The luxury of being “offline”- and our top destinations where to do it

Technology and connectivity is a big part of our modern-day lives.  Between social media platforms, pop up notifications on your cell phone from emails and chat sites, streaming, analytics, cloud databases ext. there is very little downtime in the average day.  Whilst technology has created great advances in communication, unlimited connectivity has become the modern-day drug turning many users into zombie-like beings.

The temptation to quickly run through your Facebook newsfeed, Instagram your latest meal or read the email that has just arrived in your inbox is too big for most people to resist (present company included).  And yet, detoxing from the online world is becoming more and more important to preserve our sanity and foster healthy relationships with the real world and our loved ones.

So, to help those of you who lack the self-discipline to leave your phone and laptop behind, here are our top recommendations of lodges and locations to include into your next Southern Africa travel itinerary.  Here you will find the mobile phone network to be intermittent to none… which may initially sound like a hassle but which is truly one of the biggest luxuries to be savoured.

Our top picks of amazing destinations to go “offline” …

In Namibia, your best options are Etosha National Park and the Skeleton Coast Park.  Mobile phone network is restricted to the rest camps in Etosha whereas the Skeleton Coast hardly has any network coverage.

In South Africa, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered.  The park is larger than many countries and combines South Africa and Botswana in one of the first Transfrontier parks established.  The only mobile network is found at the main rest camp – Twee Rivieren.

In Botswana, the wilderness areas in Chobe and Moremi have no cell phone coverage, unless you are staying at one of the upmarket luxury lodges where there will be limited wifi connections.  Camping in Chobe and Moremi is for the true adventurer with only very basic facilities and unfenced camp sites that often have wildlife passing through.

And finally, in Mozambique there are many remote lodges along the coast that have limited to intermittent cell phone network.  At many establishments, the phone network is limited to the main areas and getting network reception can sometime entail standing at a very specific spot in just the right position for signal.  Cross the nearest dune and the only connection you have is the sun shine on your skin and the sand under your feet.  With the warm waters of the Indian Ocean beckoning, Mozambique is one of the easiest places to forget about being online.  Some of our favourite properties to go off the radar are Travessia Lodge, Anvil Bay and Azura Quilalea (because even though it’s good to disconnect, being spoilt is never a bad thing!)

(written by Barbara Kuhn)