A snapshot

Born in South Africa, Dewald was introduced to safaris by his family, from visiting Kruger National Park to overlanding and camping in Botswana. He studied conservation, after which he worked as a safari guide at Phinda Private Game Reserve.

Expert destinations

South Africa, Botswana, Namibia.

Recent travel experience

Dewald travels back to South Africa and Botswana a few times every year to visit family. His most recent trip was to the Garden Route and Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, where he got engaged!

Most memorable experience

“Having spent so much time in the bush and on safari, it is so difficult to think of the ‘most memorable’ experience. Any time spent in Africa is something to write about!

But my thoughts always jump to the height of the pandemic, when I had the privilege to stay on in Phinda to help manage everything while there were no guests. As luck had it, pangolins were being reintroduced into the area after they went extinct almost 70 years ago.

I ended up joining the conservation team for a while (they needed a guide with a rifle for safety) during the reintroduction of a few pangolins. After only ever hearing of pangolins and how insanely difficult it is to see these scaly critters, I ended up seeing one almost every day for a month! Other memorable experiences included conservation work with elephants, black and white rhino, and cheetah. That says a lot about the pangolin experience.”

Dewald's biography

Born in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa to a lawyer and stay-at-home mom, Dewald and his two siblings were first introduced to the bush by their grandparents, who helped raise them.

When Dewald was a little older, long road trips all the way from Joburg up to the Okavango Delta and Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana became a family favourite. Here everyone would camp in the unfenced camping grounds that are scattered far and wide. Often, lions and hyenas roamed around the tents at night. It was here that Dewald fell in love with conservation and safari.

When Dewald was about to go to secondary school, his parents decided to pack it all up in Joburg and move to Central Botswana to give their kids a better life. And what a great move it was! It just cemented the love for the natural world in their son. Dewald ended up in a small Namibian boarding school, commuting across the border every weekend. After school, he studied conservation back in South Africa.

Once his studies were over, Dewald joined the famous &Beyond selection course to become a guide. Here he was placed at Phinda Private Game Reserve, where he guided at all the different lodges. Phinda, being on the forefront of conservation work, gave Dewald the opportunity to be part of rhino, cheetah, elephant, and pangolin conservation projects. These inspired memories he will forever carry with him. Since then, Dewald has moved to the UK to be with his partner, and he joined the YZ herd soon after.