You cannot put Africa in a word, in a sentence. How to describe that endless sky, those immense sunsets, those saturated colors, that sense of returning to our roots, as if we are reconnecting with an ancestral feeling that makes us feel we belong, albeit in a reality so different from what we are used to? It is the African Sickness, and there is nothing you can do to cure it except to return and immerse yourself more and deeper in a land that has endless stories to tell, endless worlds to discover.
This is what the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, a privileged oasis in the “boundless plain” that is Serengeti National Park, one of the world’s most celebrated nature reserves, aims to do. Here man is nothing, and our world is as far away as Mars. This is the realm where the “Big Five”-the lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhinoceros-run free on the endless wilderness landscape, where volcanic earth prevents the growth of tall plants, where the eye sees grasslands to the horizon and beyond.
Embedded in this realm is the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, perched on a series of elevated platforms and walkways that become part of the landscape itself. The main body of the facility, as well as the terraces of the suites, the breakfast room, the Kula restaurant, the Maji Terrace, and theinfinity infinity pool , overlook what at first glance might appear to be a simple pool of water, but is in fact an animal watering hole. Thus, from this vantage point, the surreal experience of drinking a cocktail while a herd of zebras grazes quietly around the pond, or taking a dip in the pool while watching, just a few meters away, a family of elephants stop for their morning “drink,” becomes reality.
But the highlight of the resort’s offerings-as suggested by the name-is the Safari experience: it means “journey” in Swahili, a journey that is not only physical, but somehow spiritual. Because seeing wildlife in its habitat, proud and wild just as Nature created it, is something that changes the deepest self. Under the watchful eye and constant protection of the local Masai tribespeople, the Lodge organizes a number of different modes of safari: you can choose the classic one aboard a jeep and spot lions, giraffes, antelope and an astounding amount of other animals, the park territory being on the migration route of large herds.
Walking Safari at Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
Or, for even more total immersion, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti proposes the walking safari: 90-minute walking tour for an intimate discovery of the reserve, guided by a naturalist, forest rangers and Maasai guides, who point out animal tracks, describe plants and thoroughly explain the surroundings during the walk. Or even, for a spectacular glimpse, decide to explore the park from the sky thanks to the Baloon Safari, a fairy-tale journey aboard a hot air balloon at the crack of dawn, admiring the savannah tinged with a thousand hues, herds running across the endless plains and toasting with champagne to the birth of a new day.
Ina once you return to this “charming home” in the heart ofAfrica that is the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, and regardless of how you spent your day, you cannot resist the lure of the spa. A place of harmony and stillness, where to restore energy, outer and inner with one of the treatments inspired by the incredible nature of Serengeti, such as the Kifalme Ritual, based on the healing essence of Baobab. Each treatment ends with a fragrant milk bath, arranged on the room’s private terrace, where the view is as vast as it is peaceful and wild.
And here, thinking about having to leave this endless primordial immensity, there is a twinge of nostalgia, because of the already unforgettable experiences through the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti. To lose oneself to find oneself, to lose oneself again. This is the African Sickness.
