Michael Lorentz

Michael Lorentz is passionate about wildlife, the wilderness and elephants in particular. Many share this feeling and have joined Michael on safari, often walking with a herd of African elephants through Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

Michael started his bush career in South Africa’s Timbavati Game reserve in 1985 and soon moved to Botswana, becoming Assistant General Manager of the well-known safari company, Gametrackers. After many years of guiding professionally, he established his own business consulting in ecotourism and training guides. Then in 1991 he met Randall J Moore who had successfully returned elephants from zoos around the world back to the wilds of Africa. Together they formed and built Elephant Back Safaris. They tendered and won the lease for an enormous concession in the Okavango Delta, half a million acres! Over the next nine years Elephant Back Safaris gained an extraordinary reputation; for both the unique opportunity to ride and walk with the elephants as well as being a pioneer of luxury safaris in Botswana.

In early 2000 Michael moved back to South Africa and joined forces with Mike Kirkinis to develop and expand Passage To Africa. Michael now lives in Cape Town with his family, and as managing partner steers the Passage to Africa ship. He is heavily involved in ecotourism consulting and has project managed numerous developments across the continent. Guiding remains his first professional love and he personally conducts privately guided safaris throughout Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, Namibia and East Africa.

Nicky Williams

Nicky Williams was raised in a family rooted in the safari industry, her father pioneered fly-in safaris into Botswana and they owned a number of lodges in both South Africa and Botswana. She grew to love and appreciate all things ‘safari’ and from 1985 Nicky worked as a camp manager in the Greater Kruger National Park. In 1991 Nicky moved into management and over the next sixteen years variously ran the reservations, sales & marketing and inbound operating departments for such internationally recognized companies as Safariplans and Welcome Tourism Services.

In 2007 Nicky joined the board of Passage to Africa reuniting with long time associates, Michael Lorentz and Mike Kirkinis.  She is passionate about Africa and in an unrivaled career within the African tour operating business has developed a reputation for knowledge of the industry and attention to detail that is second to none.

Nicky runs the European office from Ireland where she lives with her family and where she continues to be the administrative hub of the company.

Mike Kirkinis

Mike Kirkinis grew up immersed in the travel industry and by the age of eighteen had lived in many of the world’s great cities, Athens, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Rio amongst them.

After returning to South Africa he joined the family business, Afrolympic Travel, taking over its management in 1988. Under his guidance the company became a local leader in both retail and corporate travel.

In 1997, along with two partners, he formed Kwando Safaris. They managed conservation areas and were the owner/operators of three luxury, tented camps in the Kwando and Okavango Delta regions of Northern Botswana. They also included in their portfolio Songwe Lodge at Victoria Falls. Mike's primary responsibility was marketing and sales where he soon established Kwando Safaris as one of the major lodge operators in Botswana.

He joined forces with Michael Lorentz in 2000 and together they built Passage To Africa. One of the safari industry’s leading personalities, Mike is involved in both the marketing of extraordinary safaris and in consulting to the ecotourism industry. He also plays an active role in the development of numerous rural community-based projects.

Equally at home in the bustle of New York and in the vast emptiness of the Makgadikgadi pans, Mike is very much the modern bushman. Raconteur, photographer, helicopter pilot, chef extraordinaire and committed conservationist, he is a true master in the art of safari.

Sandor Carter

Sandor’s first career was seven years with the British Army. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst he went on to see active service as a troop leader in the Middle East during the First Gulf Conflict of 1990/91. In 1993 he was employed by Elephant Back Safaris and it was there that he learnt the ropes of the safari business, as a camp manager, guide and elephant mahout. This is also where he met Passage to Africa founding partner Michael Lorentz. After seven years in Botswana Sandor moved to East Africa where he both guided and managed two of the most remote camps in Tanzania, Greystoke Mahale and Sand Rivers Selous. In 2005, after twelve years in the field, Sandor was invited to join Ker & Downey Kenya Safaris, established in 1946, the oldest safari company in Africa and where he is also a partner.

As a Pan-African guide Sandor continues to travel the Continent. As a Passage to Africa partner he runs the East African base of operation. Specializing in exciting, original and inspirational safaris, Sandor’s expertise lies in his knowledge of the Continent, precision planning and his ability to show guests the magic of life in the bush.

Tara Getty

“The only way to ensure the long term survival of Africa's wildlife and wilderness areas is to enable the surrounding communities to benefit from the conservation of the areas through sustainable eco-tourism” - Tara Getty.

Tara is a deeply committed philanthropist and conservationist with a great passion for Africa, its people and its wildlife. The “Africa bug” first bit him when he worked in Kenya before going to university in England. In the early 1990’s Tara and his brother Mark were approached to invest in the Phinda Project in South Africa which involved buying up a number of old hunting farms and turning them into a single contiguous game reserve. This project was built on the back of a sustainable eco-tourism business and located in one of the most ecologically diverse areas on the Continent. Tara immediately seized this opportunity to return to Africa and to become involved in the conservation and hospitality business from the ground up. Since then he has continued to invest in wildlife conservation and into the surrounding communities through the Africa Foundation, a charitable foundation which builds schools, clinics and job training centers in order to uplift impoverished rural communities that neighbor conservation areas.

Tara is an active director and partner in Passage To Africa.

Carol Rippon

Carol is Michael Lorentz’s assistant and 'mans' the head office. This is a totally new adventure for Carol, as she has spent most of her working years as a lecturer and college administrator.  She finds the safari world a wonderful change and a great challenge. 

Carol grew up in Zimbabwe and has a great love of the bush, instilled in her by her father from an early age. She grew up walking in Mana Pools, Hwange and Matusadona. Carol completed a BA, HDE degree majoring in graphic design.  This love of design has been very useful in the design and advertising arena and, with her many years of administrative experience she co-ordinates the day to day running of Passage to Africa.