Chris and Sandie are the owners and directors of Travel Africa, a boutique travel agency which specialises in Africa. We just love Africa and want to help you have the perfect holiday on this incredible continent!
Chris and Sandie tailor-make our itineraries and specialise in customised packages, family holidays, self-drive travel and small group tours.
We pride ourselves on providing personalised, quality service. We listen carefully to your needs and provide responses based on years of experience and great on-the-ground contacts. Chris and Sandie (and now their three kids) are passionate about travel in southern Africa and are passionate about working with people to help them create a fabulous holiday of their own.
Based in Sydney, Chris and Sandie met travelling in Africa in 1996 and between us we have travelled in the region on numerous occasions over the last 30 years. We have visited all of the countries, and visited most of the places that we sell, often more than once and often for extended lengths of time, and as such we have the in-depth knowledge and experience needed to assist you with a memorable southern African safari.
We also make sure we keep our knowledge completely up to date, both through our close contacts with operators in the region and by making sure we go back to southern Africa at least twice a year.
Chris has over 20 years' experience working in the travel industry, selling and managing travel products for Africa, Eastern Europe and Russia. He first visited Africa in 1995 on the back of an overland truck, with a group of like minded travellers, travelling all the way from Europe to East Africa. Enjoying it so much he continued south via Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia arriving in Cape Town after 14 months of travelling. After finishing this trip he realised that he had been bitten by the ‘Africa bug’ and ever since has returned to experience new and exciting African destinations many times over.
Born in South Africa, Sandie spent many holidays of her formative years surrounded by the wildlife of the Kruger National Park. After emigrating to Australia the love of Africa and its amazing wildlife never left her and she spent most of her spare time travelling back to the game reserves of South Africa or hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains. In addition, a gap year before university saw Sandie working at a Zimbabwean high school from where the call of Zimbabwe’s wildlife reserves was hard to resist! Sandie has a doctorate in human geography and has been working for over 20 years with Indigenous and local communities in Australia and southern Africa, seeing how tourism can help to support their aspirations. She also loves photography and has taken most of the photographs used on our website and in our social media.
Submitted by Nerida Nettelbeck on Thursday, Dec 12, 2024
Chris and the team arranged the perfect holiday for us, it was exactly what we asked for and it delivered well beyond our expectations. We saw all sorts of amazing wildlife and stayed in lovely accomodation across Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa. We will be back for sure!
Submitted by Shelley on Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024
This was our second trip organised by Travel Africa. We were a bit apprehensive as this was only our second trip to Africa and we were doing a self drive tour through Namibia. Everything was well organised, we stayed in some fantastic accommodation, the guides and the game reserves we stayed at were outstanding and the amount of wildlife we encountered surpassed our expectations. The self drive component was exactly as Chris had advised and we felt very comfortable throughout the holiday. We would recommend Chris and Travel Africa without any hesitation.
Submitted by Stephen on Tuesday, Oct 15, 2024
Chris at Travel Africa organised our itinerary in a way that exceeded our expectations of a travel provider and gave us confidence in our holiday. From the very beginning of our enquiries, it was clear that Chris' passion for Africa and good customer service exceeded that of other travel providers we also reached out to. In addition, Chris' experience traveling in Africa with young children gave us comfort that the options he put together for our two children would be suitable. Chris put together a custom itinerary that met all our criteria and within budget, and provided a clear rationale. Chris tailored a holiday to suit our likes, wishes and budget. Planning a trip to Africa can seem overwhelming due to the number of options, but Travel Africa made it easy. In addition, Jeff provided us with assistance towards the end of the planning process and during our trip which was timely and very helpful. We would highly recommend Travel Africa to anyone considering a trip to Africa.
Submitted by David Clark on Friday, Sep 06, 2024
Chris & Sandie were both extremely helpful and knowledgeable in regards to our recent - 29/6 to 8/7 2024 - trip to Cape Town, SA. Their selection of hotels and tours offered perfectly suited our budget and time we had planned for our stay, as well as enough free days to rest/wander. The hotel we chose - The Portswood - is ideally located in the central tourist area close to the V&A Waterfront, a very safe area with plenty of food, shopping, entertainment and transport options. For first-time travellers to this part of the world, we have no hesitation in recommending their services. My wife and I had a marvellous time.
Submitted by Megan Turner on Sunday, Sep 01, 2024
Chris & Sandie at Travel Africa are amazing. We had many changes (over 4 years) due to Covid and personal issues but they couldn't have been more accommodating. We covered nearly 3000ks of Sth Africa, Johannesburg, Kruger, Lapalala & Madikwe and had the most amazing trip. Chris & Sandies knowledge is amazing and our trip went without a hiccup. We couldn't recommend Travel Africa highly enough and infact are planning on having them help us with our planned trip back in 2026 which will include Tanzania for the great wildebeast migration. Thanks again Chris & Sandie for going above and beyond to give our family the trip of a lifetime.
Submitted by Allisson Crain on Saturday, Aug 17, 2024
Chris at Travel Africa helped organise a very memorable holiday that exceeded our expectations. Chris organised a fly in and fly out stay at an excellent lodge in the Okavango Delta, followed by a 6 night fully assisted camping experience through the Chobe National Park ending with a wonderful 3-night stay at beautiful lodge Victoria Falls. Each part of the trip provided us with a different and exciting experience, we absolutely loved the lodge experience but also loved the outdoor camping adventure. Each location provided us with exceptional animal viewings, and we were able to see more than we had hoped. All the lodges / local providers he booked provided A+ service. Chris was able to tailor a perfect holiday to suit our likes, wishes and budget. Everything was planned perfectly, and the entire trip went off without any issues. Travel Africa organised a superb holiday for us and we would highly recommend Chris and Travel Africa.
Submitted by Sarah on Sunday, Aug 04, 2024
Dear Chris and Sandie,We just wanted to say thank you for all your help organising our holiday! We had an absolutely awesome trip! Im sitting here trying to whittle down my 1000 plus photos into something more manageable..I have to say, being used to "Africa time" I was expecting to be the occasional hiccup as we went along - but every transfer, every appointment happened as planned. The Bushlore vehicles were great and each lodge recommended was spectacular. I have to say though, my favourite was the Chobe Elephant Camp ( so I'm pleased we didn't do the trip in reverse..;-) )
Submitted by Sam Skinner on Wednesday, Jul 31, 2024
Chris and Sandie were amazing to deal with and helped craft the perfect trip to Africa. All our accommodation, transfers and activities were high quality. They were easy to deal with, punctual with changes and provided tailored advice based on our requirements. Would definitely recommend using Travel Africa Your Way for any trips to Africa
Submitted by Freia Carlton on Sunday, Jul 14, 2024
Thanks to Chris at Travel Africa Your Way who found the right safari tour for me at very short notice. As a solo female traveller, first time in Africa, my focus was on seeing as much wildlife as I could in the 5 days I had available (after a conference in Johannesburg). Chris suggested a short flight to Hoedspruit and transfer to Africa on Foot - where I stayed in one of 5 huts. I loved the place, and the wildlife did not disappoint! All the staff were friendly, and the knowledgeable guides were a sheer delight to hang out with as they introduced me to wildebeest, warthogs, cute hyena pups (yes, very cute), zebras, rhinos, hippos, lions, tons of birds, kudus, impalas, giraffes, elephants, night owls, a genet and so much more. With a modest holiday budget I was treated to beyond-expectation accommodation, gourmet food, sunset drinks, pool, lounge, and outdoor fire. Thanks Chris! I now want to see more of Africa!
Submitted by Maryann & Simon Knight on Friday, Jul 05, 2024
We have just returned from our second Safari adventure in Southern Africa. We booked through Chris at Travel Africa and as with our previous trip his advice in putting together a perfect itinerary ensured the experience was memorable & perfect in every way.His local knowledge and advice proved a winner - the lodges selected were amazing, time recommended at each place ideal and the local partners used in South Africa, Zimbabwe & Botswana were exemplary in every way.Overall, this was one of the best holidays we have had & we are excited to be thinking about our next African adventure where we will definitely use Chris & the team to plan & delivery a seamless outstanding trip.Thank you Chris and the Team at Travel Africa !! Maryann & Simon Knight
Submitted by Warren And Marie Day on Thursday, Jun 13, 2024
We found Chris online and are very glad that we did. Chris booked 3 safari parks with connecting light planes, accommodation and tours in Victoria Falls, road transfers where needed and connecting domestic flights. Nothing could have been smoother. We were met at each point and totally looked after.Initially we did not have the knowledge to decide which safari parks to go to. We simply knew we wanted to go to Botswana. Chris helped us make up our minds with information and advice. He was always at the end of the phone to answer our queries and ease our minds. Nothing was too much trouble. The safari parks he chose showed his knowledge of the area. They were superb and we had wonderful experiences tracking the animals and returning to comfortable camps afterwards.We can certainly recommend Chris and Sandy at Travel Africa …your way
Submitted by Dave & Sue Boardman on Wednesday, May 01, 2024
We have just completed our 5th African trip all organised by Chris & Sandie from Travel Africa. We’ve been to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini(Swaziland) and Zimbabwe across these trips. Everything has been super well organised and the attention to detail is always exacting which is exactly what you need when travelling in Africa. We have done a nice mix of self driving, rest camps, luxury safari camps, bed & breakfasts, self catering apartments (in Cape Town) and on the last trip just concluded we stayed at a hotel in Cape Town for a change. We cannot recommend Travel Africa highly enough they have been wonderful, understand the country where they have been many many times and pass on the knowledge gained.
Submitted by Mark & Nicki Zimmermann on Tuesday, Mar 26, 2024
Best decision we made for our Africa trip was appointing Travel Africa as our booking agents. Even though I was born and raised in South Africa, we would NEVER have had the awesome experience we had, if it weren’t for Sandie and Chris. In short, they were incredible! The itineraries were extremely professional, well constructed, and the trip flowed super smoothly from start to finish for the full 2 month adventure! They put us in the most incredible lodges that far far exceeded our expectations time and time again…and everything came in on budget. Their attention to detail is second to non and there is no way that our trip would have been as enjoyable and successful had it not been for their knowledge, guidance and expertise.I cannot recommend Travel Africa highly enough! They were the difference between a nice holiday and the best holiday ever!
Submitted by Nicole Cole on Sunday, Mar 24, 2024
Travel Africa arranged the trip of a lifetime for us to South Africa. We saw more than we’d ever hoped to see, and they listened and provided the trip based on everything WE wanted (and that would have taken a lot of patience with covid and multiple date changes involved!).It was the perfect combination of lodges and self drive . The instructions for driving , suggested routes and useful info along the way was extremely helpful. It was the best family bonding experience we could have ever hoped for, the teens loved it-even when there was no wifi .Our stay at Kruger was amazing and we absolutely loved the accomodation you booked for us.Our highlights were seeing wild dogs and a rhino on our self drives , and our entire stay at Ekuthuleni lodge for our last few nights . I’m so glad you suggested that, as we all agreed those last three nights there were the icing on the cake! It is absolutely the best place to see rhinos and the whole trip was absolutely perfect
When you think of an African safari, you might imagine a cosy lodge and thrilling game drives. But guess what? That’s... View More
We have been travelling in Southern Africa with our children for the last 19 years - since our first child was 18... View More
