Elite Traveler Spring 2024

Clockwise Women's Empowerment Retreat 2023; Matetsi River Lodge; a lioness and her cub

a female guide from South Africa to Zimbabwe for the trip. “Two of the wait sta ff came up to me at the end of the trip and said, ‘We didn’t know women could become guides… How do we sign up?’ That’s the power of perception.” When it comes to crafting itineraries for her clients, Calmeyer admits she’s a perfectionist: No two trips are the same. These days, she’s picky with who she chooses to work with; she only wants to share Africa with those she believes will respect it. In 2019, she teamed up with Emirates to introduce what she calls ‘The Greatest Safari on Earth’ — a lavish, 12-day trip on board a private jet

visiting four of Africa’s most iconic destinations (which was featured in the Hotels, Resorts and Spas 2024 edition of Elite Traveler ). And this year, she is launching a brand-new Sand, Sea, City & Safari trip, which hit headlines as one of the world’s most expensive private jet safaris (prices start at a cool $165,300 per person). Calmeyer meticulously plans the trip herself — “It’s brain surgery, logistically” — and is there to ensure everything runs smoothly. “I can see why someone hasn’t invented this before, because you’ve got to be kind of crazy,” she says. I ask whether she feels con fl icted about bringing private jets to Africa when she’s always been so

dedicated to preserving the country’s beautiful wilderness spaces. “I do,” she says, pausing as she weighs the question. “But if someone says to me, ‘Do you want to go on a private jet or fl y commercial?’ — I’m going on that private fl ight! Because commercial is hell. Is it ideal? No. Is it going to go away? No. So we’re doing private jet travel in the best way possible.” To minimize the environmental impact, carbon credits are purchased equivalent to the emissions from not only the private jet journey but also the small planes, helicopters and Land Rovers from the entire trip, with the money invested into wildlife conservation projects on the ground. But Calmeyer isn’t stopping there. Her ener g y and passion for her craft is boundless; her eyes light up as she tells me about the latest trip she is in the throes of designing, this time focused on the Cape Floral Kingdom — a region near South Africa’s southwestern tip that is home to the highest concentration of plant species on the planet. “We can still do the Big Five,” she tells me. “But there’s so much more to Africa that hasn’t been celebrated yet. I can’t wait to share it.”

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Photos Roar Africa, One&Only Gorilla's Nest, Joseph Baraza, Matetsi River Lodge