Together with the SouthAfrica-Experience team, you will see South Africa through the eyes of locals. We have travelled to every corner of this land, wandered along its shores, hiked along its trails, studied its history and cultures, admired its wildlife, and enjoyed its cuisine. South Africa is our home and we fall in love with it again and again.
At our office in Somerset West in the Western Cape, we work hand in hand to make your South Africa travel dreams come true.
We want to share with you what we love, because we know you will love it too.
Alexandra has been part of the team since 2011. Equipped with meticulous attention to detail and many years of experience, she stays on top of things even in the busiest times. She has travelled around Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, visiting many lodges and camps. When climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Alexandra learned to respect the demanding trek up the highest mountain in Africa and is proud to have made it to Stella Point. As an animal lover and resolute advocate of animals’ rights, she cares deeply about Africa’s wildlife and promotes the values of sustainable tourism.
Product Manager Southern Africa
Marlene Tritschler
Marlene started working in the tourism industry in 2005 as a trainee for a small tour operator, specialising in trips to Southern and East Africa. Over the years she worked as a Sales and Product Manager, organising self-drive trips in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique as well as safaris in Botswana and Tanzania. On her visits to these countries she got to know the places, as well as the people, and is now one of our very experienced team members.
South Africa Travel Expert
Mia Hald
As a tour guide for a Danish tour operator, Mia spent 10 years exploring South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Europe, and China. After many years on the road, she is now an integral part of our office team of travel experts; her experience as a guide has taught her how important it is to communicate a clear picture of each trip to her guests. Passing on the joy of travel comes naturally to Mia as she loves spending time out and about in nature. She is a passionate photographer and will bring her camera wherever she goes.
South Africa Travel Expert
Elisabeth Kaiser
Working in travel and tourism brings Elisabeth closer to what she loves the most: exploring new countries and cultures. Eli grew up in Germany but has been living in South Africa since 2008. Before joining Africa-Experience, she completed her studies in tourism management and worked for an international airline while always making time to explore the region of southern Africa: from all over South Africa to southern and northern Namibia, coastal Mozambique as well as Tanzania and Zanzibar. Eli loves to travel and looks forward to sharing this love and passion with her guests, making you aware of how beautiful, different, and interesting the world can really be.
South Africa Travel Expert
Vana Lingham
Vana was born and raised in Cape Town and has explored many areas of Southern and Eastern Africa from here: From the Garden Route to Kruger National Park and Madikwe in South Africa, from Swakopmund, to Etosha, the Damaraland, and the Namib Desert in Namibia; from eSwatini to Zimbabwe, to Zambia, Botswana, and Malawi. She went on safaris in northern and southern Tanzania and met the mountain gorillas of Rwanda. When planning a trip with her guests, she relives the experiences of her own travels, sharing many tips and favourite places. Vana has always worked in travel and tourism, but still enjoys the challenge of learning about new destinations and activities – always looking for the perfect dream trip for her guests.
South Africa Travel Expert
Dirk Reiche
Dirk joined our team in 2023 after a diverse career as a chef, guide, marketing manager, and driving instructor. Born in Johannesburg, Dirk lived in Umhlanga near Durban in South Africa, Windhoek in Namibia, and Winterberg in Germany. His passion for Africa led him to travel through East Africa and Congo. Naturally, his path led him to become a guide for self-drive tours, travelling extensively throughout Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia, gaining proficiency as a level two off-roading instructor. His favourite places to recommend include the Skeleton Coast National Park for its allure of adventure and the Savuti in the Chobe National Park for incredible wildlife and stunning scenery. He is a natural people person, relishing the opportunity to share his knowledge of Africa with others, which will shine through when you contact Dirk. Dirk speaks English, German, Afrikaans and Funi-galore.
Marketing Manager
Evelyn Kürz
Evelyn has one of the best jobs of them all: as Marketing Manager, she gets to tell the whole world about the beauty of South Africa and the excitement when travelling the vast landscapes. She finds this no trouble as she has travelled the country extensively herself, being impressed by its diversity of safari adventures, hiking trips, and idyllic winelands. Evelyn has been in the tourism industry since 2004 and joined the team in 2010. With her vast knowledge of Southern Africa and understanding of the industry she is a passionate ambassador for South Africa travel.
Daniel’s job as our General Manager is almost as diverse as his background. Growing up in Turkey and Germany, he moved to England before settling in South Africa. He studied Psychology at the University of Constance and completed his MBA at the University of Cape Town, worked in the film industry, as director of an NGO and Global HR manager at an international airline. Today, Daniel pulls the strings behind the scenes, aligning strategy with reality and translating it into our day-to-day business. Whenever he gets the chance, he escapes to Cape Town’s beaches and mountains or the remote Wild Coast.
Assistant Operations Manager
Amy Adams
Amy was born and raised in Cape Town and has travelled extensively throughout Southern Africa. In 2019, she joined Africa-Experience as a reservationist, specialising in Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. With her strong background in reservations, customer service, and operations, Amy transitioned to a new role in 2024.
As the Assistant Operations Manager, Amy coordinates tours, manages logistics, and plays a key role in delivering exceptional services. She enjoys being part of a supportive team that creates seamless and memorable travel experiences for people from around the world. Amy looks forward to contributing to the ongoing success of the Africa-Experience Collection. She is fluent in both English and Afrikaans.
Reservations Manager
Manon Hartman
Since the early 2000s Manon has been part of the travel industry and still enjoys every day. Doing her bit to make our guests dream of travel in Africa come true, makes it a rewarding experience. As Reservations Manager, she leads our reservations team, staying on top of things even during the busiest of seasons. Originally Dutch but having lived most of her life in South Africa, she appreciates the country’s natural beauty and diversity. Whenever she can, she gets out to the beach to spend time by the ocean or exploring Cape Town.
Assistant Reservations Manager
Linda Schoerger
Linda, born in Kenya and raised in Mombasa, joined our team in 2013 as an East African reservationist. With extensive travel experience in sub-Saharan Africa, she later expanded her focus to include southern African destinations like Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana. Linda enjoys working with a team to help guests plan their dream trips and loves organising every detail while deepening her knowledge of these regions.
In 2024, Linda was promoted to Assistant Reservations Manager for South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana. She supports the Operations and Reservations Managers by managing daily bookings, ensuring quality control, optimising resources, and enhancing customer satisfaction. Linda also handles block bookings, maintains supplier relationships, and oversees team training. She is fluent in English, Swahili, and Luo.
Reservations Agent
Chanté Martinus
Chanté was born and raised in Cape Town and still lives in this beautiful region. She has travelled to Namibia and Mozambique; however, Botswana is at the top of her list of countries to visit.
Chanté joined our team in 2023 after working as an Accounts Assistant and a governmental Educator Assistant and Monitor, which complemented her degree in Political Studies.
She loves being part of a company that makes international guests’ dream experiences in southern Africa a reality. In particular, she enjoys the flexibility and creativity because each guest’s experience differs from the next.
She says, “We all look forward to our guests’ tour because we enjoy their experience from behind the scenes, knowing that they are having experiences that will live with them forever.”
Chanté speaks English and Afrikaans.
Reservations Agent
Candice Benjamin
Candice is from Cape Town, a city renowned for its stunning landscapes and rich cultural heritage.
Before joining our team in 2024, she worked for the Department of Tourism and Development and managed her own telecommunications business.
Candice is passionate about travel and finds the tourism industry incredibly rewarding. Her favourite place is the Garden Route, known for its breathtaking scenery, charming towns, and natural beauty, making it an exceptional destination. Her passion for this region inspires her to promote travel experiences in South Africa.
Working with a talented team that creates customised travel solutions and provides exceptional service keeps her engaged and inspired in her dynamic role. She explains that every day is a new opportunity to help others experience the world’s diverse landscapes and cultures.
Candice speaks both English and Afrikaans.
Reservations Agent
Miriam Rix
Miriam is from the picturesque city of Cape Town, known for its stunning natural beauty, which includes its expansive oceans and majestic mountains.
She describes it as an incredible destination for its vibrant culture, characterised by a fantastic sense of humour, and its abundance of wine farms and delectable cuisine.
In 2024, she became a part of our team, bringing with her experience as a social media manager, business process outsourcing (BPO) trainer, and customer service agent.
One of the things Miriam finds most fulfilling in her role is creating unforgettable experiences for our guests at our exceptional destinations, where she constantly learns and discovers new things. She also takes pride in organising every last detail, knowing that seamless organisation leaves our guests free to savour the experience.
Miriam speaks English and Afrikaans.
Reservations Agent
Lauren Hartman
Lauren was born and raised in Botswana but has lived in Cape Town since 2006.
She has travelled extensively in South Africa and Botswana and wants to explore East Africa, including the destinations we offer in Kenya and Tanzania.
In 2023, she joined our team to help with accounts administration while pursuing her degree in Consumer Science.
She finds working in tourism very interesting from an administrative point of view as we design unique experiences for a vast number of guests from around the world. Moreover, she finds working with our travel experts always motivating as it opens up more skills to learn, whether in our accounting or booking software management.
Lauren speaks English and Afrikaans.
Systems Manager – Tourplan
Anri van der Merwe
Anri was born in South Africa and lived in Pretoria for twenty-nine years before moving to Somerset West in Cape Town in 2015.
Our team shares a love for travel and people, and Anri is no different. She has travelled to Germany, Singapore, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and Lesotho.
Having earned a degree in Tourism Management and an Aviation Quality and Safety Officer diploma, she has held roles as an aviation quality and safety officer, a senior administrator, and a product manager.
In 2023, she joined our team, bringing a passion for systems and software. Although she doesn’t work directly with our guests, she enjoys liaising with our long-standing partners such as accommodations all across sub-Saharan Africa, creating systems that allow our country experts to design unique itineraries for our guests.
Tourplan Consultant
Gustavo Godoy
Gustavo, originally from Brazil, fell in love with Cape Town and decided to stay in 2007.
He has travelled extensively. His favourite destinations are Namibia, for its stunning scenery, and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park, for its high concentration of wildlife in an incredible ecosystem. Yet, he still dreams of seeing the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.
With a degree in tourism and hospitality, his passion for technology and systems led to ten years of experience managing websites and booking software.
In 2023, he joined our team to manage our Tourplan booking systems, helping our travel experts create unique itineraries for our guests as smoothly as possible.
Ultimately, he enjoys the feeling of helping people from around the world to visit and experience the incredible variation of people, cultures, landscapes, and wildlife of the African continent.
