Kimberley Smith

Kimberley lives in Hoedspruit, where warthogs and guinea fowl wander past her room, kudu help themselves to the garden and giraffe or zebra may stroll by while the boma fire gets going. It suits her. After living everywhere from Johannesburg to England, France, Guinea, Scotland and Cape Town, she’s very happy having traded city rush for life in the bush. That closeness to nature feeds straight into the way she talks about safari. Kimberley is a self-confessed safari geek, FGASA-trained, happiest identifying birds, trees, tracks and whatever else happens to cross her path. Her advice to guests is simple: don’t compare safaris. Botswana won’t feel like Zambia, and Tanzania shouldn’t. Different is the whole point. She also plans very much around the person. Kimberley listens, pictures who you are and then starts matching places to your personality. For her, the best trips are built on trust, shared excitement and enough good stories that you’re already thinking about Africa again before the first one is over.