Crossword Genius

As far as an African journey can be (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

safari

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'journey can be' is the definition.
'safari' can be an answer for 'journey' (thesaurus). I'm not sure about the 'can be' bit.

'as far as an african' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'far' could be 'afar' (synonyms) and 'afar' is present in the answer.
'an' could be 'i' (Roman numeral for one) and 'i' is located in the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for safari that I've seen before include "Expedition to observe animals" , "tropical trip" , "Hunting trip" , "African hunting expeiditon" , "Wildlife-watching expedition" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
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