#FeelTheBush – Why it still defines the Rhulani experience

When we opened Rhulani Safari Lodge in 2013, we were looking for a simple way to express what we believed a safari should truly be about. We chose the hashtag #FeelTheBush. At the time it felt right, but even we could not fully know how accurate those three words would turn out to be.

More than a decade later, we see confirmation of this idea almost every single day.

For many people, a safari is imagined as a search for animals. The famous Big Five. The excitement of spotting a lion, a leopard, or a herd of elephants crossing the savannah. And yes, those moments are spectacular. Seeing these animals in their natural environment is something very special.

But the real magic of the African bush goes far beyond that.

From the beginning, we felt strongly that a true safari experience should never be about rushing from one sighting to the next, ticking animals off a checklist. The bush does not work like that. Its beauty reveals itself slowly, quietly, and often in ways you never expected.

What happens here is something deeper.

When you arrive in the bush, something inside you begins to change. You say goodbye to the rhythm of everyday life — the constant movement, the pressure, the noise. And slowly, almost without noticing it, your mind begins to settle. Your senses open. Your attention shifts to the world around you.

You begin to feel the bush.

It is the sound of the wind moving through the grass.
The early morning light touching the landscape.
The call of birds greeting the sunrise.
The stillness of a warm African afternoon.

And suddenly, time feels different.

We see this transformation in our guests again and again. Many of them have already seen lions many times in their lives. Yet they return to Rhulani year after year. Not because they need to see another lion, but because they miss that feeling the bush gives them — that sense of calm, happiness, and completeness where nothing seems to be missing.

That feeling is what calls them back.

Even in our own family we see how powerful the bush can be. Our son normally needs constant action and entertainment like most children today. At home there are always things competing for his attention — screens, games, the endless distractions of modern life.

But when he is here in the bush, something changes. Suddenly he does not want to miss a single game drive. His iPad becomes almost irrelevant. The bush itself becomes the adventure.

Moments like that remind us how powerful nature truly is.

I also remember a guest who only realized after about 24 hours that she had not looked at her iPhone once since arriving. Imagine that. For an entire day she had simply forgotten it existed. Only later did she discover that there had been a message about an alarm at her home in Johannesburg. It turned out to be a false alarm, fortunately — although her neighbours were not too happy that it rang for almost 24 hours without anyone responding.

But in a way, that story perfectly illustrates what happens here.

The bush gently disconnects you from the outside world.

And then there are those evenings — perhaps the most magical moments of all. After dinner, you sit down near a crackling fire under the vast African sky. Above you, thousands of stars. Around you, the quiet sounds of the wilderness. In that moment you simply sit there, overwhelmed by the beauty of this extraordinary place.

And sometimes a thought crosses your mind:

Why does my life normally move in such a completely different direction?

Why do we rush so much, when a place like this reminds us how little we actually need to feel happy?

That is the moment when you truly understand what #FeelTheBush means.

It was never just a hashtag. It was always a philosophy — a simple way of describing the deep connection people experience when they allow themselves to slow down and become part of the natural world again.
Every day we see proof that we were right to choose those words.

Because in the end, a safari is not only about what you see. 

It is about what you feel.

And here at Rhulani Safari Lodge, it is all about #FeelTheBush.

Rolf Steiner
Owner, Rhulani Safari Lodge