The trip opens in Victoria Falls. You fly in from Johannesburg on March 24th and check into Batonka Lodge for two nights. Breakfast is included there, but lunch, dinner and activities in town are on you. The lodge can book tours when you arrive. March is high-water season, so this is when the falls are at their loudest and most dramatic.

On March 26th the group takes a bush flight into Hwange National Park. Hwange is roughly the size of Connecticut and has close to 30,000 elephants. It also has lion, leopard, painted wolves (wild dogs), cheetah, hyena, giraffe, sable and roan antelope, Cape buffalo and a lot of birdlife. Somalisa sits on a private concession in the part of the park with the highest concentration of animals, and only Somalisa guests can use it. This is also the area where Cecil the lion lived. The guides still tell his story, and his descendants still roam the concession.

A typical camp day starts before sunrise with a short practice on the deck while the bush wakes up around you. After breakfast you head out on a game drive, a walking safari or both. You're back for lunch and a long midday break. About an hour before the afternoon drive there's a second yoga practice or workshop. Then you go back out until sunset, stop for a sundowner with drinks and snacks, and return to camp after dark for dinner and the campfire. Most people are in bed around 9pm.

What sets this apart from a standard yoga retreat is that the yoga fits around the wildlife rather than the other way round. You're practising in a working safari camp with professional guides, park fees covered and two game activities a day. It's also unusual for a safari because the group has exclusive use of the camp. Nobody else is sharing the vehicles, the pool or the fire.

Jolie Manza leads the yoga. She has a BFA in Dance and Movement Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder and founded the movement school YogaKoh. Tom Mazzarisi plans and leads the safari side. He spent 12 years as a Yellowstone park ranger, managed a bush camp in Zambia's South Luangwa for a year, and started First Light Safaris in 2015.

Late March sits at the tail end of the rainy season. The landscape is green, there are lots of baby elephants, the grass is still short enough for easy spotting, wildflowers are out, and there are few other visitors. Daytime highs average in the mid-80s°F and nights drop to the low 60s°F. A thunderstorm can still roll through on any given afternoon.

What's included

- 2 nights at Batonka Lodge, Victoria Falls (shared rooms) - 6 nights at Somalisa Camp, Hwange National Park (single or shared tent) - All meals and drinks at Somalisa (except bottled wine and some premium spirits) - Breakfast at Batonka Lodge - Daily game drives and walking safaris at Somalisa - Daily yoga practices and workshops at Somalisa - Professional yoga instruction - Hwange park and conservation fees - Bush flight to and from Somalisa - Airport, lodge and camp transfers - Daily laundry

What's not included

- International flights to Johannesburg and from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls - Tips (about $30 per person per day recommended, in USD) - Travel and trip cancellation insurance - Activities and park fees in Victoria Falls - Lunch and dinner in Victoria Falls - Drinks in Victoria Falls - Bottled wine and some premium spirits at Somalisa - Zimbabwe visa ($30) - Items of a personal nature