In the softening light of dusk, there hangs an object that could be easily overlooked for its simplicity. Something that has been part of this place for 5 generations, doing a humble job since the first custodians set foot on this land in 1926… 100 years ago. 

What is the job of a lantern here, other than to provide light in the darkness? What role does it play in a simple safari? What meaning, beyond a rudimentary object, could it have in this 100-year story? 

You see, the lantern is not merely an object to us, but a testament to a century of wilderness communion. For one hundred years, it has illuminated the paths of those who arrive at Londolozi. It’s brass worn smooth by the hands of generations, its glass witness to countless memories and moments of adventure and revelation. 

It reminds us that while one hundred years is something, it is also not really time at all but simply a flickering of the flame on the never-ending campfire story.

The history of the humble lantern

In 1926, a lantern was lit on a humble farm in the Lowveld – its soft glow welcoming weary travellers down a long dirt road, showing them they had arrived. 

By the 1970s, the same light welcomed early visitors to Londolozi. All along, behind that lantern, someone was always there, holding it. A Custodian. A guide. A protector. 

Waiting: Arrival into Sparta Rondavels (now Londolozi) on the original bushtrack

The safari began the moment you saw its glow. The flame said: you are safe, you are home, and you are part of something far greater than yourself.

The lantern holds a peculiar magic. It has been one of the oldest, most consistent man-made objects of a Londolozi safari. It has many lessons to teach us – about humility, about simplicity, about dependability, and about care.  About what it means to hold light. 

What it means to Hold The Light

For one hundred years, Londolozi has been a place where people came searching – for adventure, for connection, for stillness, for something beyond themselves. They thought they were coming on safari. And they were. But beneath the game drives, the sunrises, the dust trails, and starlit dinners, something deeper has always been at work.

We were never just taking people on safari.

We were holding the light.

And holding the light means so many things. At its essence, it’s about care – the art of illuminating the darkness and welcoming someone home. The human hand that holds a flickering flame so that we may see where to go, and we may feel less alone in the darkness. 

Through this act of care, the light becomes embodied in people through the alchemy of safari and family hospitality – transferred from glass and wick to heart and soul.  This represents a different kind of hospitality – one that doesn’t merely serve but genuinely guides and reveals. It’s about humans becoming the lantern for others, showing them new perspectives and experiences. This is the light of nature, of expertise, knowledge sharing, and careful guidance – the human connection that transforms a journey from mere observation to profound experience.

To hold the light means perseverance during difficult times, holding onto hope and purpose when darkness threatens to overwhelm. This holding embodies the collective wisdom passed down through generations – lessons learned from nature, from animal teachers, from family bonds, from shared history. It’s the courage to continue when the path forward isn’t clear, the resilience that comes from being part of something greater than oneself, and the wisdom that acknowledges both joy and suffering as essential parts of a meaningful life.

To hold the light is to celebrate and honour pure, unburdened joy. This is the light that sparkles in eyes watching a blazing African sunset from a game vehicle, G&T in hand, shoulders touching with loved ones in shared wonder. It’s the collective gasp of a family witnessing a leopard emerge from tall grass, followed by spontaneous laughter when someone whispers an endearing observation. This lightness appears in bare feet dancing under stars after dinner, in playful splashes at the pool between game drives, in the liberation of being temporarily untethered from digital distractions. At Londolozi, guests rediscover the art of being lighthearted – of surrendering to the present moment and finding delight in simple pleasures like early morning coffee shared in comfortable silence. The shared experience becomes the vessel of light: couples rekindling romance while watching elephants at a waterhole, parents witnessing their children’s faces illuminate with wonder, friends deepening bonds through adventures and evening reflections. This light of shared joy becomes portable – carried home in inside jokes, in new family traditions inspired by safari rituals, in the decision to prioritise togetherness and pleasure in daily life. The Londolozi light teaches that true wealth lies in these moments of uncomplicated happiness shared with those we cherish, a lesson that continues brightening lives long after the safari ends. 

To hold the light is to guide others with humility and grace. It is to keep the flame of wildness and wonder alive for future generations. By holding the light, you protect sacred spaces – within nature and within yourself. You live in a way that radiates hope, peace, and care for all living things,  with deeper consciousness, love, reverence, and fun.

You see, this light is ancient. It was here long before all of this, before even a name for a place was imagined or even the idea for a name was needed. Now it is the illumination that comes from lanterns and candles – sure. But it is also the light that filters through ancient trees, that ignites the sky at dusk, that shimmers – silver – over water, that flickers in firelight beside a circle of storytellers. It’s the light in a leopard’s eye as it moves – not against the darkness but as part of it, a masterclass in belonging to multiple worlds at once. This is what happens to your essence at Londolozi. It doesn’t become something new; it remembers what it always was – coded into the very nature of this place. 

The flame, this essence, inside you has never been extinguished. It has merely been forgotten in the motion of modern existence. Here, in the presence of a wilderness, your own inner lantern rekindles. Sometimes, it happens silently – while tracking an animal at dawn. Sometimes it arrives more dramatically, in the collective intake of breath as lions roar into the night. However it comes, this awakening is not a discovery but a homecoming. You were never lost. Just temporarily disconnected from the flame that has always burned within. And this light that you hold becomes the compass that eventually, and inevitably, guides you home.

Without conscious effort, you become a lantern yourself. Your awakened presence kindles something in those around you. This is Londolozi’s ripple effect, extending far beyond geography into the subtle territories of human connection.

How we plan to hold and share the light in 2026

Holding the light was never meant just for us. This milestone allows the Londolozi Family to let the light ripple out in as many ways as possible – not just throughout 2026 but into the start of the next century as well. Whether you plan to set your feet onto this land this year, or follow us online and on social media, there will be so many gifts that we send out during our birthday year in order to keep you all connected. 

Our Centenary Website – the home of our 100th year storytelling

This year, we honour a hundred-year commitment to guiding others home – home to nature, to the Earth, to themselves, to one another. Join us for all 12 months of our 100th year, through film, photography, story, and experience, as we illuminate what it means to hold the light today. We have been hard at work over the past three years creating stories that will honour every aspect of our birthday year and have created an experiential home for all of it. The Londolozi Centenary website is a place where you can return to, again and again, to keep in touch with our 100th year celebrations as new films and pieces of writing are unlocked and released throughout the year. 

A 10 Million Rand Gift to Good Work Foundation

As a living prototype of conservation development, a conscious village, and a model of connection to nature, holding the light has meant demonstrating another way to live. It’s meant discovering and nurturing our own inner light – our unique purpose and contribution – and allowing it to radiate outward, creating ripples of positive change. In a landmark commitment to the Good Work Foundation, a bold, meaningful investment of R10 million donated to the Good Work Foundation – one million rand for each decade of Londolozi’s journey. This gift honours the belief that conservation and community upliftment must always walk hand in hand. A reminder that legacy is measured not only in years, but in lives changed. Many of you have asked how to celebrate our centenary with us. We invite you to reimagine education alongside us by contributing to a gift that lives far beyond a hundred years.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Good Work Foundation (@goodworkfoundation)

It is our humble belief that Londolozi isn’t just a place that has lasted 100 years, but a living tradition of relationship with wilderness that has healed and transformed so many across a century. In a world increasingly marked by disconnection from nature, Londolozi represents an unbroken thread of what it means to truly belong to a place – and how that belonging awakens something essential within us.

This isn’t just nostalgia; it’s a vital reminder of a way of being human that we cannot afford to lose in the century ahead. That’s a powerful legacy worth celebrating. 

This year invites every guest, guide, tracker, staff member, partner, and friend of Londolozi to see themselves as light holders – not only in the wild, but in the world.

We hope you will join us this year in holding the light.