Top cats: five wild African escapes to book now

Top cats: five wild African escapes to book now

Desert redoubts in Namibia

With all of southern Africa off the red list, expect Namibia – huge, numinous, empty and otherworldly – to come back in a big way in 2022. The handful of superlative camps that make up the Wolwedans collection were curiously off the radar for much of the pandemic. Now owner-director Stephan Brückner is back at centre stage, with a series of rollouts and renovations: Dunes Lodge is being renovated and renamed Desert Lodge, and will include a hospitality-training academy along with 10 guest tents when it debuts next April. Dune Camp, meanwhile, has had a complete facelift and the addition of a private, two-bedroom mini-camp on the same site – perfect for families or two couples keen to have their own chefs, guides and staff. And after being exclusive-use only throughout late 2021, Boulders Safari Camp – probably the most spectacularly situated of what are already five very spectacular sites – will take individual bookings again after the new year. wolwedans.com, from £336pp sharing, minimum two- night stay

Maximum Mara

Kenya has seen a proliferation of new lodges and adventures as well, particularly across the Mara. Great Plains’ new Mara Toto Camp – just four suites, immersed in forest