Our Stories of
wonder
Our stories of wonder, The wild beings, beautiful places and incredible spaces that inspire us.
Wild Heart, Open Flame brings two forms of mastery together in the wild heart of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Francis Mallmann has devoted his life to understanding fire: flame, smoke, iron, wood, salt, char, patience and time. Deborah Calmeyer has spent hers understanding Africa: its silences, its rhythms, its wild places and the precise decisions that turn access into meaning. Conceived and designed by ROAR AFRICA, this rare five-night journey at Xigera Safari Lodge invites guests to experience Francis cooking with fire in Africa, where the ancient instinct to gather first began. Surrounded by water, wildlife and the vast intelligence of the Delta, days unfold with game drives, mokoro excursions, long lunches and evenings around the flame, where smoke, salt, heat and time transform every meal.
ROAR AFRICA’s private Kilimanjaro ascent is not an endurance exercise, but a deeply considered journey to the Roof of Africa. Designed by Deborah Calmeyer and led by legendary mountaineer Ed Viesturs alongside expedition leader Oliver Browne, the experience redefines what it means to climb the world’s highest freestanding mountain. From private stand-up tents, hot showers and exceptional cuisine to expertly paced acclimatization and the option to descend by helicopter, every detail has been designed to allow guests to remain fully present to the mountain itself. This is Kilimanjaro approached with intention, intelligence and care. More than a summit, it is a rare opportunity to disconnect from noise, reconnect with yourself, and experience Africa from its most extraordinary vantage point.
The journey you experienced before to Africa was only one chapter. Each time you return, the continent reveals something new: the Serengeti during the migration, Cape Town in autumn, the power of Victoria Falls. Places you thought you knew shift with season and perspective. Your first journey was an introduction; the next is a reacquaintance with a continent that doesn’t reveal itself all at once.
A second journey to Africa changes the way you experience the continent. The urgency to see everything fades, replaced by time to settle into a place and truly observe it. Longer stays, deeper encounters, and landscapes experienced at their natural rhythm reveal a quieter, more nuanced Africa. What may begin as a return becomes a journey experienced with depth.
Returning to Africa begins with a simple decision. We have already established the foundation: how you like to travel, the pace you prefer, and the experiences you value. Once you decide to return, the journey unfolds with precision. We help you choose the right season, the right landscape and the right guiding teams. So that what once required discovery now begins with familiarity, allowing your next journey to take shape with clarity and ease.
There are many trips one can take across a life well-lived. But very few deserve to be called definitive. The journeys that endure are those created with precision; where logistics disappear, trust is implicit, and every decision is shaped by true experience. With over twenty years’ of creating journeys across Africa, ROAR AFRICA has refined the design of five definitive journeys each uniquely adaptable for those who value time and who understand that the rarest luxury is not where one goes, but how precisely it is done.
There are moments that shape a family forever. Traveling together into the wild heart of our home continent with ROAR AFRICA is a chance to slow down and truly connect across generations - in a place that slows time and deepens bonds, bringing out the best in us. What you experience together in Africa becomes more than a memory. It becomes your legacy.
Our CEO & Founder, Deborah Calmeyer, on awe, conservation and why Africa has the power to change how we see the world.
As another year draws to a close, I find myself, as ever, looking north and south across this continent I call home and feeling both sobered and deeply hopeful. The world feels so loud and all-consuming right now, yet every time I step into Africa’s wild spaces and into the company of our guests and partners, I am reminded why we do this work: to rewild souls, to protect what is irreplaceable and to widen the circle of care.
Africa’s light is uniquely special. Soft and hazy at dawn and molten gold at dusk, it bathes the wild in shades of blue and purple that exist nowhere else on earth. A safari with ROAR AFRICA isn't just about what you see. It's about what the light of our home continent does to you. Go beyond seeing and feel it for yourself.
