A snapshot

Charlotte’s vast experience ranges from working in the luxury leisure sector to assisting business travelers and journalists, to working in the film industry alongside Oscar-winning actors and directors. Charlotte has also studied wine to WSET Level 2 and is a qualified Western Cape Guide, specializing in Wine and the art of sabrage!

Recent travel experience

"On my last trip to South Africa, I visited Cape Town and The Winelands. I stayed at Ellerman House and Mount Nelson Hotel and enjoyed catching up with friends, eating in the numerous fabulous restaurants and wineries Cape Town has to offer. We hiked Lion’s Head one morning, which was tough but totally worth it for the panoramic views of the city, sea, and mountains! On our last night, we stayed in Franschhoek at La Residence and Mont Rochelle, visiting some of my favorite vineyards, eating in wonderful restaurants (including La Petite Colombe), and enjoying the Franschhoek Motor Museum, which has an incredible collection of over 200 classic cars, dating back to 1898.

I have been making up for lost trips during Covid, so in the last year I’ve also travelled to The Netherlands, The Dutch Antilles, France (mainly Paris), Portugal, Spain, Iceland (Reykjavik), Italy, and Turkey."

African countries visited

South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, The Gambia, Morocco, Mauritius, Seychelles.

Charlotte's biography

Charlotte was born in Hong Kong; her father was in the military, and so began the travel bug and thirst for adventure. Her first holiday was in Malaysia, building sandcastles on Penang beach.

On moving back to the UK, Charlotte grew up in Cornwall, enjoying outdoor life from horse-riding on the beach to being a lifeguard in the summer holidays. As a student, she moved to Preston and studied International Tourism and Business Management at the University of Lancashire, where she was also Captain of the Equestrian Team. While spending a memorable year as an intern at British Airways, Charlotte was also fortunate to take advantage of staff travel benefits and travel extensively through the USA and the Caribbean.

On graduation, Charlotte began working in the luxury travel sector. In this role, she enjoyed booking luxury holidays worldwide specializing in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, and Africa. Charlotte loved looking after her clients from the inquiry stage through to the end of their holiday, delighting them along the way with exceptional service. She then decided to move into business travel to understand the complexity of flights, routings, and fare rules. Using the flight booking system, Charlotte looked after UK and USA banks, various newspapers, journalists, and sports correspondents (including the Formula One correspondent), assisting with travel and accommodation needs all over the world. After that, she moved to Cape Town, where she began working as a travel and accommodation coordinator in the film industry, a role that involved Hollywood blockbusters, high-end TV streaming services and films (Netflix, Apple, and Prime TV), and TV commercials across Africa and Mauritius. Finally, she moved back to the United Kingdom. For a while, Charlotte continued to work in the film industry, as she enjoyed looking after casts’ and crews’ travel arrangements from start to finish. However, she missed Africa and really wanted to return to the luxury travel industry. 

Today Charlotte lives permanently in the UK and has joined the Yellow Zebra team to continue her passion for travel, particularly for safaris and the African continent.

Most memorable experience

“I have been incredibly lucky to have experienced many wonderful sightings on safari. Each time is different and equally magical. The two that stand out for me are as follows:

While on safari in the Eastern Cape (Kariega Settlers Drift), I had the experience of a male bull elephant walking right past me, a foot away from the vehicle! We were in the safari vehicle at a safe distance, when our guide stopped and turned off the engine, as a large elephant was approaching. He turned quietly to us and said, ‘Listen.’ As the elephant glided past emitting a low rumble, he was so close I could feel his breath. My heart was pounding with a mixture of fear and adrenaline as he slowly walked past, without a care in the world.

Horse riding on safari is a wonderful experience, and once in Limpopo at Ant’s Nest I had the opportunity to go on a ride with other experienced riders. We were delighted to come across a giraffe foal that had just been born a few hours ago. It was already walking and so adorable! There is no way we would have seen this in a safari vehicle, as it was deep in the wilds.”