ABOUT US

A pair with passion aplenty!

What do you get when a super sporty outdoorsy and ever so slightly nerdy adventurer teams up with a can-do earth mother with a penchant for hospitality? A winning team is what!


Meet Zafaris founders Sian Bester and Cara Lloyd - bosom buddies united by a shared passion for Africa and blessed with the experience, expertise and nous to create safari gold.


This dynamic duo created Zafaris with one thing in mind - to move away from the corporate, sausage factory treadmill of mainstream tour operating and build something more approachable and down to earth - a place where safaris are crafted with love, attention to detail and lots of input from you, the client.


Together, Sian and Cara have done the hard yards, working in lodges across Southern Africa and at one the continent's biggest luxury tour operators. Between them, they've planned and booked thousands of bespoke itineraries over the past decade. They've both travelled extensively across this great big lump of rock called Africa and won't send you anywhere they've not checked out first. So they know the beds you're going to be sleeping in, the food you're going to be eating and the amazing places you're going to be visiting.


Sian is the Sporty Spice of Zafaris. She's the mad woman who gets up at dawn to go and run, just because she can. A hikeaholic, her idea of heaven is hitting the Drakensberg with a backpack and a Leatherman, putting her knowledge of the wilderness to the test... Or finding the most remote corner of the Wild Coast and retreating from humanity for as long as she can, with her faithful dog in tow.


She studied nature conservation, doing the ranger thing in private reserves in South Africa's Eastern Cape before heading up to Botswana's Okavango Delta and falling into tourism. Sian calls Cape Town home and loves the laid-back lifestyle South Africa's Mother City is famous for. She also gets to run up and down a lot of mountains down there on the southern tip of Africa, which keeps her sane. We think.


Cara's not into pounding the tarmac before sunrise, but she does have experience in running, having worked in top-end lodges in Namibia and South Africa and being mum to two young boys, which keeps her on her toes. She also owns a wonderful guest house in Johannesburg which adds to the running, especially as she lives in Cape Town!


For Cara, pouring all of her experience into personally tailored safari experiences for clients is what it's all about. Adding her zest for life and considerable experience of travelling Africa with small children into the mix makes her an absolute safari gem!


This is Zafaris' DNA then... Two women who you'd love to hang out with and who can cook up a killer safari blindfolded. That's what we call the perfect recipe for the trip of a lifetime!

What do you get when a super sporty outdoorsy and ever so slightly nerdy adventurer teams up with a can-do earth mother with a penchant for hospitality? A winning team is what!


Meet Zafaris founders Sian Bester and Cara Lloyd - bosom buddies united by a shared passion for Africa and blessed with the experience, expertise and nous to create safari gold.


This dynamic duo created Zafaris with one thing in mind - to move away from the corporate, sausage factory treadmill of mainstream tour operating and build something more approachable and down to earth - a place where safaris are crafted with love, attention detail and lots of input from you, the client.


Together, Sian and Cara have done the hard yards, working in lodges across Southern Africa and at one the continent's biggest luxury tour operators. Between them, they've planned and booked thousands of bespoke itineraries over the past decade. They've both travelled extensively across this great big lump of rock called Africa and won't send you anywhere they've not checked out first. So they know the beds you're going to be sleeping in, the food you're going to be eating and the amazing places you're going to be visiting.


Sian is the Sporty Spice of Zafaris. She's the mad woman who gets up at dawn to go and run, just because she can. A hikeaholic, her idea of heaven is hitting the Drakensberg with a backpack and a Leatherman, putting her knowledge of the wilderness to the test... Or finding the most remote corner of the Wild Coast and retreating from humanity for as long as she can, with her faithful dog in tow.


She studied nature conservation, doing the ranger thing in private reserves in South Africa's Eastern Cape before heading up to Botswana's Okavango Delta and falling into tourism. Sian calls Cape Town home and loves the laid-back lifestyle South Africa's Mother City is famous for. She also gets to run up and down a lot of mountains down there on the southern tip of Africa, which keeps her sane. We think.


Cara's not into pounding the tarmac before sunrise, but she does have experience in running, having worked in top-end lodges in Namibia and South Africa and being mum to two young boys, which keeps her on her toes. She also owns a wonderful guest house in Johannesburg which adds to the running, especially as she lives in Cape Town!


For Cara, pouring all of her experience into personally tailored safari experiences for clients is what it's all about. Adding her zest for life and considerable experience of travelling Africa with small children into the mix makes her an absolute safari gem!


This is Zafaris' DNA then... Two women who you'd love to hang out with and who can cook up a killer safari blindfolded. That's what we call the perfect recipe for the trip of a lifetime!

What does it mean? A look at our logo...

We think it's a work of art, but the Zafaris logo is more than just something pretty and a collection of interesting shapes... It has hidden meanings which go to the heart of our brand's DNA... Kind of like a safari Da Vinci Code, but one you don't need Tom Hanks to decipher for you.


The elements that make up the logo speak directly to the principles that have helped us to build the company - the founding pillars if you like. It may sound a  bit Herculean, we'll warrant, but we wanted an original design that encapsulated everything we put into our safari itineraries. So here goes...


Let's start with the triangle at the bottom of the logo. This represents the notion of pure escape - the beautiful wilderness areas we send you to as you venture out into wild Africa with us. The leafy bits at the top embody the fauna and flora you'll discover on your African adventure - the incredible wildlife and amazing landscapes that will pop your socks at every turn.


The "eyes" in the middle are like binoculars, focussing on the shared moments of pure, unadulterated magic you'll have on your journey and the things you'll see, people you'll meet, communities you'll visit. On either side of these binoculars are hands - these denote the Zafaris commitment to guiding you effortlessly as we lend you our helping hands at every stage of your safari, from conception to completion. You're in our hands, and we've got you!


It's odd, slightly zany, cleverly thought out, engaging and absolutely unique. So it fits Zafaris to a T!

We think it's a work of art, but the Zafaris logo is more than just something pretty and a collection of interesting shapes... It has hidden meanings which go to the heart of our brand's DNA... Kind of like a safari Da Vinci Code, but one you don't need Tom Hanks to decipher for you.


The elements that make up the logo speak directly to the principles that have helped us to build the company - the founding pillars if you like. It may sound a  bit Herculean, we'll warrant, but we wanted an original design that encapsulated everything we put into our safari itineraries. So here goes...


Let's start with the triangle at the bottom of the logo. This represents the notion of pure escape - the beautiful wilderness areas we send you to as you venture out into wild Africa with us. The leafy bits at the top embody the fauna and flora you'll discover on your African adventure - the incredible wildlife and amazing landscapes that will pop your socks at every turn. 


The "eyes" in the middle are like binoculars, focussing on the shared moments of pure, unadulterated magic you'll have on your journey and the things you'll see, people you'll meet, communities you'll visit. On either side of these binoculars are hands - these denote the Zafaris commitment to guiding you effortlessly as we lend you our helping hands at every stage of your safari, from conception to completion. You're in our hands, and we've got you!


It's odd, slightly zany, cleverly thought out, engaging and absolutely unique. So it fits Zafaris to a T!

We think it's a work of art, but the Zafaris logo is more than just something pretty and a collection of interesting shapes... It has hidden meanings which go to the heart of our brand's DNA... Kind of like a safari Da Vinci Code, but one you don't need Tom Hanks to decipher for you.


The elements that make up the logo speak directly to the principles that have helped us to build the company - the founding pillars if you like. It may sound a  bit Herculean, we'll warrant, but we wanted an original design that encapsulated everything we put into our safari itineraries. So here goes...


Let's start with the triangle at the bottom of the logo. This represents the notion of pure escape - the beautiful wilderness areas we send you to as you venture out into wild Africa with us. The leafy bits at the top embody the fauna and flora you'll discover on your African adventure - the incredible wildlife and amazing landscapes that will pop your socks at every turn.


The "eyes" in the middle are like binoculars, focussing on the shared moments of pure, unadulterated magic you'll have on your journey and the things you'll see, people you'll meet, communities you'll visit. On either side of these binoculars are hands - these denote the Zafaris commitment to guiding you effortlessly as we lend you our helping hands at every stage of your safari, from conception to completion. You're in our hands, and we've got you!


It's odd, slightly zany, cleverly thought out, engaging and absolutely unique. So it fits Zafaris to a T!

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