Diederik van den Hoeke - Welcome to my profile!

About Me

I was born in Belgium, but left at the age of four and spent most of my life in Central and East Africa - Burundi, Tanzania, and Kenya. I worked for a local NGO in Tanzania and ran my own tourism business in Mombasa before guiding tours in Southern Africa and then joining Go2Africa - my first job between four walls.

Unable to resist the charms of my favourite part of Africa, I moved to back to Uganda! I am a genuine philanthropist with a keen interest in ecology and conservation and believe passionately in the value of intercultural exchange. I always seek to create authentic and meaningful experiences of the Africa I came to know and respect.

Where have I travelled

I have lived in Belgium, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, South Africa and Algeria and now live in Uganda. Besides those countries, I have also travelled to the DRC, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and parts of Europe.

My favourite travel moment

Being introduced to the world of safaris when I was seven or eight years old and travelling with the family on rough roads through the Democratic Republic of Congo.

What I love about Africa

I have a passion for this colourful continent, its people, its different cultures and its wildlife. I have had the privilege to live in different parts of Africa for over 15 years and feel absolutely at home here. I respect all sorts of different norms and values which does not necessarily mean I would make them my own. But one thing I am sure of is that we can learn many things from each other.

Some African travel advice

Travel with an open mind – we can all learn many things from each other.

Where I'd love to go next

Ethiopia – and a return visit to the DRC (after not having been there for 30 years!).