John Lockley to lead 2 Spirtual Wilderness Tours in Southern Africa in 2024

John Lockley is a traditionally trained South African Shaman or Sangoma from the Xhosa tribe. Over the past years, John has strived to educate people of the modern age about African Indigenous Medicine, by leading Spiritual Wilderness Journeys, or Soul Safaris, to Botswana and South Africa. These amazing one-of-a-kind experiences focus on connecting to the plant and animal world on a deeper, more profound level, rather than simple photography. He has announced two new Safaris to be held in 2024 – Dreams and Tracking in the Kalahari, in February and March, and Leopard Warrior Trails, to be held in May of 2024.

Leopard Warrior TrailsSouthern Africa is thought by many anthropologists to be the birthplace of mankind. A small band of hunter gatherers or San Bushmen that inhabited the coastal regions of South Africa are thought to be humanity’s ancient ancestors, and left their mark with numerous rock art paintings highlighting their incredible spiritual and tracking talents. These spiritual forefathers of today’s Sangoma make up the shamanic lineages in Southern Africa. Their influence continues to be felt today when the Bushmen peoples of Southern Africa connect to their spirit through trance dancing and plant medicine, and follow the tracks of animals in the sand. They continue the studies and traditions of the ancients. With their bird-like click language and gentle ways, they merge with nature and offer valuable teachings in how we can heal the environment and prevent species extinction.

As a Sangoma, or South African Shaman, John has spoken and taught over the past decade about the importance of learning the language of nature through connecting to the spirit of the animal world. His best-selling book, Leopard Warrior’, A Journey into the African Teachings of Ancestry, Instinct and Dreams, inspired his recent African Spiritual Wilderness Tours.  These tours have pioneered the safari industry with experiential Soul Safaris with an emphasis placed on learning from the animal and plant worlds via an intricate teaching on inner and outer tracking, completely unique in the African tourism genre.

The first of the new Safaris in 2024, Dreams and Tracking in the Kalahari, to be held in February and March in Botswana, represents a manifestation of his vision of modern and ancient man sitting around a fire to revision their future. During this tour, he will also be joined by Bushman Elders, and will provide a unique mix of teaching inner and outer tracking skills by focusing on connecting to humanity through the development of a relationship with our ancestors, dreams and spirit. As an authentic Sangoma, John will teach and discuss with an emphasis on Ubuntu, an ancient African philosophy which speaks about humanity and the interconnectedness with the tree of life. Outer tracking skills will be taught by his colleague Alwyn Myburgh and Bushmen elders with a focus on animal communication, animal behaviour, interspecies dialogue and tracking.

In May of 2024, John will be hosting another Soul Safari, Leopard Warrior Trails. This tour will provide a unique opportunity to walk together through the South African Bushveld, and sleep under the stars around a communal fire. This retreat represents an immersion in nature with 3 days of walking with a backpack, following animal tracks in the sand, and a goal to expand the understanding of animals- becoming more conscious and aware of them, learning to listen to them, become more attuned to them, reducing fear, and minimizing negative experiences. John will be joined in this teaching experience by Massimo Rebuzzi, a well-known safari guide and animal conservationist.

“Ultimately, a leopard warrior is a tracker – a tracker of the soul and the body, of dreams and nature,” states John Lockley in his best-selling book. “And what is tracking but looking at the patterns, the patterns of the world and of nature.”