Bench Africa

06/11/2026

Pack your bags, Australia - Cape Town is officially a direct flight away! ✈️🇿🇦

From October 2027, Qantas is launching non-stop flights from Sydney to the Mother City. For anyone heading to Cape Town, that means waving goodbye to the Johannesburg connection and starting your holiday over five hours sooner.

Board in Sydney at 9:15 AM and you could be sipping w**e in Stellenbosch by 5 PM. Don't mind if we do!🍷

Flights run seasonally from October to March, and tickets are on sale now.

16/10/2026

Sydney, we’ve brought a little bit of Africa to Darling Harbour! 🐘🌍

We’re at the Flight Centre Travel Expo this weekend, and we’d love to see you!

Kenya or Tanzania? Botswana or Zambia? A mobile tented camp or a luxury lodge overlooking a busy waterhole? We know the options are endless but our safari specialists are here to help you find the safari that’s right for you.

Plus, we have some exclusive Expo deals you won’t want to miss.

📍 ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour, Hall 6, Stand 59
📅 Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 October

You’ll find us at stand 59… somewhere between the elephants and the giraffes. 🦒

06/10/2026

The wildlife might be what gets you to Africa for the very first time, but more often than not, it’s the people who make you want to go back. It’s certainly been true for us, and it’s why we always recommend making time for a community visit while you’re on safari.

Tanzania alone has more than 120 ethnic groups, and Kenya more than 40. You could travel these countries for years and still only scratch the surface. Spending time with a local community, having a chat, asking questions, sharing a laugh and learning a little about everyday life gives you a completely different perspective on the country you’re travelling through. For us, those connections are every bit as beautiful as the safari experience.

Graham visited Maasai communities in both Kenya and Tanzania on his recent trip and, as always, took plenty of photos. We’ve loved seeing East Africa through his lens over the past few weeks, from some cracking wildlife sightings to the people he met along the way.

Thanks for sharing so much of your journey with us, Graham. We’ve loved every moment. 📸❤️

30/09/2026

Before you pack the binoculars, add one more item to your Tanzania checklist.

Starting today, you will need a mandatory inbound travel insurance policy to enter Tanzania, whether you're landing on the mainland or in Zanzibar. It is separate from your usual travel insurance, so even if you already have cover, you will still need to purchase the Tanzania policy before you arrive.

Our latest blog explains which policy you need, what it costs and what to do if your journey includes both the mainland and Zanzibar. It takes two minutes to read and could save you a stressful moment at the airport.

R E A D I T B E F O R E Y O U F L Y 🔽

Flying into mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar? You will now need a separate mandatory inbound insurance policy before arrival. Click to read more...

27/09/2026

"Very first game drive in Liuwa Plain, the sun was setting, we were the only guests in the entire national park and there wasn't another vehicle for miles.

And then... this beast appeared out of the bushes!! 🦁

He spotted our vehicle and began a slow, determined stalk, creeping ever closer before deciding we were sufficiently within range to receive a rather pointed hiss. In his mind, I suspect, the message was clear.

We did our best to look suitably intimidated. Mum didn't bat an eye! 🤣

Quite the welcome to Liuwa Plain, and a very good start to four days of having one of Zambia’s wildest national parks entirely to ourselves."

— Lara, Bench Tribe member behind the Bench socials & survivor of the above encounter

26/09/2026

THE WOMEN’S SAFARI YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR 🧡

Ladies, it might be time to start a new group chat!

Explore Kenya was the first of our women-only safari series, and it was a big hit! And now Soul Sisters will be heading to Tanzania in May 2027.

A female Tanzanian guide accompanies the group for the full safari, from Mount Meru through to the Serengeti. Along the way, you’ll learn about coffee growing and Swahili cooking from the local women, spend a few nights at the entirely female-led Mandhari Lodge, and head into big safari country.

Three nights in the Central Serengeti make for a grand finale, with time for long game drives and slow evenings back at camp.

This is a beautifully considered way to see northern Tanzania, with women who know the country, its food, its landscapes and its stories first-hand.

Nine days, a chance to travel with women who share your appetite for adventure. Bring the friends who understand why a 5am wake up call is worth it.

26/09/2026

We might be ever so slightly biased about this next stop on Graham’s travels… ❤️

Satao Camp in Tsavo East is Bench-owned, and so naturally, it’s very very close to our hearts.

And what a backyard it has. Tsavo East is the largest national park in Kenya, covering almost 14,000 square kilometres... so quite literally the size of a small country. It feels like it too. It’s vast, with miles of wilderness, impossibly wild landscapes and that unmistakable red earth, that gives Tsavo’s elephants their distinctive rusty colour.

The best thing about our camp? You honestly don’t need to go anywhere at all. Satao overlooks a busy waterhole, so you can be halfway through breakfast, lunch or a G&T when a herd of elephants wanders in. And then there are Satao’s other residents. Hundreds of impala roam the camp and sleep here at night, while by day there are busy mongooses scurrying around, flashes of blue as vulturine guinea fowl loiter around at brekkie, and hornbills and starlings never too far away.

That’s all just part of life at Satao, where you’re rarely more than a few metres away from wildlife.

It’s wild, a little dusty and that's exactly why we love it. And judging by Graham’s photos, Satao was putting on a rather good show while he was there. As it always does!

Thanks for the beautiful snaps of our little corner of Kenya, Graham. 📸❤️

24/09/2026

From the Mara to Amboseli… and Graham certainly kept his camera busy here. 📸

We’ve always had a real soft spot for Amboseli. This part of Kenya has been woven into our history for decades, and Elerai has a personal connection for us. But honestly, it's simply quite magical being on safari here.

Huge herds of elephants wandering across the open plains, wetlands full of birdlife and then, when the clouds are kind, that view of Lady Kili. Snow-capped and towering over it all.

It’s wild, beautiful and unmistakably Amboseli, a little corner of Kenya that will always mean a lot to us, and quite possibly the cherry on the icing of an East African safari. 🍒

Thanks Graham for sharing your adventures with us. (It was tough to create a shortlist for this collection, I'll tell ya!)

24/09/2026

A few more piccies from Graham’s East Africa trip in early June, this time from his game drives in the Masai Mara. 📸

Early June falls into shoulder season in the Mara, and as you can see, Graham still had some incredible sightings, just with far fewer vehicles around.

There’s often an assumption that you need to travel during peak season to see the Mara at its best, but Graham’s photos are a good reminder that this simply isn’t the case. Prices are lower, the wildlife is just as rewarding and, speaking from experience, a safari is even better when you get a sighting almost entirely to yourself.

A huge thanks to Graham, as always, for capturing your memories so beautifully and sharing them with us all. We love seeing Africa through your eyes. ❤️

14/09/2026

This is Samburu, and if it’s not already on your safari radar, we think it should be.

Up here in the north of Kenya, the landscape is dry, rugged and strikingly beautiful. The Ewaso Nyiro River brings a swathe of green to the red earth, with distinctive doum palms along its banks and rocky mountains beyond. Among them is Mount Ololokwe, sacred to the Samburu people and a place with a long tradition of prayer and ceremony.

It’s also home to a rather special northern cast:

✔️Grevy’s zebra
✔️Reticulated giraffe
✔️Gerenuk
✔️Beisa oryx
✔️Somali ostrich

Together they’re known as the Samburu Special Five, and seeing them is just one of the highlights of a safari in Northern Kenya.

Which brings us to these photos...

We have Graham Werner, one of our very own tribe members, to thank for them. He travelled to East Africa with Bench earlier this year, and these are just some of the incredible shots from his time in Samburu.

And there’s plenty more where these came from. Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing more of Graham’s photography from his time in East Africa, so keep your eyes peeled! 📸