Safari Club Holidays & Tours - about us

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN...

Safari Club have, for over ten years, been providing luxury “Tailor Made Safari Holidays” to discerning clients from around the world. The owners and consultants have lived and worked in Africa and have a passion for Africa’s wildlife, unspoilt wilderness and people which they love to share with guests.

Our expertise lies in creating superb wildlife holidays to all the principal safari destinations in East and Southern Africa. We specialise in Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Kenya as well as the gorilla trekking destinations of Rwanda and Uganda.

Our consultants are highly experienced at providing superb safari holidays to all of these destinations and love to work with potential guests to identify and create the perfect safari holiday to suit the individual guest.

We do not limit ourselves to wildlife and also organise African and Indian Ocean beach breaks, adventure experiences, city and cultural tours to complement our wildlife safaris.

Safari Club also cater to families, honeymooners, special interest and incentive groups providing the same level of personal attention whether the guests are solo travellers or larger groups.

Many of our camps in Africa are joint initiatives with local people where training and education in wildlife conservation and management provides employment in the camps and lodges thus ensuring there is mutual interest in conserving these wild places for the enjoyment of future generations.

Good planning is essential for a great safari holiday our consultants will listen carefully to a guest’s requirements and plan accordingly. It is important to choose the right country and destination for the time of year. Equally important is the right style of safari, safari lodges and camps. Safari Club consultants have seen and experienced our African destinations first hand ensuring our clients are correctly advised when planning a visit to one of the few truly unspoilt and pristine destinations left in the world.

Any advice given is genuinely independent we are not tied to any particular suppliers or group and our safari experts will offer the best impartial advice for each individual client.

Our company ethos is to provide the best possible tailor made safari holiday, at a great price. We never compromise the quality of your safari in the interests of price. Any safari booked through Safari Club would be cheaper than booking direct with the lodges or hotels as well as providing the high level of consumer protection expected of UK based tour operators.

 

Safari Club Holidays & Tours - Ellie & Paul on horse-back safari

Ellie Downhill

Financial Director

My first trip to Africa was back in the 80’s when we went to Zimbabwe on holiday. We hired a Land Rover, took a lightweight tent & sleeping bags & set off. Paul was keen to show me the Africa he had fallen in love with whilst living & working out there years before. He loved pouring over maps & travel books plotting our itineraries. Using his knowledge of Africa & experience of travelling around.

After numerous trips & holidays experiencing evermore adventurous itineraries; Seeking elusive rare and endangered wildlife we had sparked some attention with friends who expressed an interest in joining our capers & wanted to come along with us (which were very successful trips, despite our reservations about losing good friends). So when in 2006 we found ourselves at a cross roads, we decided to turn our hobby into a business and Safari Club was born.

We all work here towards giving our clients the best possible experience in Africa, with value for money. My role is to help out with the financial & day to day running of the business. But I also get involved with itineraries and regularly go out on inspection trips, checking out old favourites & experiencing new & exciting lodges.

I have been to Kenya, Tanzania & Zanzibar, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia & Malawi.

Favourite Destination:
Uganda for breath-taking scenery & gorilla wildlife. Cape Town (Best city in the World)
Favourite Animal:
Elephant – almost human for taking care of their family
Wants to see:
Snow leopard
Longing to visit:
Rwanda
Best African experience to date:
Honeymoon in Botswana & Zimbabwe
Safari Club Holidays & Tours - Beth

Beth Woods

Sales Manager

With an inquisitive mind and nurturing soul, buy acyclovir cream over the counter from my earliest days I have found memories of enjoying the great outdoors and its intriguing wildlife. Being enthralled by the fascinating documentaries that Attenborough presented to getting hands on with the daily management of a menagerie of animals in our rural country side. I’ve always been happiest around nature!

You can imagine the excitement of a young teenager preparing for her first Safari holiday to Kenya with only her parents for safari guides. With the nerves I sensed from my mother, I had been given my instructions for the adventure to begin and so it did.

Beautiful skies, stunning sunrises and sunsets with the cleanest, clearest canvas for beautiful stars to shine through. Time and time again I have been mesmerised by the enchanting landscape and all that nature has to offer you in Africa. Not one trip compares to the other as all experiences have felt so new and unique, despite the comfortable alluring feeling I get each time I touch down onto African soil. I could sit for hours watching the amusing behaviour of Africa’s wildlife and delight in the opportunity to learn more from the incredible and dedicated guides we use. For me it’s not about the volume of different species I can tick off of my list but rather more about the quality of the intimate encounter I experience. It’s such a privilege to sit un noticed and watch the drama of our natural world unfold before you if you have the patience!

Now I have joined the fold and wish to impart my knowledge and experience with you too in order to create some priceless memories. An African safari is an experience I believe all would be richer for having. I enjoy meeting new people and learning more about what makes you tick so that I can tailor your safari to the finest detail to indulge another passion of mine, making people happy!

I feel confident with the warm welcome you will receive based upon my first-hand experience in Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia and South Africa. Pairing the right client to the perfect lodge or camp is where you really do benefit from using us.

Favourite Destination:
Southern Tanzania for intimate safari experience.
Favourite Animal:
Elephant & Leopard – too difficult to choose just one!
Wants to see:
Pangolin
Longing to visit:
Zambia & Rwanda
Best African experience to date:
The only guest quietly watching a leopard for over an hour patiently stalk his prey whilst being followed in hot pursuit by three cheeky hyenas (who were quite comical)
Safari Club Holidays & Tours - Paul at Olympia Exhibition

Paul Downhill

Managing Director

I first developed a love of Africa and its wild places whilst living in Zambia in the 1970’s when I spent many happy weekends in an old land rover with friends exploring the pristine wilderness of Zambia that still exists today.

My first Safari to Kafue National Park was soon followed by other adventures to remote wilderness areas in Zimbabwe and Botswana. On returning to the UK I started organising camping safari holidays for family and friends. The call of Africa became so great that in 2004 I set up Safari Club, initially as a vehicle for likeminded friends and relatives to visit Africa and by 2006 the club had developed into a commercial holiday company offering tailor made safari holidays to all of the main safari destinations.

I have spent time in all the principal safari destinations along with all of the major game reserves and National parks. I visit Africa at least three times a year to check out lodges, game reserves and logistics most recently visiting Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

I have a passion to help protect Africa’s wildlife and to share this wonderful continent with others through sustainable tourism, evidenced by the number of clients booking repeat trips with Safari club.

Guests who work with me will find my enthusiasm and knowledge infectious as we work together to create the perfect tailor made holiday.

Favourite Destination:
Okavango Delta
Favourite Animal:
Black Rhino
Wants to see:
Ethiopian Wolf, Lowland Gorilla
Longing to visit:
Kidepo National Park, Uganda
Best African experience to date:
Watching a leopard stalk and make a kill.

COMPLEMENTARY LINKS

www.safaribookings.com - the largest online marketplace for African safari holidays.

www.sunsetviewsa.co.za - self-catering holiday accommodation, Hout Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.


phone Just a phone call away to start planning your holiday
01 664 464 228

WHY CHOOSE US

SAFARI CLUB