Hurry, boy, she’s waiting there for you ~ Toto: Africa
Your safari bookings team.
We share safari intel with you.
Ute
Ute Sonnenberg is a consummate Africa travel specialist. She has been planning and implementing successful safari tours, retreats and wildlife photography experiences for decades. The fine detail of planning and logistics are quickly and easily resolved by Ute, presenting clients with a detailed itinerary, fully costed. Hailing from a background of psychology and economics, she is graced with a sympathetic and well-organised mind that focuses on her client’s safari wishes. Ute will help you create your perfect African safari. She has considerable first-hand knowledge of all the safari regions and loves to get behind a camera to capture special wildlife moments. For Ute, every safari is personal and unique. Ask her to help you plan; she is happy to share. Based in Johannesburg, she has a networking team in Europe, the USA and Australia.
John
John Grant is a Cape winelands specialist with a stellar reputation for bringing South Africa’s well-established wine estates to life. HIs fascinating insights and knowledge translate into highly enjoyable tours from Cape Town to Hermanus and beyond. Consequently, he is highly sought after for his small group wine tours in South Africa’s lyrical wine growing area. As a child growing up in Zululand, Natal province, he experienced the Kruger Park as many South African families do. Frequent holidays in the Park were enjoyed ‘en famille’ and this, after all, is what the Kruger Park is known for. It is a people’s park, originally created by the state a century ago to conserve dwindling numbers of the so-called Big 5, those five iconic creatures most shot by trophy hunters. Seeing the synergy in his wine touring expertise with his African bushveld passion, John and his wife Sherry-Linn added a safari element to their enterprise. Their focus is on wildlife experiences for discerning clients, offering quality safaris whether budgets are at mid-range or luxury levels. They have partnered with lodges where service delivery “goes the extra mile”. This is John’s own ethos, ensuring his clients keep returning for more.
Marianne
Marianne Birrell lived in the Kruger area for almost a decade and it was there that she started her safari service in 2001. She is an ex-teacher and journalist who wandered into a “right time, right place” moment which led to a year of working in a Sabi Sand Game Reserve lodge. This period fostered a deep appreciation of the bounteous nature of Africa, its peoples and its fascinating wild creatures; of timeless nature in perfect balance. “When I saw what an astounding treasure we have in Southern Africa, my back yard, I felt compelled to share it far and wide. To experience it in real time is a gift that words don’t adequately describe. You just have to see it for yourself. And today, it’s so very easy.” Marianne and her husband visited dozens of private reserves and safari lodges in the area, and beyond. Extensive international travel, plus a 5-year corporate stint in Geneva helped her to gauge the expectations of international travellers. Her advice to first time safari visitors to Africa? “Leave the digital world behind for while; it’s not going away. For pure inspiration, breathe in the wildness and freedom, here. Smell it. Feel it. Touch it. This is an all-senses-in encounter, where you are at one with great beauty and abundance. You’ll feel a strong sense of ‘yes, now I understand’, it will make you want to dance and sing and laugh with delight. And you’ll find wonderfully interesting people here, too!”