A snapshot

Heather has spent the last 16 years designing luxury bespoke tours to destinations across the globe including Eastern and Southern Africa for one of the UK’s leading tour operators. She’s experienced all that luxury travel has to offer and really enjoys not only passing on her passion for travel, and Africa in particular, but also ensuring that no stone is left untouched when it comes to planning an incredible holiday for her clients.

Recent travel experience

Heather’s most recent trip to Safari Africa took her to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, where she spent time in Mkuze and the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Game Reserve. Here she was lucky enough to spot several black rhinos as well as a small pack of wild dogs. Her next stop was the Isimangaliso Wetland Park, where the highlight was a moonlit picnic on the beach followed by watching a loggerhead turtle lay her eggs – a truly once-in-a-lifetime moment! From here she flew to Cape Town to meet family and spend a few days visiting their favourite spots in the city before heading to Langebaan for a week of relaxation. Here she enjoyed time on the beach as well as day trips to Paternoster and out into the Winelands.

African countries visited

Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania

Most memorable experience

“As I’ve been lucky enough to explore so many amazing places, it’s hard to narrow it down to just one most memorable experience! Snorkelling with manta rays and turtles in the Maldives, exploring hidden markets in Ho Chi Minh City, and eating amazing satay at the hawker centres of Singapore all come to mind.

However, my most memorable safari experience definitely has to be a bush breakfast with the elephants whilst on honeymoon at Selinda Explorers Camp in the Selinda Reserve. We’d stopped for breakfast and were out of the vehicle when a large herd of elephants appeared from a nearby woodland and began to cross the small channel in front of us – there must’ve been about 30 to 40 of them. We sat down with our backs against the vehicle (bowls of yogurt and granola in hand) and just watched as they passed by mere metres away. I held my breath in awe as I looked a baby elephant in the eye. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be this close to these giants of the bush yet feel so calm and serene – a truly magical experience!”

Heather's biography

Heather was born and raised in Hampshire. She grew up watching cine films of her Mum’s childhood in Kenya and dreamed of visiting Africa from a young age. She was fascinated by the wildlife and landscapes that she saw and the stories that were shared of life in Nairobi. This, alongside childhood summers spent in France, Austria, and Mallorca, fuelled an early love of travel. However, it wasn’t until she was 16 that her dream of going to Africa came true, with a family holiday to visit her Aunt who’d moved to South Africa.

On this trip, Heather and her family spent time in Durban and Sodwana Bay – and she also experienced her first safari, in Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Game Reserve. Seeing the wildlife she’d watched in black and white on a screen for real and experiencing the sounds and scents of the bush was just incredible – she was hooked!

After completing a degree in Dance & Theatre Studies at the University of Surrey Roehampton, Heather embarked on an 8-month trip travelling around South-East Asia and Australasia. On her return home, her Dad encouraged her to go into the travel industry – and she’s never looked back.

Working for one of the UK’s leading tour operators allowed Heather to keep exploring new destinations, and she’s now visited 47 countries across six continents.  However, the lure of Africa was strong, and she kept returning. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that the continent has been the venue for some pretty special life events: she got engaged at The Marine Hotel Hermanus, got married in The Winelands near Paarl, South Africa, and honeymooned in Botswana and the Seychelles. She’s looking forward to continuing to explore with Victoria Falls and Namibia high up on her list, and she can’t wait to take her young daughter on her first safari!