DELYSE PRETORIUS (Tennis Safari)
Delyse was born and raised in Kimberley, South Africa and left at age 18 after receiving a tennis scholarship to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida where she was ranked as All-American in both singles and doubles for all 4 years. After more than 20 years abroad, she still calls South Africa home. Delyse founded TennisSafari as a way to give back to her country while sharing South Africa's diverse wildlife, landscapes, and cultures. Her mission is to provide travelers with an opportunity to explore Africa through tennis while making a positive impact on people’s lives.
Each travel adventure will include time playing tennis on African clay courts and a safari in Africa's most pristine and untouched wilderness regions. What could be better than waking up to the sound of lions roaring, smelling African soil, seeing the most beautiful animals on this planet in their natural habitat, followed by a game of tennis? End the day sipping a glass of South African wine, a craft cocktail, or a cup of indigenous rooibos tea, while reminiscing about the day around a bonfire.
Join us for an authentic African adventure led by a South African who prides herself on providing a revitalising and impactful thrill of a lifetime!
JULIAN ASHER (Timeless Africa)
Julian Asher is the founder and managing director of Timeless Africa, a boutique ecotourism company designing bespoke itineraries to the finest destinations in Southern, Central, and East Africa and the Indian Ocean. He is a judge for the Safari Awards (the industry 'Oscars') and an award-winning travel photographer who has exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
His first trip to Africa as a schoolboy was rudely terminated when his mum refused to sign the permission form on the grounds that he was going to catch a heinous disease and die. Despite this less than promising beginning the call of Africa could not be denied, and Julian is now a frequent traveller to the continent. Recent visits include Botswana, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Congo-Brazzaville.
Julian cut his travel-planning teeth in the offices of Let's Go Travel, publishers of the Let's Go travel guides, and is certified as a South African Fundi (expert). Photography is one of Julian's passions and he will go to great lengths in the name of the perfect shot, including being duct-taped into a doorless helicopter over the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
A former food and wine writer as well as a contemporary art collector, Julian blogs on Instagram as @pictusepicurious and can often be found haunting the tasting rooms of the Cape Winelands or the art galleries of Woodstock and Maboneng between safaris. He has made it his personal mission to introduce as many safari camps as possible to his sundowner of choice (hot chocolate and Amarula) and remains resolutely free of heinous diseases.
WHY TRAVEL WITH US:
• The unique opportunity to combine professional tennis instruction with going on safari
• Support Teach With Africa, a pioneering education NGO dedicated to making sustainable impact on the future of Africa's children through professional development for teachers and young aspiring teachers in training.
• Tennis Safari and Timeless Africa are triple-bottom-line companies – success is measured in terms of social and environmental impact as well as financial returns.
