ROBERT SLATER
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Robert Slater
Managing Director
Rob grew up on a farm in Suffolk and has always had a passion for the great outdoors. On leaving school, his first big adventures took him to the Nepal Himalaya, South Africa and Zimbabwe, shortly followed by a two month back-packing trip around Kenya and northern Tanzania. Outside of Africa, he has returned to the Nepal Himalaya many times since, watched tigers in India and trekked through the rainforests of Peru, Venezuela and Borneo in search of wildlife.
Rob joined the company in 1995, and to add to his previous experiences, has been travelling to Africa three to four times a year ever since. His knowledge and experience cover all corners of ‘safari’ Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands, from the primate-rich forests of Uganda to the harsh wilderness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. He has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, rafted and canoed the Zambezi River and has led friends and family on self-drive trips through Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa. He is our resident scuba-diving specialist and has dived in Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi. Rob has a real passion for Africa – don’t expect a short reply on anything – and is a perfectionist when it comes to organising anything. Married with boys, his interests closer to home (when time permits!) include country walks, country pubs and rugby.
MICHELE SEAMARK
DIRECTOR
MICHELE SEAMARK
Director
Michele was born and grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe. After school she completed an intense secretarial course before things started to go rapidly ‘down hill’ for the country. Aged 18, she made the decision to leave and arrived in Suffolk in November 2001 to start a new life. Michele joined Safari Consultants as a personal assistant in 2002.
Having been with Safari Consultants for two years and gained an intimate understanding of the business, she needed a different challenge and joined the sales team. She has never looked back, and has now travelled over 50 times to Africa, covering Seychelles, Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. Her favourite regions are the South Luangwa in Zambia, and the Selous and Ruaha in southern Tanzania, though Zimbabwe naturally has a special place in her heart. Gorilla tracking in Uganda also remains a personal highlight as this was the first place she experienced the great apes. With her southern Africa ‘roots’ Michele is passionate about her job and is meticulous in her organisation, always willing to go that ‘extra mile’.
MARY GRIMWOOD
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
MARY GRIMWOOD
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
Mary grew up in Surrey with (very!) Scottish ancestry (neé Mackenzie). Having studied modern Languages at university she leapt head first into the travel industry and built up a wealth of experience with visits to around 35 different countries worldwide. Her career has included leading tour groups in Europe, working for a worldwide tour operator and more recently working for and managing an independent travel agency in London.
Mary joined Safari Consultants in 2006 having spent a season working in a bush camp in Kenya’s Masai Mara, where she really cemented her love of Africa. In ‘safari’ Africa, she is now extremely well travelled with multiple visits to Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Madagascar and Rwanda, as well as extensive explorations of Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique. Throughout her extensive travels, she has many favourite spots, such as the Namibia’s Namib Desert and Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago, but due to her time living and working there, Kenya and its people hold a very special place in her heart. Mary enjoys dealing with people and really getting to know her clients, a key part of tailoring the perfect holiday. She claims her spare time is spent trying to understand the laws of rugby to be able to support her referee husband.
FRANCES GWYTHER
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
frances gwyther
specialist consultant
Frances grew up in Essex but did university in Scotland where she graduated from the University of Edinburgh in Italian and English. With a father from Zimbabwe, and family based in Cape Town, she has spent a number of summers (ours – their winter!) in South Africa, as well as independently spending a few months on a voluntary work programme in a game reserve near the Kruger National Park.
Frances started in administration but has now moved into sales having travelled extensively through South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya during her time with us. Frances also leads our social media initiatives and email marketing side of the business.
JOE CORDER
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
JOE CORDER
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
Joe grew up in Stamford, Lincolnshire and first experienced Africa at the age of four when visiting family and friends in Kenya. More trips cemented his passion for Africa and he has since travelled to 12 different countries across southern and eastern Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Before embarking on his Geography degree at university in Newcastle, he travelled independently through eight African countries – from Cape Town to Nairobi.
He has bungee jumped off Victoria Falls bridge and tracked wild dogs in Kwa-Zulu Natal. He is passionate about all things African. Away from work he plays cricket and golf, loves skiing and follows Newcastle United.
JANE WALKER
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
JANE WALKER
SPECIALIST CONSULTANT
Jane has been travelling with her husband to Africa for over 20 years, visiting 12 different countries on over 40 separate trips. Her main career was with British Telecommunications, but in 2005 she gave that up to concentrate full time on two of her great loves – Africa and horse-riding. As Africa offers some incredible horse-riding safaris, she is now our horse-riding specialist and has ridden with 12 horseback safari operators throughout East and Southern Africa. Of all her riding experiences, cantering alongside plains game and giraffe in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro and through the shallow waters of the Okavango Delta in flood rank amongst her best. However, Jane is passionate about all aspects of the African wilderness and the outdoors in general.
She is a keen birder and an experienced walker, having climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and trekked in the Drakensberg, Simien Mountains and the Nepal Himalaya. Out of the saddle, canoeing on the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and exploring Zambia’s Luangwa Valley on foot remain two of her personal highlights. Her favourite sound in the bush is “a leopard calling at night, ideally from directly under my bed”, which has happened!
MICHAELA LIRON-SPRATT
SALES SUPPORT
MICHAELA LIRON-SPRATT
sales support
Michaela was born in Jersey where she lived until she was 26, when she moved to Chelmsford in Essex and then later to the north Essex countryside. Previous employment has included working for a distribution company, security firm and more recently she spent 11 years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants. Michaela joined the administration team at Safari Consultants in February 2006.
Her hobbies include walking/running with her dog Sophie, and riding her motorbike with her husband and friends. Michaela has travelled to Kenya’s Masai Mara, which she loved, and to Rwanda to see the mountain gorillas.
ROLAND EVANS
SALES SUPPORT & FLIGHTS
ROLAND EVANS
sales support & FLIGHTS
Originally from Southend-on-Sea, Roland moved to Suffolk in 2010 where he now lives with his wife and their two children. He has over 15 years of experience in the travel industry having worked for companies in both the retail and business sectors, and joined Safari Consultants in mid-2013. He enjoys travelling to unusual destinations, especially on cruises.
Roland has joined our administration department with a particular focus on helping out in our flights department. He is also fast becoming our resident IT specialist.
ELOISE LENEY
SALES SUPPORT
ELOISE LENEY
sales support
Eloise is a local girl having grown up in our beautiful Suffolk countryside. She enjoys travelling and has explored Indonesia and Thailand, as well as Ireland, Holland, Spain, France, Italy and The Med. Kenya was the latest destination on her list – for her honeymoon!
Out of the office, Eloise loves the outdoors and enjoys walking with her Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla called Flare through the countryside, mountain biking with her husband and the dog or trying to conquer her fear of manoeuvring on her road bike! She is also keen on flower photography, singing & baking, and her enquiring mind has seen her research her family history back 8 generations (yet to find a real ‘skeleton in the cupboard’).
JENNY CHRISTIE
FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR
JENNY CHRISTIE
FINANCE ADMINISTRATOR
Jenny is South African by birth and grew up in Durban. Subsequent to completing her Honours degree in Economics, she had a 10 year career in academia culminating in a Senior Lectureship at the University of Cape Town where she ran the Commerce Academic Development Programme.
In 2003 Jenny’s husbands job brought them to the UK. After spending time at home as a mum, she worked as a secretary in the NHS and at a private clinic, before joining Safari Consultants in mid-2018. Jenny has always had a keen interest in travel and has travelled extensively in her native South Africa, with the Drakensberg being a favourite spot, as well as Europe. Other destinations include Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mauritius, the Maldives, Madeira, the USA, and most recently, Sydney, Australia.