CRAFTING
AWESOME
SAFARIS
FOR YOU
CRAFTING
AWESOME
SAFARIS
FOR YOU
Warm and effervescently friendly, Nicky is passionate about sharing her love of Africa. Based in Ireland, she runs Passage to Africa’s European office, but ensures she gets her Africa fix with regular trips south – especially to Kenya. Raised in a family rooted in the safari industry (her father pioneering Botswana’s fly-in safaris), Nicky grew up with a deep appreciation of Africa’s wild places. A dab hand at designing extraordinary safaris and with extensive experience running reservations, sales & marketing, and inbound operating departments for renowned international travel companies, she has developed an unrivalled reputation within the African tour operating business, and attention to detail that is second to none.
No decisions to be made - bliss! Perhaps Erich Fromm was right in his seminal book, 'Escape from Freedom', that humankind's deepest desire is for others to take charge.
Elizabeth, New York
A vibrant member of the Passage to Africa team, Derry combines a great sense of humour with matchless insight and extreme efficiency. Having travelled extensively throughout the region, she advises against eating mopani worms, and when asked what her one essential travel item is she replies: “A great friend to share the experience.” Born and raised in South Africa, she boasts over 25 years of tourism experience and is as passionate and excited about travel in Africa as she has ever been. Committed to ensuring that each and every guest has the trip of a lifetime, Derry’s carefully planned itineraries are tailor-made to meet guests’ needs and blow their expectations out of the water.
Bubbly with serious substance, Tracey is at her happiest helping people from all over the world experience the continent she loves most. Always up for a challenge, she has navigated the Amazon River, parasailed on Lake Malawi and declined eating frogs in Bangkok, and is now based in our Hoedspruit office. Born in Zambia and raised in South Africa, Tracey has worked in the travel industry since 1986, and has travelled the globe, from the UK and Europe to the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East. Closer to home she has explored Mauritius, the Seychelles, the Comores, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, and is always plotting a new adventure, the next being to trek to see Rwanda’s mountain gorillas.
We can’t thank you enough for orchestrating such an amazing trip for us. We were really blown away by it all and had the time of our lives. A+ job and we can’t wait to take our grown kids back on the same trip in the next couple of years!
The Rockledge Family, USA
Roxanne is contagiously passionate, interested, and curious about the natural world. She has ventured into some of the planet’s last remaining wildernesses, and her greatest joy lies in sharing their magic and wonder with others.
Born in South Africa and now based in Nairobi, Kenya, Roxanne’s heart is deeply rooted in Africa, which serves as her launching pad for both local and global expeditions.
From the sweeping savannahs of Africa to the pristine ice sheets of Antarctica, she crafts extraordinary journeys of discovery. With an unwavering commitment to authenticity and a touch of elegance, Roxanne ensures every adventure is as unique and unforgettable as the landscapes they are in.
Willis Okech is a professional Gold-certified safari guide and scholar of African and environmental history. A pioneer member of the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA), he has over 30 years guiding experience and holds Kenya’s first KPSGA Gold Certification. An avid birder, naturalist, and accomplished award-winning nature photographer, Willis specializes in leading private birding, wildlife, photography, cultural, and historical tours across Africa.
In 2003, Willis set out to pursue higher education in the US, seeking a greater understanding of the complexities and nuances of human-environmental relations. He attained a BA in History and B-Phil in Environmental Studies (2007) from Miami University, OH before attaining his MA (2009) and PhD (2014) in History (with a focus on African and environmental history) from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). From 2014 to 2023, Willis was a full-time faculty member, teaching courses in African and environmental history at Oberlin College (OH) and Sam Houston State University. Willis, or Professor “O” as his students called him, also led successful student-oriented study-abroad programs to Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana.
Willis continues to advocate for Africa’s environmental and conservation issues through guiding, scholarship, and public speaking in Kenya and the US. Informed by his experiential and academic backgrounds, he has recently taken a keen interest in preserving Kenya’s traditional cultures and architecture. He is a firm believer in promoting conservation in Kenya through incorporating viable traditional initiatives. Willis volunteers to mentor upcoming Kenyan naturalist guides, heads KPSGA’s Examination Committee, and is also the Chair of Nature Kenya’s Bird Committee.
Prof. “O” is finalizing work on his first book monograph, Maasailand in Kenya’s Environmental History: Tradition, Livestock, and Wildlife Conservation, 1890-2000. The study examines Maasai agency and its place in Kenya’s conservationist history. An interdisciplinary study of African environmental history, it reviews Maasai and other African oral traditions, ethnographies, and natural histories among other methodological approaches to interrogate the changing power relations over control of Maasailand and its wildlife during and after the colonial period.
We love bodies of water so chose Zambia – on the advice of Passage to Africa – and they structured our safari around the rivers of this landlocked country. Just an hour after arriving, I’d already seen elephants drinking, baboons playing on a sandy beach and hippos floating on a sandbar.
Passage to Africa has relationships with private safari reserve owners across the continent, so they can arrange one of a kind mobile camps on their land, where no one else can can go.
Africa is no weekend destination. With safaris, wildlife treks, waterfall hikes, and a whole lot of other bucket list items to offer, it warrants a nice long stay to get the most out of your trip. Passage to Africa specializes in Africa’s most beautiful and unique experiences from walking among gorillas and taking in a wildebeest migration to climbing Victoria Falls and sitting in ‘Devil’s Pool.’ They make it very possible to go from mundane work day to impulse flight booking in 15 seconds. Check them out.
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