About Me
I'm based in London with a passion for both digital marketing and travelling the world - making this role at Go2Africa my dream job. During my 20 year career in marketing, I've focussed on the travel industry, helping drive growth for a range of brands, from startups like HostelBookers.com to global corporations like Expedia Inc. I always try to fit in a break between roles, which has meant I've had the opportunity to travel to over 90 countries, these days flashpacking rather than backpacking!
Where I have travelled
With family in South Africa, I've managed to explore a fair bit of the country, and have also made it to Mozambique via the Kruger a few times. In my backpacking days, my now-wife and I spent 4 months travelling Africa overland from Uganda to Cape Town, mixing up public transport and hitch-hiking with our 2-man tent with some car hire and luxury experiences. We really felt we saw a good portion of East and Southern Africa on that trip, and have so many incredible memories.
I've also managed to tick off some wildlife bucket list activities outside of Africa, including seeing tigers and rhinos in India, orangutans in Sumatra, and one scarily-giant anaconda in the Amazon.
My favourite travel moment
Such a hard one, but one African memory that still makes me smile was spending a day driving Namibia's Skeleton Coast in our tiny VW Polo hire car. The scenery was stunning and we didn't see another soul, only some oryx. When we eventually pulled into a campsite for the night, it was full of huge 4X4s and we got some incredulous looks from their drivers. Apparently, a VW Polo is not your standard desert wilderness vehicle, but it served us well!
What I love about Africa
I'm a huge fan of authentic travel experiences and love to learn about diverse cultures away from the tourist crowds. Going off-grid in Africa allowed me to indulge this passion. In terms of having pristine wilderness on your doorstep, Africa is quite simply unbeatable. And, of course, there's nowhere else in the world that can come close to Africa when it comes to seeing wild animals in their natural habitat.
My best African travel advice
Africa is a place where it pays to go with the flow. Stressing about a train being late or a bus not showing up doesn't get you too far. It's better to just soak up the experience. There's a saying we got very used to hearing - Pole Pole. It means 'slowly' in Swahili.
Where I'd love to go next
One of the great things about travelling in Africa is the amount of choice and variety on offer. Having not been to Kenya before, a Masai Mara and Mombassa trip is definitely calling, and I'd also love to revisit the Okavango, Namibia, Ngorongoro, and Zanzibar with my 2 little boys in tow.
