New Year's Eve - For a Real Change!

What’s the most unique New Year’s Eve you can remember? Can you recall a New Year’s Eve that will you never forget?

For most of us there may be one or two special New Year's evenings that really stand out, but in reality, many are much like one another, featuring loud parties, silly hats, and annoying noisemakers. Eventually the ball drops, everybody kisses everybody else, the fireworks go off – and the party’s over!? Happy New Year!

This year, we know one group of people who are going to have a very different New Year’s Eve experience. One that is so different that they will remember it. Always.

New Year on Safari

They are 17 members of a three-generational family who will fly into a remote safari camp in Zimbabwe with us this morning. On their first evening safari in the wilderness, they will enjoy the tradition of ‘sundowners’ – drink in hand, the safari salute to the setting sun in the warm summer evening.

After a sumptuous dinner, they’ll gather out at the campfire, under a billion stars in the pitch-black southern hemisphere sky. They’ll find that the chairs are set in a semi-circle around just one half of the blazing fire. That's when we will introduce them to a different New Year’s Eve – no silly hats and definitely no fireworks in the bush!

We call it “Crossing Over”.

Each guest will receive a piece of paper and a marker and we’ll invite them to reflect deeply on one ‘Chinja’ that they will embrace in 2025. Chinja is the Shona language word meaning ‘change’. When they’re ready, they will each stand up and share their Chinja with the family, an act of trust, vulnerability and commitment. ?Then with a sprinkle of magic African 'Chinja dust', they’ll crumple their paper and toss it into the fire. The explosion of sparks as their Chinja ignites will carry their intentions into the night sky, lighting the way for a bold and transformative year ahead.

While each one is sharing their Chinja with their family, we will move their chair across to the other side of the campfire, and they will have ‘crossed over’ into 2025.

New Year's Eve in the heart of the African wilderness! There's nothing quite like it.

Different? Sure. Symbolic? Absolutely.? Unforgettable? Certainly!?

Those are hallmarks of everything that all our guests experience on their Tasimba safari. It’s what we do – and how we do it.?

Cross over with us in 2025 to your own Tasimba safari! You'll never forget it.

Happy New Year!