Retreat in the wilderness

“Within you there is a stillness and sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself”

Hermann Hesse

A retreat is essentially time away from your everyday life, whether you need a break from work or the children or are recovering from a break-up or a personal loss. Whatever you need time off from, a retreat offers an escape to regain yourself, regain control of your life, and discover things about yourself you never knew. By removing yourself from your current situation, a retreat offers you the opportunity to change your outlook and how you deal with your struggles.

Whilst retreats are an essential remedy to modern living, the act of withdrawing on a retreat to find inner peace is not a new one. Just like us today, for centuries men and women have shown the need to draw away in search of an improved sense of self.

The best ideas, insights and solutions came when people were on their own and in places where there is no distraction, no hurry and peace.

The idea for the retreat in the wild came because of all the feedback, reviews and ideas from guests who have been here for a short time and from friends, family and volunteers who stayed with us for a longer period. But what is maybe more important, we speak from our own experience as since we decided to come and live here, it changed us in positive way.

The retreat at our Phazama Farm gives you the opportunity to become more aware of what is happening in your mind, body, and soul. What your thoughts are and what your images, feelings and sensations, perceptions, and emotions are. You will be conscious of physical tension, habits, patterns, urges, reactions, and inner dialogue.

And if it all becomes too much, we are there for you. Our farm tics all the boxes as a place for a retreat:

You can be on your own, you have your private space.
You are in the middle of pristine and wild nature.
You can go for a walk and most of the time you will see or hear no one.
You have no distraction if you don’t want to.

Imagen waking up with the sound of lions in the distance, the random encounters with elephants, the constant smell of wild sage and the pure joy of basically being outside all hours of the day. It sharpens your senses to a degree you didn’t know that it was even possible.

This is what people said after staying with us: “What a soothing, energizing place this is. If only we could have stayed longer. This is paradise. The hugely impressive environment gives our mind time to get other ideas and insights.”

is this you?

This retreat is for you if you need time and space to think clearly, to know what is coming and what to focus on next. You need to slow down, even when it seems like that is impossible. You are in for a fresh perspective and a larger purview.

You want to gain both a clearer view of reality and some perspective on the bigger picture by distancing yourself from the daily grind, routines and struggles.

We are welcoming you.

practical information

YOUR GUIDES

We, Peter Henssen, Katja Visser and Mother Nature are there for you if needed. Read more about us.

LOCATION

This retreat takes place at our Phazama Farm on a 35 minutes drive (4×4) from Maun on the edge of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

INVESTMENT

Your investment for this retreat is:

Minimum of 14 nights: investment € 995 pp (vat 0%)

You can extend your stay if the chalet is available. Extra nights are € 50 per night.

For example, 21 days costs € 1345 and 28 days € 1695 (vat 0%)

The investment includes:

A self-catering chalet with equipped kitchen, bathroom, and double bed.
Outside fireplace and braai.
We provide you with towels and bed linen.
The chalet will be cleaned once a week.
Pick-up and return to the airport in Maun.

The investment excludes:

Flights to Maun and return.
Food and drinks.
Travel insurance.
Transport to and back from Maun. If we go to town you can drive with us. If you want transport when we don’t drive out the costs are € 20 (return).

LOGISTICS

We will send you a list of things you need to bring and how to prepare yourself. It depends on when you are here and what you are planning to do because the weather can be different, and every activity involves different clothes and or equipment.

CANCELLATION POLICY

– If canceled up to one week before the start of the retreat, 50% of the total amount will be charged.
-In case of cancellation within a week and on the day that the retreat takes place, the total amount will be charged.

EXTRA MODULES

You can add several modules to your stay depending on what you want to experience and achieve.

MODULE COACHING

‘If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always got.” Anthony Robbins

It can be challenging identifying and solving the issues you struggle with. On a conscious level you may have an idea of what is going on, however in most cases the subconscious is the troublemaker. To get the best result in what you want to change or achieve is to get help to give you a good start. An outsider like an experienced coach can help you finding the real issues and were to work on.

We are professional coaches and have decades of experience with successful working with many other people.

The investment for coaching is € 1187 (0% vat) for ten sessions which will continue online after your stay.

MODULE BUSH

‘I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up that I was not happy.’ Ernest Hemingway

We can imagen that when you are here in Botswana you want to see some of the big five. As we have elephants on the farm during a period each year and you hear the lions and hyenas in a distance at night, going into the bush between the wildlife is a next level experience.

As there are so many safari options, depending on how long you want to go, what you want to do and what your budget is, this module is always custom made. We are happy to help you finding the best experience within your budget.

MODULE COMMUNITY PROJECT

Katja is involved in many projects to empower women and children through life skill and nature education. From teaching and stimulating financial awareness till becoming entrepreneurs even at a young age.

Are you interested in helping to improve our programs or doing hands-on activities with children and women you are very welcome. Please contact Katja to find a match between what makes you happy, your skills and talents and which help is needed at the time you are here.