February 15-27, 2021

Join like-minded safari travelers as you take off toward southern Africa on the world’s largest and most luxuriously spacious private jet, the Crystal Skye. This lavishly outfitted Boeing 777-200LR has been completely transformed to the highest standards of aviation design, featuring handcrafted, fully-reclining flatbed seats, a dedicated stand-up bar and social lounge, a team of Crystal Skye Butlers and an Executive Chef preparing exceptional Michelin star-inspired cuisine.

Crystal Skye Aircraft Operated by Comlux Aruba NV

In South Africa, guests will have exclusive access to a once-in-a-lifetime, 8-night safari experience while staying with &BEYOND; Ngala Safari Lodge & Phinda Mountain Lodge. Having exclusive use of some of the most productive and uncrowded big-game safari areas on the continent is sure to produce exciting and memorable wildlife sightings in gorgeous natural settings. Prepare to be spoiled and to learn! While on safari you will be in the trusted hands of some of the most accomplished safari guides, wildlife photography experts, and food and wine aficionados who will personalize and enhance your experience for you. This is a limited-access experience held for a select group of our valued guests.

A maximum of 66 guests may participate in this unique journey. Upon arrival into Africa guests will be dispersed to the 2 lodges as each rotates through both locations over the 8 nights. While in each lodge, the &BEYOND field and hospitality teams will work with each room to ensure that their stay is as personalized and private as the guests request.

World-class Hospitality

February 15, 2021 – Arrive into Sarasota/Tampa/Ft. Myers where you will be greeted and transferred by road to a downtown Sarasota luxury hotel for check-in. This afternoon, all guests scheduled to travel on this journey will have samples taken for COVID-19 testing (results due to be returned within 36 hours). Enjoy your evening at leisure.

February 16, 2021 – Enjoy Sarasota at your leisure. Golf, tennis, spa, beach, guided off-shore and in-shore fishing, guided marine based wildlife tours and additional local experiences are available to guests to enjoy.

This afternoon/evening all travelers will be notified of their COVID test results and provided direction on how to prepare for our scheduled departure to Africa tomorrow morning.

February 16, 2021 – Mid-morning private road transfer to Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport for private check-in, dedicated TSA screening and boarding of the Crystal Skye aircraft.

Late morning, we depart from Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A. for the direct non-stop flight to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. Overnight in your most comfortable surroundings aboard the Crystal Skye.

Crystal Skye Aircraft Operated by Comlux Aruba NV

Aboard the Crystal Skye your Lay Flat Beds and the Skye Bar, Lounge and Dining area are meticulously kept by our Skye Butlers

February 17, 2021 – Upon arrival into Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, all guests will pass through health, immigration and customs formalities before connecting by light aircraft to our safari locations in Kruger National Park & Phinda Private Game Reserve. Flying time is an easy 1 hour 50 minutes. Your face will be glued to the window as these wild areas look amazing from 2,000 ft to 5,000 ft. When your light aircraft touches down in the bush you will be greeted plane-side by your field team who will welcome you and transfer you to the lodge for welcome, orientation and check-in for 4 nights.

Regional map showing location of the lodges

February 19-22, 2021 – On safari from your first safari location.

February 22, 2021 – After your morning game-viewing activity, transfer by light aircraft to your second safari experience where you will be greeted and welcomed plane-side by the field team and transferred to the lodge for welcome, orientation and check-in for 4 nights.

February 23-26, 2021 – on safari from your second safari location.

February 26, 2021 – After your morning game-viewing and breakfast, transfer by light aircraft to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport to board Crystal Skye for your direct non-stop flight to Sarasota, FL.

February 27, 2021 – Arrive into Sarasota, FL and clear health, immigration and customs formalities into the USA.

Game Drives at Ngala Safari Lodge

ON SAFARI WITH andBEYOND

Care of the Land. Care of the Wildlife. Care of the People

We show our commitment to “Care of the Land. Care of the Wildlife. Care of the People” by looking for ways to contribute and give more to wildlife spaces and the communities that live adjacent to them. But we also believe that we can reduce our negative environmental impact on the earth without compromising our guest experience.

We operate a high-yield, low-impact model by creating very small luxury lodges that can support enormous tracts of biodiverse land, which remains untouched and untrammeled. But, even though &BEYOND ‘s footprint is very small, many of our lodges have a sustainability champion, who together with lodge managers, are custodians of our philosophy to “give more” and “take less”. At every lodge and office, we seek out small but meaningful ways of putting our values into action each day. We understand that delighting our guests is the most important thing we can do to sustain our business and thus sustain the wildlife areas we protect.

Over the years, &BEYOND has introduced an environmental strategy to assess our lodges from a sustainability and conservation viewpoint. The lodges are annually subjected to an intensive sustainability audit to determine their environmental impact. This allows us to determine lodge-specified strategies to reduce that impact. These statistics are collated and analysed in order to help identify problems, as well as to help lodges see how their innovations and savings have paid off. Efficiencies are identified and the lodges are set targets to improve and reduce their impact still further.

The champions and lodge managers look for new “take less “ ideas and, ways to reduce our energy consumption and carbon emissions, recycling initiatives, conservation awareness drives, water efficiency, elimination of exotic plants, addressing erosion, re-greening and many more. They are the drivers who ensure that each department, behind the scenes, finds practical ways of reducing our impact and creating a better company in a better world.

Behind everything we do there is a purpose; indeed, we have always been driven by purpose. Everything we do is aimed at conserving Africa’s wilderness and wildlife and including local communities in this process. Everything we do is aimed at creating journeys that change lives and inspire positive action.

See andBEYOND’s conservation efforts in video below:

Our 8 nights on safari in the most capable hands of the &BEYOND field and hospitality teams will be split so that each traveler is able to enjoy 4 nights of safari in 2 lodges as each location compliments each other.

Think safari and you’re likely to conjure up adventure-filled fantasies of game drives through pristine African wilderness, encountering magnificent wildlife such as elephant, lion or buffalo along the way. South Africa plays host to an amazing array of wildlife sanctuaries; however, the iconic destination of the Kruger National Park takes pride of place as one of the world’s most renowned safari havens. A game drive here promises an exceptional experience.

&BEYOND Ngala Private Game Reserve shares an un-fenced boundary with the world-renowned wildlife sanctuary, which also happens to be one of the biggest game reserves in the world. A spectacular diversity of wildlife moves through this immense wilderness, including breeding herds of elephant, leopard, spotted hyena, giraffe, large buffalo herds and white rhino. With its name meaning lion in the local language Shangaan, the Ngala experience lives up to its promise, supporting several large prides of these powerful cats. African wild dog can also be spotted moving through the reserve.

Exceptional Africa wildlife observation and interpretation

Ngala Safari Lodge

Set within South Africa’s largest and most well-known game reserve in the world, &BEYOND Ngala Private Game Reserve offers not only one of the most incredible Big Five wildlife experiences in the world, but also offers an intimate one due to our exclusive traversing rights on 14 700 hectares (36 000 acre) of wilderness land.

Tucked under a canopy of mopane and tamboti trees, &BEYOND Ngala Safari Lodge boasts 20 Classic thatched cottages. The lodge’s swimming pool and sundeck overlook a natural riverine woodland, ideal for avid birdwatchers, while a tranquil massage sala and a well-equipped fitness room can be enjoyed in between game drives. Dinners are set in a candlelit courtyard or showcased as an African feast in the open-air boma.

Ngala Safari Lodge guest room

Each of the spacious and classic en-suite cottages exudes a romantic ambiance with nostalgic safari memorabilia throughout. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows make the most of sunny safari days and a private veranda offers the perfect setting for intimate dinners.

Cottage Terrace

Ngala Safari Lodge Exterior

Swimming Pool

Tasty delights in magical settings indoors and outdoors

Phinda Mountain Lodge

The iconic &BEYOND Phinda Private Game Reserve encompasses an impressive 70,560 acres of protected wildlife land in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Showcasing one of the continent’s finest game viewing experiences, the reserve is home to Africa’s Big Five, as well as 436 bird species.

Guest Suite at Phinda Mountain Lodge

Phinda Mountain Lodge features three room types, with 16 suites, six cottages (that can be turned into three adjoining family cottages), and one family suite. Natural light streams through the expansive glass windows of the suites and cottages, while private decks provide breathtaking views of natural beauty.

Lodge Deck

Guest Dining Area

Swimming Pool

Exceptional and varied wildlife viewing experiences

Phinda is home to a magnificent variety of wildlife, including the Big Five, but is best known for its large population of cheetah and black rhino. The sand forest is home to the shy suni and the rare red duiker, two tiny antelope that are seldom encountered elsewhere. A variety of incredible adventures are available, including twice-daily game drives, nature walks, conservation and community experiences, sleep outs, village tours, an infrared night eye experience, specialist safaris, as well as nearby ocean activities.

For &BEYOND, our involvement with Africa Foundation and the people in our local communities represents our core tenet of Care of the People. Through our close consultation with them, &BEYOND Phinda Private Game Reserve facilitates insightful community visits and excursions for our guests that help you to not only experience and see firsthand the various projects that are being run by the Africa Foundation and &BEYOND Phinda, but also for you to see how you can get involved and make a difference. In addition to these community visits, local Zulu villagers offer guests the opportunity to experience their daily lives and routines, and to gain a sneak peek into some of their traditional rituals and customs.

Zulu Village

Cost: to be confirmed

*Please inquire directly for single traveler pricing*

Includes:

  • Roundtrip international airfare on Crystal Skye aircraft from Sarasota, Florida, USA to Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport
  • 4 nights at accommodation at Ngala Safari Lodge on an all-inclusive basis
  • 4 nights accommodation at Phinda Mountain Lodge on an all-inclusive basis
  • all light aircraft transfers between camps

Seats on the aircraft, camps, and room preferences will be allocated on a first-come, first served basis.

Minimum number of 50 participants required for this departure to travel.

Deposit Requirements:

  • $10,000.00 per person deposit required to secure your space on this departure. Your deposit payment is fully refundable until 75 days prior to departure. Final payment due at 75 days prior to departure (18 November 2020).
Please call Michael Distler or Ryan Hilton for additional information and booking at 1-941-951-1801

U.S.A. Department of Transportation Public Charter approval number ***

PLEASE NOTE: 

  • Founder’s Journey will always be priced at or below published rates, but never higher.
  • Travel with like-minded individuals on these exclusive departures.
  • Enjoy a welcome cocktail party to meet your fellow travelers.
  • A hosted dinner will be offered during one night of the trip with the Hiltons.
  • On many occasions, optional shore events are offered as an option that only our group is invited to join.
  • Special global relationships that the Hiltons have formed over the years will allow you privileged access opportunities.
  • Trips are offered well in advance to give ample time for your future planning.
  • Minimum numbers must be met in order for the Hiltons to host the journey.
  • The Hiltons reserve the right to adjust the duration of their participation should any schedule conflicts arise.