Africa is a beautiful continent with a diverse ethnic population and a rich cultural history. Tourists are always in awe of Africa’s stunning scenery, which is reason enough to visit. Some of these well-liked attractions are Mount Kilimanjaro, a safari adventure, Victoria Falls, the biggest and most powerful waterfall in the world, Table Mountain in Cape Town etc. Visitors never tire of having the most amazing travel experiences in Africa since there is always something beautiful, historical, and awe-inspiring about which to muse. Anywhere in Africa Safaris, a tour operator, safari company, and travel business, creates once-in-a-lifetime itineraries based on more than 30 years of working and traveling around Africa. It aims to create journeys that focus on one’s vision and bucket list dreams, and to ensure a holiday of a lifetime, it only recommends places that it has actually been to.
Anywhere in Africa places significant emphasis on leaving Africa better than it was discovered, so when one travels there, they are supporting numerous conservation heroes who make sure that the travelers’ legacy will last long after they leave. Kirsty Gordon is the founder and CEO of Anywhere in Africa and has spent the last 30 years specializing in opulent travel to Africa and the islands of the Indian Ocean.
The Journey of Learning and Transformation
When Kirsty finished high school, she moved to Cape Town to study “Travel and Tourism” and then began working right away for Wynberg Travel, a travel company that specializes in business travel in South Africa. A year or so later, a position opened in the incentive travel division of her company, which was providing corporate incentives for big multinational corporations abroad and to South Africa’s Indian Ocean Islands. After working there for a few years, Kirsty was recruited by another incentive/events management business that specialized in inbound incentive travel to South Africa. There were 60 to 350 people in each of these groups. Kirsty was engaged in organizing everything from lodging to travel plans to setting up and preparing the special events to providing gifts for the attendees. She then decided it was time to start her own company, which was an online travel company focusing on inbound travel to Africa, and at the same time, Kirsty started an overland ”glamp camping” safari and guided small exclusive groups into Botswana and the Okavango Delta.
Kirsty then took a break and headed to the UK for 4 years to ride horses professionally and try and qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics to ride for South Africa as an individual in 3-Day Equestrian Eventing. Sadly, due to a fall, she missed the last three qualifications and didn’t get the opportunity to represent her country, South Africa. However, she had the most incredible 4 years riding for Jane Holderness Roddam, who was her sponsor and mentor in the sport.
Kirsty returned to South Africa end of 2008, just as the Soccer World Cup was coming to South Africa in 2009. She started Anywhere in Africa Safaris while at the same time helping another company who was focused on YPO events (Young President Organization).
During this time, she organized and oversaw a few YPO trips to South Africa, including a private event with Helen Zilla, the premier of Cape Town at the time, a private boat trip to Robben Island with Ahmed Kathrada, who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela (sadly, Ahmed died on June 16, 1999), and a private dinner with the country’s former president FW De Klerk. She also organized a high-end art trip for South African Friends of the Israel Museum.
Kirsty ultimately decided to leave the huge corporate incentive market in 2014 and concentrate her efforts and company on small group travel (multigenerational), FIT travel, honeymoons, anniversaries, and family travel to “Anywhere in Africa,” including the Indian Ocean Islands.
Passion For Travel and For Africa
When Kirsty returned to South Africa in 2008 after her Olympic Dream in the UK did not pan out, she had to think long and hard about whether she wanted to work in the travel industry—part of her thought was that she should go and study something completely different. This was the ”road crossing” in her life. She shares, “What I decided is that I love Africa, I love people, I love travel, and I love offering service and creating once in a lifetime travel ideas for people to enjoy Africa—so why was I trying to reinvent the wheel and do something else.” Kirsty made the decision to found Anywhere in Africa Safaris with the goal of providing clients who wanted to work with a business that is focused on their individual dreams and expectations rather than just churning out “cookie cutter itineraries” to pay the bills, but rather focusing on unbelievable service, attention to detail, life-changing experiences, and itineraries.
“I can tell you that there is NO other company that I know of who works with their clients like we do – most importantly we care, our clients trust us and that is how I continue to build this incredible business.”- Kirsty
Over the past 30 years, Kirsty has seen and run various companies that ‘say that they are focused on their clients” but in the long run, there isn’t the care and attention to detail. So that is how and why Anywhere in Africa Safaris was created. Kirsty is involved with the clients from when they start communicating to when they return home after their safari. She asserts, “My team is the back up to make sure all runs smoothly and efficiently, but I am the forefront with my clients, so they know from the beginning that we have their back from the initial planning, implementation to the follow up on their return.”
Offering a Life Changing Experience
Anywhere in Africa Safaris demands and insists on the highest calibre from all of its providers to ensure that they don’t let down its customers, who have paid a premium to come to Africa. In order to maintain the highest standard of service in the safari sector, the firm carefully selects the lodges, hotels, ground handlers, and suppliers it utilizes. Anywhere in Africa Safaris supports venues and groups that prioritize not just the education of the public but also the protection of animals. Kirsty states, “The clients can rest assured they are giving back to African not just be traveling and staying at these lodges and game reserves, which in turn support conservation/ community but each booking we give a portion to Elephant Havens in Botswana, which is an elephant orphanage for baby elephants who have been orphaned by poaching of various kinds.”
Anywhere in Africa Safaris’s impact is that each guest that travels with them becomes an “Ambassador of Africa”. “They have such an incredible time from start to finish that they go back and promote Africa / Safaris and this in turn gives back again to conservation, communities and helps to build a future in Africa for generations to come,” says Kirsty.
Values that Make
At Anywhere in Africa Safaris, the management focuses and values human dignity and works on establishing a fantastic working environment with staff, travel partners and its clients. There will always be challenges or problems when working with people and logistics, but Anywhere in Africa Safaris’ philosophy is “it isn’t the problem but how we sort out the problem.”
For Anywhere in Africa Safaris, as a company, it is very important that the information provided to its clients is honest and true. This value distinguishes it from other organizations and enables it to base judgments on solid and accurate information. When assisting customers in planning their “once in a lifetime” trip to Africa, the staff ensures that clients are not regarded as a number but rather as an important individual who deserves the highest care and attention. Kirsty says, “We choose a team of staff and partners who are focused on customer experience and customer care. Service quality – is one of our most important values which demands all our effort, determination, and courage to be successful in what we are doing and the services we are providing.” She further adds, “We conduct our work with dedication and without mistakes, optimizing delivery time and putting effort into what we do to achieve results of quality.”
Each member of Anywhere in Africa Safaris’ team interacts transparently and appropriately while trying to strengthen its interpersonal relations and the company’s image. The company is conscious that its communication generates perceptions, expectations, and requirements that motivate it to improve its behaviour, attitude, and knowledge. She adds, “Our team, from staff to our travel partners, must show loyalty to Anywhere in Africa Safaris – commitment, pride, confidentiality, integrity, in any moment for and in the name of the company.”
According to Kirsty, Anywhere in Africa Safaris commits socially and culturally to the community and adapts its business strategies to the preservation of the environment and conservation.
Contributing to Bringing Change
As a travel enthusiast herself, Kirsty wishes to encourage clients – past and future, to become ambassadors of Africa. She says, “Over covid it become clear that people wanted to help – so how do they do this – come and travel in Africa by doing so you assist in creating jobs, helping with conservation, assisting with upgrading communities, stopping poaching, making awareness not only for yourselves but friends and family.” She further adds that at the same time spending money on a trip that will live with one for years to come – “Travel is the ONLY thing you buy that makes you richer”.
Anywhere in Africa Safaris supports Elephant Havens an NGO in Maun which rescues orphaned elephants whose parents have been killed or poached. They are an amazing organization that not only focuses on the conservation of these magnificent animals but also on educating the local populations about the advantages of saving the elephants, providing school buses to transport students to school so they don’t have to walk for miles through dangerous areas with wild animals, and helping to install water pumps and drill for water so that the local communities near Elephant Havens have access to safe, fresh water to drink.
Anywhere in Africa Safaris gives a portion of each booking to Elephant Havens as a donation. The company has “Kirsty’s soup Kitchen” this is focused on donating funds to smaller, home run businesses around Cape Town that will benefit the community in some way—providing karate clothes to a school, helping a small creche with educational toys for their children—these are all local businesses in the poorer areas that are not exposed to funding.
Advice for Emerging Enthusiasts
Personally, Kirsty loves what she does, she loves the travel industry, she loves Africa and sharing the incredible African experiences with clients. She feels that this isn’t a job for her this is her passion, and she feels that this pulls through into Anywhere in Africa Safaris, her staff, and her travel partners that she chooses. She finds it is important to surround yourself with a good team and passionate, positive people and most importantly with the clients as top priority.
Below are a few points that Kirsty shares for emerging business leaders:
Do your research well.
Don’t try to be a jack of all trades. Focus on the areas or countries you are good at and knowledgeable about, and build from there?
Stay true to yourself and your company ethos, as many companies grow too quickly and then fall hard. What is sad is that the clients who have saved their well-earned money to travel are then the ones who suffer due to companies or individuals who become greedy in the industry.
Negotiate good commission agreements with your suppliers, but DON’T ADD ON MORE COMMISSION—it’s not fair to your guests! And there are too many travel companies around the world that do this!
Commitments for Future
In future, Kirsty sees Anywhere in Africa Safaris growing stronger with high end clients but not bigger. She wants Anywhere in Africa Safaris to stay boutique and tailored. She shares that the company will keep focusing on top end, high quality travel to Africa and will keep focusing on very individual attention for its clients. She asserts, “We will keep our company small, personal, and tailor-made so that the clients most importantly do NOT become “numbers” because the company is too big and too impersonal.” She also mentions that Anywhere in Africa Safaris will keep handpicking suppliers, safari lodges, hotels, and travel partners that have the same ethos as Anywhere in Africa Safaris.
“I believe that if you live an ordinary life, you tell ordinary stories. Live a life full of adventure, and your life story will become extraordinary.” – Kirsty Gordon
Written by Steve Sanchez.
