About Africa Direct

After completing her honours degree in Sociology, Tanya soon realised that it was time to follow her heart, and become part of Africa’s growing tourism industry. To her there is nothing as special as the African Bush with its unique fauna and flora, and to say that she is passionate about Africa’s Big 5 would be an understatement! She has personally visited more than 50 of Africa’s ‘Big 5’ lodges during the past few years. There is no one with more personal experiences of luxury game lodges in South Africa than her. Tanya is a very keen birder – with her personal list exceeding 600. Her husband, Hilton, is an award winning wildlife photographer, and Tanya has arranged numerous wildlife photographic safaris for numerous clients wishing to capture that perfect shot!

Tanya believes in tailor making every itinerary according to every client’s specific needs. Most people travel a very long way to get to Africa, and she believes in giving priority to your specific needs and interests, to ensure that your vacation is the best it could possibly be! Contact Tanya today, so that she can start tailor making your vacation of a lifetime!

After spending a couple of years abroad, Eloise knew one thing for sure: THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE AFRICA! Eloise, her husband Francois and their two sons recently moved to the beautiful town of White River, on the doorsteps of the Kruger National Park.

She has been passionate about the safari and travel industry for the past 15 years and has been fortunate to visit a large majority of the top safari lodges and other accommodation establishments in Africa. She has joined the Africa Direct team as a wedding planner and tour operator. With her husband being a professional wedding photographer, she has a deep understanding of the intricacies through experience, of what it takes to create the perfect wedding. Her love for the bush and planning of safaris, weddings and honeymoon journeys are two of Eloise’s great passions in life and Africa Direct has brought these two together.

Eloise takes up responsibilities with utmost enthusiasm and always sees to it that all her guests have the perfect once in a life time tailor-made experience. The fact that she loves what she does is strongly evident in her work and her immaculate attention to detail places her head and shoulders above most other tour operators.

Born and raised in South Africa, Jaco fell in love with the African bushveld from a very young
age. Growing up, his family traveled extensively and spent time on safari each year. His
admiration for the wild, stunning sunsets and beauty of South Africa grows deep in his roots.
Although he now lives abroad, he returns to South Africa each year to spend time back home.
Jaco’s travels and career have taken him to 40 countries worldwide, and he now resides in the
beautiful Pacific Northwest of The United Sates. After graduating from The International Hotel
and Tourism School in South Africa, Jaco moved to the United States to pursue his dream of
becoming a chef. After graduating from the chef apprenticeship program, he worked for the Ritz
Carlton Hotel Group for over ten years.
His love for hotels, food and travel (especially in the Bush and Cape Town) made Africa Direct
the ultimate match. Jaco loves creating the perfect itinerary for guests to truly celebrate his
native South Africa, and takes ?me to understand exactly what his guests are seeking to explore.
Every experience is tailor-made for each individual, and he believes South Africa never stops
giving people exactly what they need. As a chef himself, he is a true ambassador for many
restaurants and wine farms in the Cape.
His passion for hospitality and travel make him a well rounded expert, and he ensures his guests
are taken care of from start to finish. Being based in the United States, Jaco can personalize
magical safaris, relaxing weeks in wine country, action packed adventures in the Cape and
everything in between.

Marc Lindsay-Rea is an award winning photographer, private guide, specialist travel planner and co-owner of Africa Direct with over 2 decades of experience in the safari industry.

Marc’s extensive experience in the African bush allows him to be a professional in both tour operating and field guiding divisions of the business.

Not only does Marc plan trips to the African continent, but he heads up the world travel department of the business. If it has a rich wildlife and cultural heritage, Marc will have a contact in that country, and he will be able to design you a top-class experience to that part of the world. Most of his outside Africa itineraries are planned to India, Sri Lanka, The Galapagos Islands, multiple South American countries and Norway.

Marc is an exceptionally outgoing person with an immense passion for the bush. With a great sense of humor, interpretative skills and understanding of guest’s personalities and needs, he continues to achieve faultless feedback. Marc has such a thirst for acquiring knowledge about wildlife and nature from all around the world and feels lucky to have had the privilege of designing itineraries and guiding guests through these exciting destinations.

Fortunate to grow up in a family that values the bush, wildlife and the quest for adventure, Grant had a childhood that spanned Southern Africa - from the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe to the Zululand, eastern-coast of South Africa.

Following university and both a degree in environmental geography and diploma in teaching, Grant began his guiding career in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve adjacent to the Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2006.

A career in guiding has seen Grant share safaris, both on foot and in vehicles, with guests and friends across iconic destinations from the equatorial rain forests of Uganda and Rwanda, to the plains, volcanoes and coastlines of Tanzania and Kenya.

Grant has trained safari guides and walking guides for the top safari companies within the industry and from 2013 until 2024 he was permanently living in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, developing and running two schools of guiding and responsible for training and developing over 200 Tanzanian safari guides, as well as some of the first lady guides in East Africa. He took this training to India and Sri-Lanka to share with the naturalists in those respective countries and help take the guided experience to the next level. A very rewarding chapter in his life, a huge opportunity to learn more about Africa, an exposure to cultures and tribes far off the beaten track and the creation of an appetite to explore more and introduce people to powerful natural, cultural and wildlife experiences.

Grant, together with his wife, Penny, are based in South Africa on the doorstep to the Kruger National Park and they focus on using their decades worth of experience to develop world class safari itineraries and Grant joins many of these as a private guide – adding value through interpretating wildlife behaviour, ensuring continuity to the safari, well trained in first aid and there on the ground with his guests to look after them along their journey.

Scott Gaylord represents Africa Direct USA. Personally and professionally, he has tremendous experience in logistics, planning, customer service, operations and sales management.

After graduating from Memphis State University, he worked as a Distribution Manager for a leading information management company. Later in his career he was a Vice President of Operations/Product Management and finally Director of Business Development/Sales for a leading foodservice beverage company supporting the Coca-Cola Company.

Scott has always been the planner for trips he has taken with family and friends including South Africa, Italy, Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S. Now retired, he is looking for a new challenge and has a specific passion for Africa. At the top of his "bucket list", Scott and his wife Cathy took their first trip to South Africa in 2013 and fell in love with Africa. Their second trip in 2015 included several close friends and they have just completed their third trip with lifelong friends. As Scott has stated many times, there is no greater experience than a safari in Africa. It is such a special, beautiful, emotional and heartwarming place. Nothing else compares.

Scott is looking forward to planning safaris for others with the expert assistance of Tanya Kotze of Africa Direct as well as utilize the services of co-owner Marc Linday-Rea and their staff.
Scott looks forward to combining his expertise working with customers with his incredible love for travel in his role as US Safari Agent for Africa Direct. He hopes to inspire more people to visit Africa and wants to help plan your journey of a lifetime. He will present options as to where to go and what lodges best suit you and your family based upon your interests, needs and budget. With the support and expertise from the head office in South Africa, you can be confident and rest assured that your trip would be a dream come true!

Claire has always had an intense passion for the African bush. Growing up in Cape Town, she spent all her family holidays in the bush and travelling throughout Southern Africa. After school, Claire studied Game Ranging and Lodge Management and went on to have an extremely happy and successful career in the bush for many years. She started as a guide/ guide mentor for AndBeyond for six years based at Madikwe Game Reserve, and then moved into lodge management managing Phinda Vlei Lodge and lastly various lodges in Namibia and Botswana.

Whilst working, Claire also completed a further Diploma in Interior Design. After leaving the bush, Claire made a seamless transition into travel planning. Being a perfectionist, with a real eye for detail, paired with her industry knowledge and personal experience, she excels at putting together dream safaris.

Claire lives with her husband and two young daughters in Mtunzini, South Africa, and still visits the bush as often as possible.

Deeply grateful to have grown up with a love for Africa's wilderness in my blood, having been raised on Bush vacations since before I could walk or talk.

I studied Business Science Marketing Honours at the University of Cape Town and spend time honing these skills as Brand Manager for an outdoor adventure company, Cape Union Mart and K-Way.

With wilder adventures calling, I then embarked on a 100 day, all female, Journey with a Purpose. Travelling over 16 000 kilometers through 10 of Africa's countries, we ventured from Southern Africa to Northern Kenya for Elephant Conservation.

East Africa swifly stole my heart and I remained in Tanzania as a luxury lodge manager for andBeyond and then Singita. Grant, my Guide Training Hubby, and I soon married and spent an incredible 10 and 12 years respectively in the Serengeti.

My role evolved from that of lodge manager to developing the Serengeti Foundational Leadership Program to train and promote leadership qualities in Tanzanian staff. From there, I went on to oversee the exclusive Singita Villa Portfolio and the Wellness Portfolio. I qualified as a Yoga instructor and grew a deep passion for bringing wholeness to guests in Africa's deeply restorative wild spaces. The ability to combine my passion for safari and yoga, is so rewarding, and can truly enhance any safari experience.

Now, together with my husband Grant, we reside in South Africa (when Grant isn’t private guiding our guests across the continent) where we curate and plan world class safaris for our guests to experience the magic of this incredibly diverse and beautiful Mamma Afrika.