A snapshot

Anneli is undoubtedly one of the most knowledgeable experts in her specialist destinations. She was born in South Africa, raised in Namibia, and has worked within the Africa safari industry for twenty years.

Expert destinations

Botswana, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zanzibar.

Recent travel experience

Most recently, Anneli took a trip back to Botswana to expand her portfolio of camps and lodges. The trip included a few days of horse riding out of Macatoo.

Anneli's most memorable experience

"Far as long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to see two animals: a gorilla and a polar bear. Being in this job, we’re lucky enough to experience some incredible animal sightings, all of which are special every time. But these two eluded me until 2017, when I made it to Uganda. I managed two treks – both successful – and saw these amazing animals. There were tears, I’m not even going to hide that fact.

I’ll never forget when I was at the age of around 10, on one of our many trips into the far corners of Kaokoveld, and Dad stopped the car and got out to check on a really annoying rattle. Seconds later he very calmly got back into the car and quietly said, “Guys, look behind us.” That was when I saw my very first wild black rhino – trotting at a steady pace past the back of our car within about 5 metres, with a baby in tow!!! This experience taught me that, sometimes, you do just need to look back and see where you came from. That’s when you might see the best things.

Another time a leopard brushed right against my tent in Tanzania’s Tarangire National Park, at the head end of my bed. With me in it!

Trekking the Tongariro Crossing in New Zealand was also something I’ll not forget. Incredible landscapes, and being able to say that I made it up to Mordor’s Mount Doom was pretty epic as well!"

Anneli’s biography

Born and raised in Southern Africa, Anneli was a keen horse showjumper and dressage rider, with long weekends and holidays spent on the farm or camping in the far north-west of Namibia. To this day her parents still explore as much of the roads less traveled in Namibia as they can, with the trusty Land Rover and GPS at the ready.

Upon finishing school, Anneli’s indecision as to whether to study Nature Conservation, Marine Biology or Archaeology resulted in trying a year in South Africa’s vibrant Cape Town on a computer course, which just wasn’t for her. However, having headed back home to Namibia, she started working at a nearby lodge, and never looked back. The natural progression from lodge work to office, meant slowly but steadily selling more and more destinations as the years went by. Two decades later, she’s still going!

In 2005, Anneli decided to explore more of the world, traveling to the UK and specifically Scotland first, where she promptly got sucked into the obligatory 2-year job behind the bar. But the call of Africa was strong, and she relocated to southern England to get back into sharing her passion for Africa with the world. She spent several years working for a renowned UK-based safari specialist company, joining Yellow Zebra in 2021.