Leading an Animal Communication Retreat in Botswana and Zambia is always a privilege.
My role is to support each person’s personal journey, facilitate their communications with the animals, and, of course, help keep everyone safe. Every retreat is unique, and each one teaches me something new.
This one reminded me of something that reaches far beyond Africa.
Change is inevitable.
When Africa Had Other Plans
Before we’d even arrived at our first camp, our carefully planned itinerary had changed. Flooding meant our scheduled flight into the Okavango Delta was cancelled because the camps in Moremi had been relocated.
Instead, we travelled by road.
Was it what we’d planned?
No.
Was it any less magical?
Not at all.
Our journey included a beautiful mokoro (dugout canoe) safari through the Delta, where hippos and elephants welcomed us into their world. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes the unexpected opens doors we never knew existed.
Our next challenge came as we travelled to our second camp in Mababe.
Throughout the day, I could hear increasing chatter over the guides’ radios. I knew something wasn’t quite right.
Eventually, our guide smiled and explained.
The trailer carrying most of our safari camp had broken down. An engineer had been dispatched from Maun, but the park gates were due to close within the hour. Without our camp, we couldn’t enter.
Earlier that morning, during my connection with Fire, I’d been given one simple anchor word:
Flow.
The Lesson in the Unexpected
As the day unfolded, I realised that flow didn’t mean pretending everything was fine.
It didn’t mean liking uncertainty.
It simply meant meeting whatever came next with openness instead of resistance.
And that’s exactly what our group did.
Everyone adapted with patience, humour and trust. The park staff kindly allowed us to enter once our camp vehicles arrived, and together we watched, in complete admiration, as our incredible safari team set up an entire camp in the dark, lit the fire, cooked supper and erected more than a dozen tents before preparing their own meal and sleeping arrangements.
There was no complaining.
Only gratitude.
Our final surprise came at Kasane Airport.
No sooner had we collected our luggage than the emergency sirens sounded and the entire airport was evacuated.
A week earlier, that might have felt stressful.
Instead, everyone simply smiled.
By then, we’d all learnt something important.
Life doesn’t always unfold according to plan.
Sometimes all we can do is trust the process and take the next step.
Alongside these unexpected moments came extraordinary communications with the beings of Nature.
When Leopard Said “Ravine”
One morning, I asked Leopard if we might have the honour of seeing her.
Immediately, her face appeared clearly in my mind’s eye and I heard one word.
Ravine.
For two days, we didn’t see a leopard.
Then, on the third day, as we approached the park gate, another safari vehicle had stopped to admire a bird high in a tree.
As everyone’s eyes were looking upwards, a leopard quietly crossed the road in front of us before disappearing exactly where she had shown me she would.
Into the ravine.
Her message was simple:
“I am a glimpse for you, but in your imagination I will live forever.”
The Lioness’s Wisdom
The lions also gifted us unforgettable moments.
Two lionesses welcomed us to our first camp, one sitting majestically in the middle of the road as though she were greeting our arrival. The following morning, two magnificent brothers rested peacefully beside our vehicle.
One lioness shared this message:
“Do not be afraid. Step into your power and speak your truth.”
Alongside these extraordinary wildlife encounters, we also communicated with elephants, hippos, baobab trees, the Shepherd Tree, rocks, the Zambezi River, the wind and many other beings of Nature.
Each communication offered its own wisdom, reminding us that conversation is not limited to words. Nature is communicating with us constantly, if only we slow down enough to listen.
What Africa Really Taught Me
As I reflected on our journey home, I realised that Africa hadn’t simply taught us about animal communication.
It had taught us something about life.
We rarely get to choose when change arrives.
Sometimes it’s exciting.
Sometimes it’s inconvenient.
Sometimes it asks far more of us than we feel ready to give.
But we can choose how we meet it.
This retreat reminded me that when we stop resisting change and begin meeting it with openness, something within us shifts.
We become calmer.
More resourceful.
More resilient.
Not because life has suddenly become easier.
But because we’ve stopped fighting the fact that life is constantly changing.
Perhaps that’s why the lioness’s words have stayed with me ever since.
“Do not be afraid. Step into your power and speak your truth.”
I have a feeling she wasn’t only speaking to those of us on safari.
Join the Retreat Interest List
If this story resonated with you, perhaps one day you’d like to experience a retreat like this for yourself.
Whether we’re sitting quietly beside the Zambezi River, listening to the silence of the African bush, or connecting with the wisdom of the animals and the beings of Nature, these retreats offer far more than extraordinary wildlife encounters.
They are an invitation to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and experience the natural world in a profoundly different way.
If that speaks to something within you, I’d love to keep you informed.
Join my Retreat Interest List to receive details of upcoming retreats 14 days before they’re released publicly, giving you the first opportunity to reserve your place if you feel called to join us.
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