There is something exotic, romantic and exciting about an African safari. It is unlike anywhere else in the World with endless iconic destinations; from Cape Town to the Mountains of the Moon, the Serengeti and the Skeleton Coast, Zanzibar, the Victoria Falls and the Okavango Delta.
•   INDEPENDENT TRAVEL EXPERTS   •

Independent Travel Experts

The Passage to Africa team of travel experts possess a wealth of knowledge that only comes from living in Africa and having a passion for safari life, wildlife and wilderness.

Our journeys are tailor-made to you, one-offs and planned with you. We prefer to speak to you so that we can fully understand what it is that you would like and expect. Only then can we add our unique and innovative flavour. Using the finest safari camps, lodges and small hotels, we believe in creating a journey that tells a story. The selection and order of which areas and properties to use at a particular time of year is essential and we only recommend places that we personally know.

The key to our safaris is combining deep local knowledge with the highest degree of personalised service and meticulous attention to detail. Whatever your dream is; the great migration, tracking mountain gorillas, watching lions on the plains or elephants by Kilimanjaro; participating in a research programme or community project; walking through pristine wilderness or sitting by a campfire with a fine single malt; sleeping in a tent, a villa or under the stars; we are here to guide you.

Barbara Boast-Blaettler

Born and raised in Luzern, Switzerland, Barbara has travelled, lived and worked around the globe, from Scandinavia to North America, Algeria to Bermuda. Yet no place left its mark on Barbara quite like her first trip to South Africa did in the late 80’s. It was love at first sight and from that time on all of her holidays were spent exploring Southern Africa.

Barbara has travelled extensively throughout South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. Living in Africa is a choice for Barbara, she moved here in 1992 and has never looked back. Besides her mother tongue German, is fluent in English, French and Italian.

As she says, “On my first trip to Botswana in 1991 I found something I did not know I had been looking for and knew then that I had to integrate Africa into my life. Having managed to do exactly that, Passage to Africa gives me the opportunity to share this. There is nothing better than being responsible for a first time traveller to Africa catching the Africa bug”.

Derynne Mchardy

Derynne was born and raised in South Africa and began her travel industry career as a travel agent in 1990. With over 20 years of tourism experience, Derynne is as passionate and excited now about travel in Africa as she has ever been. With hands on operational experience, Derynne is committed to ensuring that each and every guest has the trip of a lifetime through carefully planned itineraries tailor-made to meet their needs and exceed their expectations.

A vibrant member of the Passage to Africa team, Derynne brings a lot of laughter to the office. Having personally traveled extensively within the region she advises against eating mopani worms and when asked what her one essential travel item would be she replied, “A great friend to share the experience with”.

Linleigh Anderson

Linleigh was born in Johannesburg and at the age of seven her family moved to the lowveld, just outside the gates of the Kruger National Park. This was a paradise for her as a child as the area was very wild in those days. Five years later the family moved back to Johannesburg and Linleigh made a promise to herself that she would one day go back to the bush. 

After an eighteen year career in event management, which took her to destinations like Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania and Mozambique, Linleigh decided it was time to go back to her roots and soothe her soul. She now lives on a wildlife estate in Hoedspruit, South Africa and gets to wake up in the bush every day. Here, her vivid imagination can picture, smell and hear everything, allowing her to escape on a regular basis to places wild and wonderful, places that she takes her fortunate guests.

Tracy Salvadori

Tracey was born in Zambia and raised in South Africa. She has been in the travel industry since 1986, selling outbound leisure and corporate travel all over the World.  During this time she traveled the globe, from the U.K. and Europe to the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. Closer to home she has traveled and spent time in Mauritius, the Seychelles, Comores, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Tracey joined the Passage to Africa team in 2009 and is based in the Hoedspruit office.  A proud South African, she is at her happiest helping people from all over the World come to see and experience the land and Continent that she loves. Always up for a challenge Tracey has traveled on the Amazon River and eaten frogs in Bangkok and her next adventure, trekking to see the mountain gorillas in Rwanda.