The 19th hole at the Legend Golf and Safari Resort at Entabeni in the Limpopo province in South Africa might be considered one of the most, if not the most difficult hole in the world.

One must tee off from the top of a mountain over a lush forest and onto the green which is located 400 meters below.

The Extreme 19th costs 3,500 rand (about $385) to play–but it comes with the promise, however remote, of a $1-million prize for a hole-in-one.

Safari Air, the green luxury private jet charter service, announced today that it is set to take flight on October 15th with the world’s first 21-day “Around the World Grand East Africa Safari.”

The thrilling 25,450-mile adventure includes the Great Pyramids of Giza, Hong Kong Harbor, Taj Mahal and safaris in Tanzania and Kenya.

Designed exclusively for eight passengers aboard a luxurious Gulfstream IV private jet, this once-in-a-lifetime adventure will depart from Orange County, California’s John Wayne Airport.

I love elephants. So it made sense on my first safari to Africa to explore the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania, which has more elephants than anywhere else in the Africa.

I also like my luxury. I do not always get to indulge but deciding on exploring the Selous there was, and still is, only one lodge for me, Beho Beho Luxury Safari Lodge. Beho Beho is a small camp in the huge Selous Game Reserve. It is the oldest camp in the reserve and enjoys a stunning setting overlooking a beautiful valley dotted with riverine woodland, home to some of Tanzania’s most precious wildlife.

With just 8 bunda’s (luxury two-person villas), outstanding food, and I suspect the best staff and guides found anywhere, there is very very little not to like about Beho Beho. But at more than $1,000 per person per night, I can honestly say it’s worth every single penny.

And those elephants! Our guide, Sean, led us as close to several of the beasts as was comfortably safe. The elephants oftens stuck their trunks into our 4×4 to get a further look/sniff at us, and we them. They are brilliant animals and seeing them on TV doesn’t do them justice. Most nights they would meander through our camp, snacking on the trees while we had our dinner by candlight, while the birds and beasts of the Selous serenaded us - bliss.

The safari was arranged by aardvarksafaris.com. The staff are very good and there were lots of phone calls from them to me, plus emails, to ensure they were organizing exactly what I wanted, before a penny exchanged hands.

1. Selous Game Reserve encompasses 48,000 square kilometres, or 5% of Tanzania’s surface area, making it larger than Switzerland. Only about 16% of the game reserve is accessible to visitors due to its landscape.

2. Seeing a herd of zebra, a group of bull elephants and dozens of impala and hyenas – all in the space of an hour’s bush drive.

3. Waking up in the blue-light of an African morning, while being serenaded by birdsong as fresh, hot coffee is left outside your lodge door.

4. The thrilling electricity of fear as you step out of a safari truck and walk on foot through the bush for the first time, headed towards the Rufiji River for sundowner drinks.

5. Once darkness falls taking a flashlight and sitting on your open veranda and pointing it in to the inky black night – and seeing what’s staring back.

6. Having to wait until two bull elephants stop grazing just in front of your bunda (lodge) so you can get inside.

7. Taking a hot shower al fresco in a room that’s larger than your 3rd bedroom back home.

8. Watching the open-mouthed expressions of the group in the bush truck next to you as they are surrounded by a group of bull elephants, jostling for road space and making lots of noise.

9. Experiencing ‘khaki fever’ for the first time (falling for your safari guide).

10. Watching a newborn giraffe suckle its mother while its umbilical cord is still attached.

Author Bio : Julie Clark, Texas USA – Guest blogger