Africa has always been in touch with the healing powers of nature, and now, finally, ‘wholistic’ tourism is joining the mainstream. Spiritual tourism is on the rise in South Africa with a number of holistic practitioners creating workshops and retreats to help both local travellers and their international counterparts to get back in touch with nature.
Safaris with a Difference
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Sacred South Halo Gaia Song Safa |
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The Halo Gaia tour company has been known for their swimming-with-dolphins getaways, but things are expanding even further. Not only can one swim with dolphins, but there are now yoga safaris, song safaris, musical safaris and surfing safaris.
As one of the partners at Halo Gaia, Kate Ballenden, comments “We have created a number of new packages and we think the market is ready for it.” The yoga safaris are pretty straightforward – doing yoga in a wild natural space with a qualified teacher is part of the package. The Song Safari concept is working well with the Scandinavian market, where overseas choiristers come to South Africa and spend time with Zulu and Xhosa choral groups in an exchange of song and more song.
The musical safaris work along similar lines – where musicians from other countries come to spend time jamming with our local musicians. The surfing safaris are going to be extremely popular and offer a combination of yoga and surfing.
Magic and Spirit
However different the packages are, Kate points out that South Africa’s real draw-card is quite simply the magic you can’t get anywhere else in the world. “These packages are all about the spirit of Africa and our relationship with the environment. It’s about creating experiences so that people can discover more about themselves,” she says.
Animal Therapies
A Cape Town psychotherapist who believes in getting out in the wild for some in-depth spiritual healing is Mandy Young. She runs a number of eco-therapy workshops including Mingling with Meerkats, Wisdom of Elephants, Wild Women, Wild Dogs and Wild Men and Dancing with Dolphins.
Mandy went on her own journey of self-discovery some 12 years ago and says that for her, the bush has always been a place of healing. “When we go into the wilderness, we make space not only to relax and get into a more right-brained space, but we also allow ourselves to get in touch with our ancient wisdom.”
Mandy says we have much to learn from animal behaviour and that merely observing different animals can bring insight. She says, “Observing wild animals helps us to re-connect with our intuitive, creative, passionate selves, with the ancient wisdom of our predecessors; and reminds us how to relate in ways that are more humane.”
Whether or not you believe in animal healing, the workshops promise to be great fun and something to talk about when you get back home.
Labyrinths and Healing
Celtis Lodge Country Retreat in the Magaliesberg is also committed to offering a natural environment where people can de-stress and chill out. Celtis is run by retired nurse Margot Burnett and her son Mike. “Visitors are pretty stressed out when they arrive, but they soon get into the rhythm of the farm and start unwinding” says Margot. Here one can go horse riding over the koppies, take in a massage and reiki session in the healing room, experience an “angel reading” by Margot and generally just relax completely.
Celtis Lodge is pretty different from most other places in the region as it has an on-site labyrinth and a horse labyrinth. Margot says that this has nothing to do with anyone’s religion and everything to do with finding resolution in life. “The labyrinth is a spiritual tool where you can come to terms with problems and their solutions,” she says.
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Sacred South Buddhist Retreat |
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Spiritual Retreats
Other popular retreats in the country include the Buddhist Retreat Centre situated in Ixopo, a beautiful, rural setting in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Visitors can book guided retreats from a wide variety of themes or choose a self retreat. Chi’Kung and meditation instruction are included in the daily schedule of every retreat.
Rustler’s Valley Mountain Retreat in the Free State hosts a number of events throughout the year, including the ever-popular Easter weekend festivities. All activities aim to awaken consciousness and there is a significant focus on permaculture courses.
The Nan Hua Buddhist Temple in Bronkhorstspruit, 50km east of Pretoria in Gauteng, hosts yoga retreats, lioness retreats, detox and meditation retreats.
Eco-psychology
Jeffrey Rink, a Cape Town psychologist has been facilitating wilderness therapy retreats since 1998. “Eco-psychology is a whole new field”, says Rink. “It’s a developing branch of psychology that integrates psychology and ecology processes so that they enhance each other.”
Rink takes his groups either to Venda (Limpopo Province) or the Greater Kruger National Park on 7-day “shrink-safaris”. He says the workshops are about meaningful transformational experiences – technology is limited and participants have a rustic experience away from their usual comforts. Says Rink, “In the bush people tend to get in touch with the wilderness and become aware of the insignificance of their place in the world.” He also ropes in the local communities to expand the experience of his eco-psychology workshops – and he says traditional rituals (drumming, traditional dancing, storytelling) play a big part in the experience.
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