Safari and Beyond - Discover why Africa should be #1 on your bucket list

I'm not sure how we've managed to hit double digits already.

I'm quite honestly not sure where the past 10 weeks have even gone, but somehow we are at episode number 10.

And maybe for some podcasts that have been around for a while, that's just a little drop in the bucket.

But for me, I'm feeling pretty happy with 10 episodes each week coming at you with something new in the world of life and travel.

So hopefully you've been following along.

And if not, you've got time to catch up and start binge listening to a little blowdown on life and travel.

But anyways, but number 10 seemed like a pretty big number to me.

I know in my family when we have something big, a big anniversary, a big birthday, we either do one of two things.

We either go out to a fancy restaurant somewhere we don't frequent, or we plan something big, a big experience, or if it's really big, we'll do an awesome vacation.

And since this podcast is mainly about vacations, I thought it only seemed fitting for us to plan an awesome vacation to celebrate the 10th episode.

So without further ado, I introduce today's topic.

We are headed to Africa, and we are joined by a leader in African vacations, Sandy Sale with Hills of Africa Travel.

Hey, I am here today with the Chief Experience Officer, also known as CEO of Hills of Africa Travel, Sandy Sale.

Sandy, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01: Okay, I'm so excited to be with you here today.

Thanks so much for having me on your special podcast.

SPEAKER_03: Oh, well, thank you so much.

I appreciate you being willing to come on.

Wow, I'm so excited to have you here.

I'm so excited to talk about obviously trips to Africa with your company Hills of Africa Travel.

So thank you again for joining us.

SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm looking forward to it.

It's going to be a lot of fun talking about Africa and dreaming together.

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, of course.

So wonderful.

Well, well, I guess I would like to kind of start off things as we are, you know, talking about trips to Africa, which I think it's safe to say is a big bucket list destination for most people.

I know that's the case for myself.

I would love to get your take as to what is the allure of Africa, do you feel, that makes it such a place that people just dream about going to?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think there's quite a few different allures that make it on to the top of most people's bucket list.

And I think for me, from having worked in the business for 20 years now, I think it is the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere.

And the people kind of have this idea that they are going to the middle of nowhere and they're going to see tons of different animals: rhinos, elephants, lions, and it is so far away that they don't really know much about it.

But it's the pictures of animals that kind of draws them in at the very beginning of why they want to go there.

So for us, it's about making sure they get to see, you know, the animals which they've been seeing in pictures, and that's what kind of comes into their brains and into their minds.

And then, of course, when they come back, they have all sorts of ideas and experiences that they never realized they were going to get, which is fabulous.

There's so much more to Africa than just the animals, but that I think that is really what makes people want to go to Africa, that and the people, but primarily the animals.

SPEAKER_03: Yes, I agree.

We we all love the animals.

So, and and I do think, and I think kind of like what you were saying earlier, I think it is.

It's kind of the the the mystery about it.

It's something so far and different than anything that we've ever experienced, you know, here in America.

That it's you know, it's just kind of that mystery involved that just gets your your interest piqued and and it just makes you kind of just draws you in, like that curious little kid, you know.

SPEAKER_01: So Yeah, definitely.

I think it's definitely a curiosity.

It's like, oh my gosh, what is Africa all about?

And people who have been and then talked to friends, the friends are like, ooh, that sounds intriguing and interesting, and maybe I should think about it.

So I think it is definitely something that is in the top of people's minds, and definitely that makes it a bucket list because it's at the top of people's minds, and they, you know, it's much easier to go to Barbados than it is to think, how am I gonna get to Africa?

You know, what am I gonna do when I get there?

Who's gonna look after me?

So I think that's why it's a bucket list.

It's kind of like I've got to do it someday instead of doing it now.

They're thinking, oh, I've got to do it someday.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I agree, I agree.

That sounds it sounds amazing.

I know it's like I said, it's definitely number one on my own bucket list.

And so um, so that's why we have you on the show today.

Yeah, so now before we continue, I have to ask, just out of my own curiosity, I think your accent is absolutely beautiful.

And I would love to know, so where does that accent come from?

SPEAKER_01: I'm from Zimbabwe, which is in the southern part of Africa, not in South Africa.

Some people think it's South Africa, but it's not.

It's the country just above South Africa.

So Zimbabwe, which some people might remember long, long time ago, used to be called Rhodesia.

So it's a British colony, and yeah, it's Zimbabwe.

I was born there and raised there until I was in my 20s, and yeah, living here very happily in the United States.

SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.

That's awesome.

Well, well, I have to say, I think it means a lot to to learn about a destination from somebody who is from there.

I always think it's kind of like a funny thing, like when you go to say, like a Mexican restaurant and you have just like an American person serving you, you just feel kind of like, wait a minute, I'm not so sure this is going to be very good.

So I'm sitting here today and I'm thinking, what an awesome presentation about Africa from somebody who's from Africa.

So, so I love it.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.

That's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_03: Yes, well, wonderful.

Well, well, I would love to know your company more about Hills of Africa Travel.

Can you tell me like when did you create Hills of Africa Travel?

What is its mission?

You know, kind of fill us in more about that.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

Thanks.

Yeah, I love sharing about how we how this company started.

I was actually in the advertising world working in London and then New York City.

And my husband and I lived in New York with our very young three-month-old daughter, and we kind of started thinking about you know, what are we gonna do?

Where do we want to live?

It's tough being an African living in New York, considering we came from wide open plains and no one around, to living in New York.

It was kind of a little different for us.

On top of that, having a very young little girl that had popped into our lives.

So, you know, the the dreaming started happening, and um, Meredith, my sister-in-law, and my brother Graham, they live down here in North Carolina, Charlotte region, just north of Charlotte.

And we would come down on long weekends, and it kind of just prompted us to think, you know, let's think about something different.

Anyway, kind of fast forward, I was talking to Mark and I said, Oh, I really want to go and move back to Africa.

And he's like, No jolly way.

It wasn't the word jolly.

So, you know, I kind of had to respect that, even though I wanted to move back to Africa.

And I don't know, I think the universe works in various ways.

And Meredith and I, my sister-in-law that I was talking about earlier, Meredith and I started about talking about you know what kind of company we wanted to work for and what we wanted to do, and we dreamed up Hills of Africa Travel.

So Meredith's last name is Hill, my maiden name is Hill, so that's kind of how Hills of Africa came from.

But it's been the most perfect dream come true.

You know, the dream of moving back to Africa is really what I live every day because I get to dream about clients' trips to Africa every single day.

So I'm kind of living my dream, even though I'm living here in the United States.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

That's so wonderful.

So wonderful.

Now, now, what type of trips is it that somebody could expect when they come to Hills of Africa travel?

What kind of trip are they going to expect that they're going to get when they book it for Africa?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so Hills of Africa, we started out at the very beginning, deciding that we wanted our clients to really experience Africa.

So everything we do is tailor-made to our clients.

Everything we plan is tailored around their desires, around their interests, around their hobbies.

What we want to do is really get to know the clients so that we can give them an experience that is really tailored around them.

So we don't do the kind of itinerary that you can find on a bookshelf where you browse through a magazine and you go, Oh, I want to take that chip.

That's not what we do.

We really tailor everything we do for the clients, whether they like, you know, if they love wine and we take them into the wine lands, it's really finding out what kind of wine they like.

It's not just a plain blank wine chip.

So do they like red wine?

If they like red wine, what blend of red wine do they like?

What food do they like to go with it?

If they like animals, and the husband, we actually did have this experience.

It was a 10-year anniversary, and the husband really wanted to see leopards.

And the wife was like, Yeah, I want to see leopards, but my high priority is making sure I see lots and lots of elephants.

I've dreamed about elephants all my life.

So, what we really concentrated on was making sure we found two different camps that would make sure that the husband got his dream and the wife got her dream.

So it is very tailored and designed specifically for that client.

So that's really what we do.

SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.

That's amazing.

Now, do you guys so do you do just personal trips for like individual, you know, couples, families, and then do you also do like small groups or is it just individual parties?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it is individual parties, but again, for example, we did a trip for an incentive group, a very large company in the Atlanta region, and it was an incentive for their top buyers or top salesmen, and that was 50 people.

So it could be 50 people, it could be one person.

But the trip is done the same way.

We treat every client the same, whether it's one person or 50.

It is designed and tailored to each particular party.

SPEAKER_03: That's wonderful.

That's wonderful.

I love the customization, the tailorization.

It's it's like you said, it's not a trip you're just gonna pull out of the book and and that's what you go on.

And you know, it's it's you know, creating the trip around the client, which I think is, you know, in the travel agent industry, that's what we strive for with any any you know amazing vacation.

So I love that.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

I mean, that's what that's what we as travel advisors are looking to do, is we're looking to really make our clients experience, feel, smell, hear, touch the world that we are living in and really get to be a part of it, not just to see it from a kind of big angle lens.

We really want them to get involved and touch and smell, and I just love the senses of what we do in the travel industry is really getting people to experience it in all different senses.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, now that's awesome.

Now, now do some of your trips are any of them guided trips in Africa?

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

I mean, I I personally private guides probably two a year.

I did, I was doing four a year, I'm now doing about two different trips a year, and those are private guided trips that I do, and again, it's tailored to the client.

So I have one in November where we're going to Uganda, and we're going to be doing all sorts of amazing experiences, like seeing Rhino Sanctuary, we're going to work with the people of Uganda, we are going to see all sorts of different the Nile River, for example, at Murchison Falls, and then really getting involved with the conservation of chimpanzees and gorillas.

So we're going to be working and being involved with conservation there, where we kind of do silly things like pick up dung and leading and find out what they've been eating.

I think you know, being involved and being a part of changing our world and making sure our world is still here for future generations is something that I love being involved with.

I have that trip in November, and then next year I'm private guiding a family that are celebrating.

It's a multi-generation.

It's granny and grandpa, the parents, and then all the kitties.

So that's going to be a fun trip to Southern Africa: Cape Town, Winelands, Victoria Falls, and Safari.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, that sounds out of this world.

Uh to my grandparents who are listening, that would be an awesome vacation for the family.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think uh I think just talking about why Africa and families.

I think that with the world as is now, people want to be together as a family, but not in their home dining room any longer.

They want to get out into the world and as a family experience, beauty, being out in the middle of nowhere, nature, even it's even if it's walking, but really connecting with family.

I think that is going to be the big game changer coming forward.

SPEAKER_03: I agree 100%.

I mean, in let's face it, in any tragedy, I think you you come back to what is your base in life.

And and I know for for many of us, our base is our family, you know, and so you grab hold of them, but at the same time, it's not just grabbing hold of them in in a scared way.

It's it's realizing that every day on life is a gift and trying to to make the absolute most out of it.

So I think I think you're so right.

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

What a blessing we've been given.

SPEAKER_03: Yep, it's it truly is.

It truly is.

So now I was wondering, obviously, Africa is is a very big place.

And so I was wondering what regions of Africa do you guys do trips to?

SPEAKER_01: We don't do all of Africa.

We do the places that you should visit and that are going to give you the most experience.

So Southern Africa, we do most of Southern Africa, and the highlights are South Africa, which is Cape Town, winelands, fantastic beaches and scenery, great food, and then safari regions within South Africa.

You could do Kruger National Park, or if you've in with a family that doesn't want to do malaria, then you can do malaria-free areas for safari.

Zimbabwe, obviously, being a little biased, but my home country, one of the best safari experiences.

Yes, it is.

Mozambique for fantastic beaches.

There are some safari regions in Mozambique, but the beach primarily is what people go for.

But I'm looking forward to the safari regions there because it's new and exciting and something we need to support.

And then, of course, you've got East Africa, which is Tanzania and Kenya, and again, primarily safari, and one of the greatest attractions there is what is called the Great Migration, which is hundreds of thousands up to millions of wildebeest and zebra running around.

Kevin, you should just hear it.

It's like kdoop, kdo, kdoop, kdo, kdoop, kdoo.

And they just grunt the whole time.

It's just like this big sound in your ears of them, and you can hear them stampeding.

It's just an incredible experience seeing and hearing and witnessing the great migration.

So the animals actually go in search of green grass, and it goes in like an egg shape in a clockwise rotation.

So it's not in one place the whole time.

So that'll be in Serengeti, which is the Tanzania portion, and then Masai Mara, which is up in Kenya.

And yeah, so depending on time of year, we would put your clients into see the migration.

For example, if it's um August, September, we could do both Tanzania and Kenya.

If it's September, October, we're more than likely going to do Kenya.

If it's March, we're going to do Tanzania.

So it's just something to think about for when clients are preparing a trip to East Africa, what time of year?

We want to make sure they get to see the migration.

SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.

And and when you talk about the sound of the of the animals and stuff, the only thing I can compare it to is when I was younger, we had we had horses and and we would let the horses loose on the weekend, and we they would you know get to playing and they would run around our house.

And I remember it just sounded like thunder.

And I can imagine it would be like that, just times a hundred with all of these water bees.

It's just like you can feel it in your chest almost.

SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, yes.

And then the sound that they make, not to be kind of a little bit gross here, but we're talking about we're talking about nature.

The zebras, when they when they start running, they have so much gas in their tummy that it comes out the other end and it's loud.

So, you know, it's fun, and um, just just hearing it is just incredible, incredible.

SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.

That sounds so out of this world.

Wow.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then and then the other two areas that we do is Central Africa, and that is Rwanda, Uganda, and Congo, and that is mostly for gorillas and chimpanzees.

Of course, you can get other experiences there.

You know, there's a rhino sanctuary, there's really good game viewing in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

I love getting our clients if they're involved in conservation.

You can really get involved.

You can do lion conservation.

There's a great experience with giraffe foundation up in Murchison Falls.

So yeah, but uh Rwanda and Uganda is primarily primates gorillas and chimpanzees.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's awesome.

I have a big fascination with gorillas.

I'm I'm not a big fan of the chimpanzees.

They kind of uh freak me out.

But gorillas I'm a big fan of.

So that sounds so amazing.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

And and they're a little bit slower, whereas chimpanzees are always running around.

They're busy, busy, busy.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, of course.

Oh my goodness.

Now, so I think I think you've you've kind of probably touched on it as you went through the different regions.

But one of my questions I wanted to ask you was do you have like a like a top list, uh top picks of these once-in-a-lifetime experiences in Africa that somebody can expect to experience?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, for first-timers, not always the case, but first-timers to Africa.

You know, people think, Kevin, hey, I'm gonna go to Africa, it's a bucket list, I'm only ever gonna do it once.

I can promise you that most of our clients have either been two or three times.

One of our clients only wanted to go once, it's gone back for the last 10 years.

So when people say, No, I'm never gonna go back again, I'm gonna, I always say, Africa will steal your heart, and you will go back again.

But for now, let's let's look at the bucket list experience.

So, for you know, for first-timers, I always think Cape Town, really getting to experience Africa.

So, Cape Town, which is is right down in the south of South Africa, it's the most southern city.

You've got penguins, the Cape African penguins that live down there, only place in the in the world where you've got those penguins, you've got a great white shark diving for those that are interested in that.

You've got all sorts of wonderful food and wine experiences, then you've got southern, when you go to the safari regions of Kruger, if people want to see the big five, then definitely want to be in the Kruger region or Botswana or some different areas like Medequi for great safari experiences there.

And of course, Victoria Falls for one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

So that is like thundering right now, Kevin.

I don't know if you remember in November, December, the world going wild because some Sky News reporter had gone to Victoria Falls and said it's dry because she filmed one way and she didn't film the other way where you couldn't see the fall.

You know, the world is telling us that nature is alive because right now the falls are at the highest they've ever been.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's amazing.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it is one of the most amazing experiences.

So I would say Southern Africa would be a first-time safari experience where you're doing Cape Town for food, wine, you know, great scenery, table mountain.

You can do all sorts of activities there, plus interacting with the local people.

So you could do cooking classes, you could go to the townships to learn about the people, you can do a lot of history with Nelson Mandela, Safari, fantastic game viewing, and Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

SPEAKER_03: You know, I I can understand why people have to end up going back to Africa.

Because I sit here and think as as you went through all the different regions, and now as you're talking about this, and I thought, how in the world do you decide?

I mean, literally, it just has so many different experiences where it's just you just sit there and think, like, oh my goodness, I I just want to do it all, but you can't do it all, you just keep coming back.

SPEAKER_01: So absolutely, and then of course you've got those clients that say, Well, really, I'm not really interested in the food and the wine and table mountain, you know, those kind of things.

I really just want to go for safari.

So then we kind of find out a little bit about what kind of safari experience they want to do.

And that you know, helps us to plan whether we do East Africa or Southern Africa, where you combine maybe Kruger National Park with Victoria Falls in the middle, because you can still do safari type experiences there, and then do Botswana afterwards, or you know, playing around with different regions.

If they like walking safaris, maybe we do Zambia with Botswana.

So, you know, there's lots to go into it, and I think having someone, you know, working with you and me to really nail down and find out what their interests are helps to determine whether you go to East Africa or Southern Africa.

SPEAKER_03: Of course.

It goes back to what we spoke about at the beginning.

It's the customization to match it exactly as you know, as the traveler is going to want.

So I think that's great.

That's great.

Now, now I'm curious, on a personal note, what do you can you narrow it down with your time in Africa?

What is like your most memorable experience while being in Africa?

SPEAKER_01: Oh, gosh, you get my heart singing on this one.

I've got two to share.

I think they are two wonderful experiences.

I mean, I've been so fortunate having grown up in Africa and also, you know, working for Hills of Africa and having this amazing company that I go back to Africa quite often.

And I think two really stand out for me.

One is going to Uganda and walking through teeny plantations and coffee plantations on the way to go and see gorillas, and it was quite a hike, but absolutely gorgeous.

It kind of reminded me of growing up in Zimbabwe because my dad was a coffee farmer in the mountainous region.

So it was very similar to rain, lots of banana trees around, coffee and tea plantations, and it just reminded me a lot about home and growing up, and then you know, kind of getting to where we needed to be and meeting the ranger who lives with the gorillas, and him saying, Okay, guys, it's time we've got about 10 minutes until we actually go and be with a family of gorillas, and handing over our bags, and then making our way to the gorillas and seeing the gorillas for the first time.

Oh, and just hearing them munch and the babies kind of running around, and you could just imagine them playing and jumping on their mummies, and their I mean, even the silverback, the silverback was so enamored with the kids, and then seeing a seven-day-old baby feeding from its mummy, that just realizing how fortunate I am to have that experience and to be able to witness the magic of this brand new baby coming into the world.

You know, gorillas are endangered, they are in danger of being poached out, and seeing this really it made me cry, Kevin.

Made me cry.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, of course.

I can only imagine.

And so, like, can you kind of tell me like when when you guys finally found them, like what was like the setting?

I mean, was it thick vegetation all around them?

Was it a kind of a clearing?

Like, I'm just kind of trying to picture what that must have been like.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they are under trees, there is a forest environment when you're in Uganda, the Bundy National, Bundy Impenetrable Forest, it's called.

So you're in a forest environment, so there are lots of low brushes and trees and things like that.

But when you're with the gorillas, they've kind of found an area that yes is foresty but is clear on the ground, and they kind of run around and play and lie down on the ground.

So sometimes they've actually taken some of the grasses and made bedding area, so it's easy to see them until they start getting up and moving.

So you can hear the rustling of the trees, and it just feels kind of cool and temperate, and you can hear the babies or and the kids running around and joking.

Every now and then you can hear the silverback, you know, using his voice to kind of bring his troop together.

Yeah, so it is it is magical.

And then I think I think for me, like uh my dad, I'm very close to my family and I don't see them very often.

And my dad, uh he he lost his farm in Africa in Zimbabwe, where there were some political issues in Zimbabwe, and he lost his farm.

And I took him away to a safari camp just to give him a break from life, and we went to a safari camp in Zambia called Old Mondoro on the Zambezi River, which kind of is right opposite Zimbabwe, but anyway, this particular campus in Zambia.

And I think it was uh kind of a late afternoon.

We went for a canoe ride, and my dad and I are in the canoe, and all of a sudden there are about 20 elephants that came down to the river and started swimming across from Zambia into Zimbabwe, and the river gets quite deep, and the elephants can swim, but they had their trunks out of the water like snorkels.

And one thing with elephants is that they are very good at smelling.

That's how they find out where people are or where food is or you know, where sounds are coming from.

It's from their smell, and so their trunks as snorkels were smelling us.

And then, so we after that experience, it was just amazing.

After that experience, Dad and I were sitting back at camp just on the banks of the river, and I don't know if it was the same family or not.

I like to think it was.

The same family came swimming back and then started to walk up beside us.

Of course, we all just sat very, very still, and the guide was with us to keep us safe, but the elephants came walking straight past us.

My dad was in tears, I was in tears.

It was just a very moving experience, just being so close to these animals, but also realizing that we're all on this journey together.

And it was for my dad and I, it was a very special moment taking them away to be in nature and realizing that life goes on.

Everything goes on.

It was a beautiful moment.

SPEAKER_03: That is both of those stories that you have, I think are one of those things that I just sit here and I think that is what is the allure of Africa.

That is what answers that first question I had to you was moments like that that are the epitome of a magical take your breath away type of moment.

That's just amazing.

Thank you for sharing both of those.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, absolutely.

And they are so many, but those two stick out to me.

SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's that's wonderful.

Now, I would like to ask you, obviously, you know, we all get excited about the animals, but I have also heard from people who have gone to Africa that the unexpected part about their trip to Africa that really impacted them was the people of Africa.

And so I was wondering, on your trips, do you guys incorporate things for you to really get to to experience the people of Africa as much as nature and the animals?

SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, absolutely.

I think it's hugely important.

I think you know, going to any country, meeting the local people, experiencing their culture is so important.

And to be honest, they love it.

They love showing you their Africa and bringing you into their home.

So there are all sorts of different experiences that we offer and that we are proud to be involved with.

One particular experience in Cape Town, for example, is an organization called Utando that was set up by this guy from he was working in Johannesburg at a big bank, and he kind of said to himself one day, What am I doing?

Where am I going?

What am I doing?

So he just followed his passion and he moved to Cape Town and he started a foundation where he finds communities that that need help, but this is not a hand-me-out.

It's not a I'm gonna go and give this person money because they need it, because they need food.

No, it is a way of getting people's skills harnessed in the business world so they can then teach others how to do it.

So, for example, these three women in Cape Town in Kayalasha, very, very good at growing vegetables.

He taught them how to have a business growing vegetables, and they are now selling vegetables to some of the top hotels in the Cape Town region.

So it's locally grown and supporting the local people, and they they have now brought other people from their community into work with them.

Another example is this boy band, they were really good at dancing, and they taught them how to have a business doing dancing.

So now they're doing concerts all over South Africa, and they use the local talent from the area to help them.

So we were very involved with that.

One of our really great experiences in Cape Town is a walking tour where you get to eat, taste, and explore your way through Cape Town's culture, people, food scene.

And you are going to little pop-up tents kind of thing when you're meeting the local people, you're actually getting to experience local people's food.

So there's all sorts of different cultures in Cape Town.

You've got the Cape Malay people, you've got the African people, and there's very a lot of different tribes within the African people.

You've got, you know, the Dutch, the British, the South Africans.

So there's all sorts of different experiences of getting to actually meet the locals in South Africa on the ground whilst you're tasting your way through.

One of our lovely tours in Victoria Falls, for example, is to a recycling plant where a local lady who's very passionate about conservation is working with the community where they go around and pick up trash.

So pick up bottles and pick up cans and pick up plastic bags and things like that, and then recycling them.

Then another part of the community gets those inside gets those bottles and crushes them and the cans and crutches them, and they make them into you know lights, light fixtures.

A lot of the safari camps have urns and you know, glass where the candles go in, those glasses where the candles go in.

So we love supporting that kind of experience, but you're getting to meet the local people.

Another one is, for example, going to someone's house and really experiencing a food and with them sitting at the table, the whole family.

So very important to meet the local people and be involved with the culture.

And then you know, you're on safari, for example, you've got your safari guides and you've got your the staff looking after you, you're there for three or four days, they become your best friends.

So really getting to know them when you're on a game drive, asking lots of questions and asking about their family, because the Africans just want to talk.

We all want to talk, as you know.

I've been talking for a long time.

We love sharing about Africa, we love sharing about our food, our friends, our family.

So, yeah, I think people go to Africa for the animals, but they come back for the people.

SPEAKER_03: That's awesome.

I love it.

I love it.

And you know, I can I can say that from for myself.

For anywhere that I've traveled to, it's yeah, I mean, the destination is is breathtaking.

It's amazing, but it is, it's experiencing a different culture that is is different than your own.

And and and it may even be as different as it is, but it comes back to that same human bond.

And you realize, you know, how how big this world is, yet how small it is as well.

You know what I mean?

Because because even even these people who live a completely different lifestyle than you, we're still all humans.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we all one.

We all one.

And you know, the you can you can s be around them and touch them and hear them, and we all just one.

We all want to be one beautiful nation.

And uh the African people certainly show that in their love and their very big laughs and their smile.

They really they love interaction and they love being around and showing their culture.

So yeah, I love the African people.

They they made me who I am, Kevin.

SPEAKER_03: Of course, of course.

I love it, I love it.

Well, so the next thing I want to kind of touch on is we've we've talked about safari, we've we've mentioned safari several times already.

And and I know for for myself, when when I used to think of safari, I simply think of safari as simply the act of you getting into you know the safari, you know, truck or whatever and going and looking at the animals.

But in fact, safari encompasses much more than just that.

So I would love for you to kind of share what it means when we talk about going on safari.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, going on safari is an experience.

It's um, you know, the arriving at camp and the staff greeting you with a song of welcome and you feeling right at home when you arrive.

It's you know, going out on your game drive with your guide and talking about the birds and the butterflies and even stopping and picking up elephant dung and feeling it and hearing what they eat and why they eat it, and what's in the food.

I mean, at the end of the day, it's just sticks.

SPEAKER_03: Okay.

So to don't get too grossed out, is what you're telling us.

SPEAKER_01: Right.

I mean, it is nature, it's all nature, but you learn so much about it because the elephant dung becomes the the butterfly in the end, you know, or a plant, a new tree that's being grown.

So it's all about being in nature and understanding, you know, the animals, the birds, the bees, and how being on safari and seeing this is how our world goes around.

And you can go out on a beautiful sunset cocktail evening and standing around with your guide talking about the animals and hearing the cries of the other birds.

It's just a magical experience.

And I think you know, people think, okay, I'm just gonna go out and see the animals.

No, it's about sitting around the bush TV.

Do you know what a bush TV is, Kevin?

SPEAKER_03: I do not.

SPEAKER_01: A bush TV is a fire place at night after your game drive, and you know, there's no TVs in on Safari, so the fire is your bush TV, and you are kind of talking about your day and what you heard and what you saw with everybody else, and it's kind of that one one upmanship type thing.

Oh, I saw lots of elephants today, and they go, Well, we saw the lions and their cow.

And it's you know, being a part of of something bigger, something that is so magical that you want to share it with everybody, and I think also.

Also, part of being on safari is really being involved with conservation.

When we go on safari, we realize how important the people, the animals, and the land are to us, and we all get involved in making sure that it's there for future generations.

So I think that's also part of safari.

And I think people go there with the intention of only seeing animals, and they come back with a much broader picture of the people and the animals and the environment and how important it is to this world.

SPEAKER_03: That's amazing.

That's amazing.

I love it.

I love the, you know, as you said, it just it's something that can change you.

And um in a way that, you know, I truly hope to experience, you know, at some point because it sounds absolutely magical.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, waking up in the morning, Kevin, and hearing that, you know, you hear the knock on the door, someone knocking on the door, and they go, Money, money, money, my cookie, and tea and coffee and biscuits.

Uh, it just makes you light up.

And from the beginning to the end, it's just one magical experience after another.

SPEAKER_03: That's wonderful.

Now, now, one something, now I don't know if this would be part of safari, um, but is I I hear about these amazing, luxurious glamping sites.

Um, so kind of glamorous camping.

Um, can you speak about that?

Do you guys organize trips that include that as part of it?

SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.

I mean, glamping is obviously tent camping, tented camping, but on a super duper luxurious level.

So it's it's the size of a house, Kevin.

Your tent is the size of the size of a house, and it does have floors and doors.

People get scared and say, you know, I I don't want to be in a tented camp because I'm nervous that there are no floors and doors.

Well, they all have floors and doors, and some are, you know, gauze gauze canvas where you let the air come in.

And I love being in a glamping environment because it's super duper luxurious, and you've got the beautiful bathrooms, you've got indoor, outdoor showers, you generally have one of those big cast iron tubs looking out into the middle of nowhere, and it's just a romantically beautiful experience, and your bed is plush with gorgeous pillows and lovely linens.

Again, looking out onto the plains and hoping that an elephant is right in front of you.

But but being being in a glamping environment means you're open to nature.

So at nighttime you can feel the breeze coming through, you can hear all sorts of sounds, you feel like you're really in nature, but you're in a safe environment.

Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_03: It does, it does.

It sounds out of this world, it definitely doesn't sound like the camping I'm used to.

SPEAKER_01: And you know, it's kind of one of those super duper luxurious high roof ceilings.

So you can, you know, when I go camping, I have to kind of bend my head getting in and out of the door.

This, no way, you've kind of you can probably have 18-foot high roof type experience.

So it is, it's very luxurious and gorgeous.

And actually, one of my favorites is doing the tree top, or the tree, you know, you you have those outside kind of towers, and it is in the middle of nowhere, and again, there's just one of them, and you're out in the middle of nowhere, and you generally have a few different levels.

So the first level would be like the shower and bathroom level, the next level might be a little bit of an enclosed in case you do want to go into an enclosed environment, and then the top layer will be your bed underneath the stars for the night with beautiful mosquito netting down and candles everywhere, and you know, just gorgeous romantic experience.

So that's one of my favorites, sleeping underneath stars.

SPEAKER_03: Of course.

I think that's everybody's favorite.

That sounds out of this world.

Yes, that sounds absolutely amazing.

Now, now there's another another question I I wanted to ask you when when thinking about safari and being in just a destination is unknown as Africa.

Um, I think some people may be hesitant, worrying about, well, what if what if something happens?

What if a medical emergency comes up?

Um do you guys at Hills of Africa, do you guys have processes, procedures in place for emergencies, medical emergencies?

SPEAKER_01: I mean, absolutely.

I think you you we are very controlled and conscious of making sure that people going to Africa feel safe and feel confident from the beginning.

We have to do that, and we don't ever want someone arriving in Africa being scared and nervous.

So from the beginning, I mean it's obviously we want to make sure that clients have travel insurance.

We encourage having additional coverage, like the meta jets, for example, where you can get evacuated out.

So those types of insurance.

However, you know, when you are in Africa at a safari camp, imagine being in the middle of nowhere.

A lot of the camps, or all of the camps, have someone on staff who is medically trained.

Not a surgeon trained, but they are trained as in they are able to do first aid, and if something happens where maybe you know there's a snake bite or something like that, which has never happened to me in all the time I've been to Africa.

I've never actually seen a snake.

I'm just giving you worst case scenario.

I've never, I mean, I'm scared of snakes, and I have never seen a snake on safari.

SPEAKER_03: So just when you know two or three times a year.

SPEAKER_01: But you know, just to be out there and we're talking about people's worries and health, they are trained to do things like that.

If something more serious happened, then we would obviously get them to the nearest hospital and nearest doctor, and we have helicopters that can come in or aircrafts that can come in, or we take them by road.

But yes, we are there to make sure that we evacuate and we look after the clients and make sure that they're well looked after.

Even if they arrive at the at the airport and something happens, we always have someone meeting our clients everywhere they go so that they feel safe and they will feel looked after.

And a friendly voice at the end of the line saying, Help, please help me.

We have someone there to help them at all times and make sure that everything is okay.

But yeah, the hospitals, I mean, for example, the first heart transplant in the whole wide world happened in Cape Town.

So we do have good facilities, good healthcare facilities in Africa to look after clients.

SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's interesting.

I had never heard that before about the first heart transplant.

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01: There you go.

In Cape Town.

SPEAKER_03: Yes, that's a that's fascinating.

Fascinating.

Well, I think, I think kind of as you're you're speaking to that with the attention that you guys do take um towards, you know, easing people's worries with the medical, you know, situations and just letting people know that there's somebody there with them, you know, every step of the way and stuff.

It kind of brings me to one of my last questions that I have for you is what do you feel makes Hills of Africa travel possibly different from another company that somebody may think about when booking a trip to Africa?

SPEAKER_01: I was brought up as the eldest of four children under five years old.

And we were brought up in an area where we had no electricity and no running water.

So when we wanted to take a shower, we had to go to the waterfall behind the house.

And I've always been, you know, a mother hen.

My siblings don't like it because I can be bossy.

I'm bossy because I like looking after people, and that is the way Hills of Africa travel operates.

From the very beginning to the time they get home, and then for years later, Kevin, it's not just a one-time off relationship with us.

We look after our clients from the very beginning to years and years later, and everything we do is very detailed, everything we prepare our clients for Africa with is very detailed and comes from a place of love, and they don't have to ever ask us a question because we've already answered it for them before they've even thought about it.

And I think that's what really separates us is customer service and making sure that our clients feel safe, loved, well prepared, and they feel confident that when they go and they arrive in Africa, all of their needs are always going to be met, and they're never gonna have to think for themselves.

They're gonna have someone looking after them from the time they arrive in Africa to the time they leave Africa.

So I think you know that's what sets us apart.

Everybody can plan a trip to Africa.

It's really making sure that the client feels safe and looked after and prepared, and when they arrive in Africa, that they're excited for the experience, not like, oh my gosh, what's gonna happen next?

Or how do I get from A to B to C to D?

They don't have to worry about anything.

So I think that's what sets us apart.

SPEAKER_03: That's wonderful.

That's wonderful.

It is, it's it's truly us on the back end taking care of all the worries and the concerns so that the the client, you just get to to fully just love on the experience, you know, and not worry about what's next or or you know, um what's coming up, what do you got to do, where where do you gotta go, you know.

So I think that does.

That that means a lot.

Um, because like you said, I mean, Africa is a it is a bucket list destination.

And so if you're gonna go ahead and do that, I mean you want to do it right.

You want to do it with with somebody you can trust and you know who who is there for you.

And um, it's quite evident that uh Hills of Africa Travel is that company.

SPEAKER_01: So yes, thank you.

Yes, we love, love, love doing what we do.

We are passionate.

I'm I'm African, as you know, Zimbabwean, and uh I just love what I do.

I love talking about Africa, and uh my mission is to make sure that people get to experience Africa.

So the more people that can get to go to Africa, the better for me.

SPEAKER_03: That's wonderful, that's wonderful.

Now, now before we wrap things up, is there anything else that you would like to share with those listening?

SPEAKER_01: I would like to just kind of ask the question to everybody what is it that you dream about?

And what is it that you want to experience in life?

And really put your heart and soul into making sure that your dream comes alive.

Do what is necessary to make the decision to do what you are dreaming about.

And if it happens to be Africa, then Kevin and I would love to help you plan a trip to Africa.

I can promise you that going to Africa will change your life beyond words.

And when I say beyond words, I mean in the most gorgeous, memorable, exciting way.

Because there's just so much beauty and love emanating from that continent that I really do hope that you dream big and get to Africa soon.

SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.

I think that's such a beautiful way to end our conversation today.

I mean, we we all have dreams, and you know what, those dreams are are meant to come true.

And um, so I uh I know I know myself and Sandy, we would love to to make your dreams come true.

So, Sandy, again, thank you so much for coming on the uh low down on life and travel.

It means the world to me.

SPEAKER_01: Oh, Kevin, absolute pleasure, and I've so enjoyed talking and dreaming and chatting far too much about Africa, but that's what I love doing.

And thank you so much for having me on today.

Super duper special to be with you.

SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you so much.

And for all of you listening, I want to thank you for joining us for another episode of the Lowdown on Life and Travel.

SPEAKER_00: And that's the Lowdown on Life and Travel.

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