Tales from the golden age of safari

Let us take you back in time. It is 1948. Safari is in style. An air route from southern England to South Africa has been established, carrying adventure enthusiasts and luxury seekers alike to destinations across the Mediterranean and Africa.

It was a time when the Solent seaplane ruled the skies, flying low over Sicily, Alexandria, Khartoum on the Nile, Lake Victoria and Victoria Falls, delighting passengers with a bird’s eye view of the Italian peninsula, the pyramids of Egypt, and the deserts and mountainous mist of East Africa. The journey included a stop-over at each destination, earning the route an esteemed reputation as a safari experience from the heavens.

Victoria Falls quickly earned a reputation as the most desirable stopover on route. The sprawling terrace of the grand Victoria Falls Hotel was the perfect theatre for travellers to swap tales of their adventures on Jungle Junction, the name affectionately given to the river runway on the mighty Zambezi River where the Solent seaplanes landed and rested for the night.

Some of our pieces take inspiration from the people, places and planes that defined this golden age of safari sophistication. The Monkey and Palm Swizzle Stick moves a gin and tonic in glass like the swirling currents of the Zambezi. The enchanting tablescapes of our Equatorial Palm Tree Candelabra is reminiscent of a time when safari elegance reigned supreme.

Our homestead collection is a journey through time, when the Solent seaplane would roar low over dramatic landscapes. When Jungle Junction was a river highway and life was a safari.