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Life is Sheedy

A life lived wild.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved telling stories.

Danielle standing on a granite kopje at sunset, silhouetted against the sun
Nature never did betray the heart that loved her.

There’s something about putting an experience into words—capturing a moment, a feeling, a place, or a story—that has always drawn me in. And there is certainly no shortage of stories when your home is on the edge of the Kruger National Park.

I live at our family-run Elephant Walk Tented Camp & Retreat, at the southernmost gate of the Kruger National Park. This is home. It’s where I wake up to the sounds of the bush, where wildlife is quite literally on my doorstep, and where everyday life comes with a little more wildness than most.

Through Life is Sheedy, I document this life.

I share the extraordinary moments, the unexpected encounters, the adventures, the travels, and sometimes simply the wonderfully ordinary moments that come with living alongside one of Africa’s great wilderness areas.

From elephants wandering past home and lions calling in the distance, to travelling across Africa and discovering new places, I love sharing the Africa I know and love with my followers, readers and clients.

But for me, it has always been about more than simply seeing wildlife.

A pack of wild dogs trotting up a dirt road through green bush
Surprises in the road. Endangered painted wolves.
A leopard sitting upright in dry golden grass
If looks could kill.

A life connected to conservation

Living so closely alongside the wilderness has given me an enormous appreciation for how important it is to protect it.

Conservation is deeply personal to me. I believe that tourism, when done responsibly and ethically, can be a powerful force for good—creating value for local communities, supporting conservation initiatives and helping ensure that the wild places and wildlife we treasure remain here for generations to come.

That philosophy is at the heart of both Life is Sheedy and Safari Creators.

I want to share the real Africa: its beauty, its wildness, its people, its stories and the incredible work being done to protect it.

Come along for the journey

Life is Sheedy is my little window into this extraordinary life.

It’s where I share what it’s really like to live on the edge of the Kruger, the places I travel to, the wildlife encounters that stop me in my tracks, and the experiences that continue to shape my love for Africa.

And through Safari Creators, I get to take that knowledge one step further—helping my clients experience Africa in a way that is personal, meaningful and thoughtfully considered.

So, whether you’re here because you love Africa, dream of visiting, enjoy my stories, or are planning your own safari, welcome.

This is my life. This is my Africa.

Welcome to Life is Sheedy.
Dani x

Danielle on horseback on open grassland, looking out across the plain
Horseback safari. Great Plains Conservation, Kenya.

Elephant Walk Tented Camp & Retreat

Our family legacy, rooted in the place I’m fortunate to call home. Our tented camp sits at the southernmost gate of the Kruger National Park, on the banks of the Crocodile River.

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  • Elephant Walk from the air: safari tents among trees, the Crocodile River and the Kruger beyond
    The camp from above, the Kruger beyond the river.
  • The camp deck at dusk, canvas chairs around a fire bowl under big trees
    The deck, fire lit.
  • An elephant grazing below the Crocodile Bridge as a safari vehicle crosses
    A neighbour, at the bridge into Kruger.
  • A herd of elephants crossing the Crocodile River at dusk, the camp on the bank behind
    The herd crossing below the camp, at dusk.
  • A thatched treehouse on stilts at sunset, lanterns lit on the lawn
    The treehouse, lanterns lit.
  • Elephants feeding in tall reeds below the lodge
    Elephants in the reeds below the lodge.
  • The low-water bridge across the Crocodile River under a pink and purple dusk
    The bridge into Kruger, at dusk.
  • Danielle in a straw hat filming the river and bridge from the deck on her phone
    Filming from the deck.
  • A camera with a long lens and binoculars on the deck rail, the sun setting over the river
    Camera and binoculars, sunset from the deck.
  • A breeding herd of elephants wading across the shallow Crocodile River
    The herd, crossing the Crocodile.
  • Two young elephants on the riverbank, ears out
    Two youngsters, on the bank.
  • An elephant bull drinking at the river's edge at last light
    A bull, drinking at last light.
  • An elephant in the river beneath the pillars of the old railway bridge
    Under the old railway bridge.
  • A male lion standing over a kill at the water's edge
    A male on a kill, opposite the camp.
  • Four lions lying on the red earth of the far bank
    The pride, on the far bank.
  • Three lions resting in the grass above the river
    Three of the pride, watching the river.
  • Two lionesses on a green island in the river
    Two lionesses on the island.
  • A lioness walking the riverbed below the bridge, the camp behind
    A lioness below the bridge, the camp behind.
  • A lioness leading three cubs through the shallows
    A lioness and her cubs, crossing.
  • A lion cub sitting up in tall reeds, looking at the camera
    A cub in the reeds.
  • A lioness standing over a zebra on a sandbank in the river
    A lioness on a zebra, seen from the deck.
  • A trumpeter hornbill perched in a fig tree
    A trumpeter hornbill in the fig tree.
  • A waterbuck standing on the riverbed with an egret at its feet
    Waterbuck, and an egret.
  • A breeding herd of elephants grazing on the green floodplain at sunrise
    The herd at sunrise, from the deck.
  • Elephants and calves crossing the green floodplain at dusk, a bird overhead
    Calves in the herd, at dusk.
  • A long line of elephants walking the far bank in summer green
    The whole herd, in single file.
  • A bull elephant walking the fence line below the camp, seen from under the thatch
    A bull on the fence line, from under the thatch.
  • The thatched lodge on stilts at dusk, lamps lit inside
    The lodge, lamps lit.
  • Two lions at a buffalo carcass on the riverbank in early light
    Lions on a buffalo, first light.
  • Eight lions of a pride around a buffalo carcass beside the river
    The whole pride, on the buffalo.
  • A lioness walking away along the low-water bridge
    A lioness, walking the bridge.
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“It feels like God visits everywhere, but lives in Africa.”

Will Smith