Hurry, boy, she’s waiting there for you ~ Toto: Africa
Meet the safari team
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 details of planning and logistics are quickly and easily resolved by Ute, who presents 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 wild 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. See more.
John
John Grant is a Cape winelands specialist with a stellar reputation for bringing South Africa’s globally-acclaimed wine estates to life. His fascinating insights and knowledge translate into highly enjoyable tours from Cape Town to Stellenbosch, Paarl, 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 hunted by trophy collectors. Seeing the synergy in his wine touring expertise with their African bushveld passion, John and 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. See more.
Marianne
Marianne Birrell is an ex-teacher and journalist who wandered by chance into a “right time, right place” moment many summers ago, which led to a year of working in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve. This period proved to be a watershed. “When finally I understood the magnitude, the beauty of the living treasure we have here in Southern Africa, it seemed imperative to share it far and wide.” Having lived in the Kruger area for almost a decade, it was there that she started a safari planning and booking service in 2001. “At first it was just for friends from the northern hemisphere, and it grew from there.” She and her husband visited dozens of private game reserves and safari lodges in the Kruger region and beyond. Extensive international travel, plus a 5-year corporate stint in Geneva helped her to understand the service expectations of international travellers. “My advice to first time safari visitors to Africa? Do it now, don’t wait. Come and see the gifts that nature has to show you. Breathe in the freedom here; it hangs in the air, light as magic dust. You become part of a living canvas of great mystery. The scope of it will astound you. A journey unlike any other before awaits. Magnifique.”