyed that! Please do again.
Congratulations on 200 productions. I never miss a Sunday and your video safari. As usual this was very enjoyable to watch. Will be watching the next 200 and in between I will be making another trip to Londolozi. Best thing ever for my soul. I am at a feeling of peace when I connect back to time at your amazing place. Thank you for so much joy
Thank you so much. We look forward to having you back here, hopefully sooner rather than later. We will certainly keep the Virtual Safaris coming in the meantime.
Sensational! You truly have one of the best jobs in the world. It must be such a blessing to wake to those scenes each day. I observe from afar (UK) and even the short glimpses I experience bring such joy. What a treat it must be to see this part of the natural world and experience it in person. Londolozi is certainly on my list of places to visit. I would love to see the Tsalala Pride. I can only hope that the pride has multiplied in number by then.
I completely agree with you, I have one of the best jobs out here. Hopefully you will be able to make it out to visit us here at some point soon and by then I hope that the Tsalala Pride fulfils your wishes and have grown in number.
Fantastic compilation! 7 years-WOW! I remember how nervous you were succeeding James. You have taken a great concept snd added so much richness and technical advancement to the Virtual Safari. Congratulations!
My favorites are anything involving cubs/calves–so entrtaining to watch and then learn about the family dynamics.
(I’m with you on Lavagulin1)
Thank you so much, Vin. It is such a fun project to continually be working on. Lagavulin 10 year old is great.
Good stuff Sean…especially elephant sequence…we envy a lot of what you do. Thanks for keeping us on safari when we can’t be there ourselves. Jim
Thank you so much, Jim. The elephant sighting was unbelievable. Well, hopefully you will be coming to visit us here at some point, instead of your trips to East Africa. Until then, I will do my best to keep you entertained with the Virtual Safaris.
Thanks, Sean, for the great work . One of our visits ended just as the Covid lockdown began – the Virtual Safari was a brilliant idea at the time that kept us and others connected for the many months when we couldn’t visit and now, as you say, it has become a welcome weekly treat.
The Virtual Safari was a fantastic tool in keeping everyone connected through the chaotic period and now look where we are.
Hi Sean, Thank you for this 200 Virtual Safari!
It was very good! Fantastic to see all the animals in the film you have made!
I loved to see when you and the team rescued the honeybadger! That was wounderful done! I also liked when you was ”invited” to see the newborn elephante and when they used your car as a part of the protection.
Why not invite James Tyrell and ask him 40 questions!
I think he will have a lot to say… memories to share…
✨ Congratulations to 200 Virtual Safaries!✨
It is very genereous of Londolozi to do this! I very much apreciate it! Thank you for your good job!
We loved our stay at Londolozi! A fantastic experiance!
Thank you so much, Ann. The Virtual Safari has grown into such an incredible tool and what a wonderful way to share this amazing place with everyone.
Sean, thank you for showing us your virtual safari. It is always a pleasure and special treat to see your adventures through the eyes of your cameras.
Thank you so much, William. I am so glad that I am able to share this amazing place with everyone around the world.
FABULOUS SEAN!!! A real tour de force of the best of the best. Excellent job … we especially love the “40 Questions” piece and look forward to more of the same occasionally (perhaps interviewing a Ranger, Tracker, Tracker Academy, morning ranger meeting, Chef/main kitchen, setting up & staging BOMAs, road/landscape maintenance, fire break work days, motor pool & vehicle maintenance, the EV vehicle progress, daily delivery & other logistics, the staff village & general store, transporting non-resident staff in & out of camp daily, the non-camp staff like Joburg & EMTs, the photoshop facility & Lightroom capabilities, maybe even film a typical staff bumble, etc). Again, well done!
Thank you so much, Bob. We will see what we can do.
Hi Sean was the opening picture of a lion the Othawa male? It is the most beautiful lion I saw in the recent years. Absolutely a natural masterwork! I’d pick his photo as well, along with the Ndzanzeni female. She’s exquisite with her eyes as if they were rimmed with kajal, and lovely face and dark nose pad. I remember well about the honey badger, I think you did a great thing and most video of kindness towards animals should be seen nowadays. The elephants surrounding you with the adorable calf were surely a once-in-a lifetime experience! Wonderful images of fantastic cubs… cuteness overload! Thank you
Thank you so much, Francesca. The Ottawa Male was a majestic lion and the honey badger rescue will always be highly regraded as one of the most incredible encounters in the bush.
Loved this! I love that I can go on safari while at home! Keep up with the good work and looking forward to being back at Londolozi with all of the Londolozi family! You are the BEST! 🥰😘
Thank you so much, Dolores. I am so glad that I am able to take absolutely anybody on a game drive no matter where they are in the world. Hopefully, see you back here again soon.
Brilliant Sean!!! So many great memories and iconic VS moments, especially the snippet of the Tsalala Female fighting for her very existence! Bravo, and here’s to many more amazing Virtual Safari moments!!!
Thank you so much, Paul. I am so glad that you enjoyed it and that it could help jog everyone’s memories about a few incredible sightings.
Sean, Congratulations on #200 and 1MM+ viewers! You are right that during those dark times it was a lifeline – not just for Londolozi to let the world know you were still there, but for all of us to continue to have that connection to that magical place. We were able to lose ourselves for a few minutes each week when the world around us was in turmoil. It did become and has continued to be a Sunday tradition for us! You have continued to improve the content, video quality and inserted some new creative (drones and more) to keep us on our toes! It was fun to watch this video and we were surprised at how many of the snippets we remembered. You did a great job on the 40 questions! It would be great to see 40 questions with Duncan, Dave, Chris Goodman, Will Ford – maybe Chef Chané! Congrats on #200 and thanks for helping us stay close to our favorite place on earth!
Thank you so much, Michael. I am so glad that this Virtual Safari helps keep you connected to Londolozi. We will see what we can do on the next one.
Great video, Sean, about the making of your videos. It’s always nice to see my favorite places at Londolozi and the animals one gets to know over the years.
Thank you so much, Christa. I am so happy that I get to share this amazing place with everyone around the world.
What a fabulous compilation of wildlife sights and sounds, Londolozi memories! You do a wonderful job, Sean, in bringing me to my favorite place in the world every week. Don’t stop!
Thank you so much, Mary Beth. We certainly won’e be stopping any time soon. The Virtual Safari is probably only going to grow and get more traction going forward.
Fantastic! Loved the 40 questions and I vote to continue with this q&a! Next person I nominate is Chane, head chef.
As far as favorite virtual safaris, I have two in mind – Plaque Rock female with her 3 cubs from a couple of weeks ago and the night of buffalo hunting by the Young Ntsevu pride last spring. Both were memorable to me for different reasons. Looking forward to #201 and kudos to James Tyrell for launching this weekly armchair safari!!
Thank you so much, Denise. I will see what I can do, maybe it will be Chane. I am glad you really enjoyed some of the recent virtual safaris.
Sean, that was great. I have been to Londolozi twice. On each occasion it was for a weekend trail. The first was with Lex Hess and the second with a countryman of yours, Map. I can’t remember his surname. Those were two amazing weekends. As a result, I joined the Johannesburg Branch of the Wilderness Leadership School and took trails for them for 20 years, mainly to Pilanesberg National Park. I have been receiving your daily blog, TWIP and Virtual Safari from the beginning. I then send the link to friends and family in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. Keep up the good work. It is fantastic.
Thank you so much, Ian. I am so glad that your initial connection was at Londolozi and that you then went on to enjoy so many trips to other wilderness areas of South Africa.
Please keep spreading the word to all your friends and family far and wide about the blog and videos that we put out.
Thank you Sean, keep up your amazing work! And thank you for sharing your up-close experience with the elefants, warms my heart.
Thank you so much, Camilla. I am so glad that you enjoyed that.
Zeed?! I think you would prefer questions from your viewers! 🙂 And I agree with Ann Marie below…you and James getting together would be awesome! It’s nice to see (following James on Insta) that he gets back to Londolozi from time to time! You guys are the best!
Thanks so much, Anita. I will look into that that see how we could do it and get a whole lot of questions from the followers of the blogs to then answer in a video for you all. We will see how we could do more of these going forward. Yes, James does still get up to Londolozi from time to time.
As a past Londolozi guest, I’m incredibly grateful for your efforts producing the Virtual Safari’s Sean. It is my weekly moment of Zen, transporting me back to the place that changed me forever. Congrats on your 200th episode, looking forward to many more!
Thank you so much, Rob. I am so glad that you enjoy them and adds a weekly moment of Zen. We look forward to bringing you many more in the future.