David Livingstone explored the heart of Africa and David Attenborough brought its majestic wildlife to our tv screens. Together, they have stirred the discerning traveller to find their own inner pioneer. For generations, Ker & Downey Africa has made such encounters possible by enriching their guests’ lives with traditional animal safaris and incredible adventures like floating over Botswana’s UNESCO Okavango Delta in hot air balloons, flying to the exotic island of Mauritius or even exploring the wilds of Antarctica. Chief Executive Officer, Lee Kelsall, believes that ‘pushing the boundaries of African travel’ in this way means every exploration ‘ticks somebody’s bucket list’.

Adventure, Challenge and Legacy

Once, a luxury trip to Africa meant month-long safaris in the bush but, as Kelsall emphasises, Africa is so much more than just safaris. Their three pillars – adventure, challenge, legacy – ensure that Ker & Downey Africa’s LuxVenture trips do just that. For many, a traditional animal safari is adventurous enough, but Ker & Downey Africa take it further, organising foot safaris into the bush to get as close as safely possible to Africa’s ‘big five’ – lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffalos. The company’s travel designers work with clients’ passions to create unique trips that offer everything the elegant traveller desires – from a photographic safari through Namibia, to culinary workshops in Morocco, or simply relaxing at wellness retreats in Mauritius.

From law to luxury travel

Since Ker & Downey Africa was founded in the mid-1990s, its mission has been to create life-changing luxury experiences that reveal the true delights of the continent. No-one typifies this more than Kelsall, a Cambridge graduate who took a sabbatical from a successful law career to live with the Maasai Mara tribe in Kenya in 2010. This ignited his love for African travel, and he decided to build a career out of it, becoming CEO of Ker & Downey Africa in 2013. The transition, he reveals, was easy, since law and luxury travel are both based on ‘trust and integrity’.

The Great Migration

A sight to behold is the Great African Migration beginning in northern Tanzania, when 1.5 million wildebeest journey 1,800-miles across the vast Serengeti plains to the champagne hills of Kenya’s Masai Mara. One of the earth’s greatest shows also attracts zebras, gazelles and hunters like lions and hyenas. Ker & Downey Africa can take you right to the heart of the action with their Northern Tanzania circuit  LuxVenture trip. Alternatively, their Luxury Seychelles & Kenya Safari is a chance go beyond the Serengeti to Kenya. Staying at Sir Richard Branson’s  Mahali Mzuri Maasai safari camp, travellers have front-row seats to the great gnu procession passing by their tents. Then they jet off to the private island of Félicité in the Seychelles for tropical pampering at Six Senses Zil Pasyon.

Beyond the safari 

Ker & Downey Africa trips span a range of experiences and geographic locations. For example, the culinary LuxVenture trip offers travellers the chance to immerse themselves in the spicy air of Morocco with cooking classes, exploring Marrakesh, sailing the coast of Essaouira and visiting Casablanca.  Or go beyond the continent and follow in the footsteps of Prince Harry, Buzz Aldrin and Bear Grylls on the South Africa to Antarctica Expedition. Stay in state-of-the-art igloo pods, discover ice caves and cross frozen lakes. Return to Cape Town and stay the finest hotels, explore Bo Kaap and climb Table Mountain, before going on safari at the Kruger National Park. Here adventurers can track lions, elephants, hippopotamus, leopards, rhinos, cheetahs and buffalo.