01
The Wild
Safari, walking expeditions, mobile camps and private reserves across Africa and beyond.
Explore the WildSouthern Drift Travel
Where the track ends,
the journey begins.
Bespoke expeditions for those who travel with intention. Safari, sea and the open road - curated from the ground up.
The Southern Drift approach
We do not curate holidays.
We do not curate holidays.
We plot expeditions.
Whether your tent is pitched in canvas beside a Botswana floodplain or suspended above a Mekong tributary, the measure of a journey is not its comfort - but its depth.
Southern Drift is a bespoke travel consultancy based in Cape Town. We design journeys across Africa, Asia and the Americas for people who know the difference between a great lodge and a great trip.
14+
Countries
3
Terrains
∞
Possibilities
Where do you want to go?
Three worlds.
View our journeys
Three worlds.
One consultancy.
02
The Water
Sailing, diving, fly fishing and coastal expeditions. The sardine run off the Wild Coast. Island life in Madagascar. Antarctica.
Explore the Water03
The Road
Motorbike routes, overland traverses and trekking expeditions. Vietnam, Patagonia, Japan, Bhutan - the journeys that don't sit still. Pictured: Onduli, Namibia.
Explore the Road
Curated itineraries
Let the destination
Let the destination
find you.
The Wild · Zimbabwe
Up Close & Luxury in Zimbabwe
Somalisa Camp, Hwange National Park. Walking safari and game drives in one of Zimbabwe's finest private concessions. Image courtesy of Somalisa Camp.
The Water · Madagascar
Off the Grid in Madagascar
Unique landscapes, rare wildlife and island life entirely off the beaten track.
The Road · Chile
A Chilean Traverse: Atacama to Patagonia
Salt flats, glaciers and the end of the continent.
The Wild · Zambia
The Ultimate Zambian Walking Safari
South Luangwa. On foot, at dawn, with guides who grew up reading the bush.
The Water · Antarctica
An Oceanographer's Expedition Around Antarctica
The most remote journey on the Southern Drift list.
Paula Johnson - Founder
Bush pilot.
Read more about Paula
Bush pilot.
Twenty years in the air.
Adventure architect.
Before Southern Drift, Paula spent twenty years in aviation - first as a bush pilot threading Cessnas into remote safari airstrips across Southern Africa, then as an international pilot flying Dreamliners across Japan, South East Asia and Oceania.
She has seen the world from forty thousand feet and from the waterline. She has dived the islands of Malaysia, kitesurfed the Dominican Republic, canoed the Zambezi, and sailed some of the most remote stretches of ocean on earth. Fifty-eight countries. All seven continents. Every journey filed from memory, not a brochure.
"World-class lodges. Wild-class adventures. We handle the logistics so you can live the experience."
- Paula Johnson, Southern Drift TravelTell us where
you want to go.
Every Southern Drift journey begins with a conversation. There are no standard packages - only your trip, built from the ground up.