UK / International
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Client Experience Manager
Lauren has a wealth of knowledge, having guided across Safari Africa and worked for some top tour operators both in the UK and in sub-Saharan Africa. Her knowledge of Tanzania, Botswana, and Victoria Falls is superb.
Lauren joined the Yellow Zebra team when she decided it was time to return from living in East Africa. Through guiding overland safaris across Africa, Lauren has built up a wealth of knowledge of all the destinations where we design safaris. However, her specialist areas at YZ are Tanzania, Botswana, Kenya, Uganda, Victoria Falls, and Cape Town.
Lauren's most recent excursion to Africa included a three-week educational trip to Kenya, where she explored some of YZ's favourite safari destinations, including the Maasai Mara, Laikipia, Samburu, Amboseli, and the Chyulu Hills. She ended her trip along the Kenyan coast and after quite the adventure, selected her top Kenyan lodges with the most iconic views here.
“There are way too many to choose just one… feeling elephants brush past my dome tent in the middle of the night in Botswana, climbing the rocky outcrops of Spitzkoppe in Namibia, hiking from the Empakaai Crater to Lake Natron in Tanzania, trekking the mountain gorillas in Uganda… oh, and following a pack of wild dog in Ruaha National Park on my most recent trip to Tanzania. This list is endless!!”
Lauren found herself carving a career in a field that she found rather uninspiring. On having a light-bulb moment – ‘There has to be more to life than this!’ – she decided to up sticks and go travelling! The African continent was first, followed by Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the USA – a trip that would take 10 months… apparently.
Having fallen head over heels for Africa, Lauren made it as far as Thailand before cancelling the rest of her ticket and booking a one-way back to South Africa. For the next three-and-a-half years, Lauren worked as a guide for an overland camping safari company, travelling through South Africa all the way up to Uganda and back again. When living out of a dome tent became too much, she returned to South Africa, where she worked in Operations. Lauren returned to the UK to work as an African specialist for a reputable worldwide luxury travel company, but it wasn’t long before Africa came calling again.
Lauren then spent three years living in Tanzania. Here, she worked for leading tour operator Legendary Expeditions, which owns the likes of the sensational Mwiba Lodge. Lauren’s final year on the continent, 2015, saw her living on the beach island paradise Zanzibar, where she assisted in the start-up of a small tour operator and worked as a PADI scuba diving instructor.
“I would absolutely recommend Yellow Zebra to anyone looking to plan a safari. I’ve done three trips through YZ and Lauren has helped me plan the most amazing safaris each time. And not just amazing, but totally tailored to my needs, wants & budget. I love the flexibility, I really feel like the YZ team are able to make dreams come true.”
“I did a lot of research before going with yellow safari and I was pleased with my final choice. My representative Lauren, was extremely tentative to my constant changes to the vacation and many questions pre trip. Ultimately giving me an awesome trip to Uganda, for my gorilla trekking experience, the regular trek and the habituation trek, both beyond my expectations. I would love to go back and finish my African bucket list in the near future, if so I will definitely contact Yellow Zebra once again for their assistance.”
“This was my second time booking a safari through Yellow Zebra & Lauren. I’ve since booked a third one - which is proof of YZ doing an amazing job based on the customers wishes and needs. I recommend YZ to everyone asking me about going on safari. And because my trips are amazing, I get quite a few queries from friends. Lauren has gotten my vibe well since the start and I feel very safe with her & appreciate the personal touch. Needless to say, especially as safaris aren’t cheap, if I wasn’t happy with the service I wouldn’t be going for a third trip booked through YZ later this year :).”
“I cannot thank Yellow Zebra enough for creating the safari of a lifetime for us! Lauren was amazing to work with; she listened to our insane list of everything we wanted to do while in Africa and she came up with a few options of us to choose from... We visited 3 countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and YZ made it so that there was someone waiting for us at each airport giving us seamless transitions each time.”
“Lauren arranged the most amazing safari for us. We did our own transportation to and from Africa but all else was coordinated by Yellow Zebra. To say they did an awesome job is an understatement. From the beginning of the planning stages, Lauren worked up an itinerary for us and was always available for questions and phone conversations, no matter how trivial.”
Brian Jackman, safari expert for The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, Condé Nast, and the BBC
10 years in a row, since 2015
"Helpful, flexible, friendly service. I spoke to Eleanor who was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about organising my special trip"
Gill Riley
"YellowZebra was able to help customize my itinerary to my asks, and built the perfect first timers itinerary to “build up the suspense” in the beginning of the trip, and perfectly unwind towards the end. Their communication was excellent and their attention to detail made the absolute perfect hon..."
Michael Cohn
"This was my first safari and I'm pleased I found YZ. They definitely are safari experts and provide a high quality product that manages to balance customer experience with wildlife conservation/sustainability, which is a big plus in my book! Lauren Noakes really inspired me with her love & knowle..."
Rebecca
"What I really liked is that they got straight back to me when I asked any question and there was a personal contact. Organised a safari in Botswana and made informed suggestions to make our holiday "perfect"!"
Ron Hill
"James was great at listening and understanding what our group was looking for in our custom designed Safari. He put together a trip of a lifetime for 9 of us. He also found a way to do it within budget. The whole crew at Yellow Zebra was really easy to work with. One of our group members said "I..."
Donn
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