• Where it all Began...

    Kalahari Memories

  • Unrivaled Expertise

    Chitabe Lions

  • Personalized Service

    Hwange Lions in Love

  • Safaris of Value

    Olivers Camp Flycamping sunrise

  • Convenience & Peace of Mind

    Exeter Sabi Sands Reserve

  • Care & Conservation

    Elephants at Sunset
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Our Story

We’re all about relationship and getting to know you, we’d love to share a little bit of ourselves and give you some insight as to why we sell safaris, where we came from and who we are…

Explorations Africa

WHY…?

With our lifetime of safari experiences, connections, and expertise all over Southern and East Africa, we feel our love of life and our love of safaris, makes us the perfect fit for you! Though Africa is the heart of our business, it was on request from our guests that we started adding travel to various other destinations that we know and love.

Our passion lies in creating unique, one-of-a-kind trips that we tailor specifically around you, your dreams, and desires. You’re important to us and therefore what we want for you is so much more than just a wildlife experience in Africa or a luxury vacation abroad. We want your soul to be enriched and your passion for life to be renewed. We want you to experience the world, her wild spaces, and her people with a sense of wonder and awe. That’s who we are. That’s what we do…

life changing experiences; soul-enriching safaris

What You Can Expect from Us…

  • Unrivaled Expertise

    Our intimate knowledge of Africa stems from not only being born and raised there, but also a lifetime spent working in the safari industry all over Southern Africa.  Did you know that Antoinette managed safari camps for more than 17 years in some wild and remote destinations? Growing up in the midst of South Africa’s colourful unfolding story ignited Dan’s passion for history and wildlife photography – providing you a valuable insight into Africa’s colourful tapestry.  We specialize in 11 African countries that we know intimately and have an excellent relationship with the operators in each country.

  • Personalized Service

    We value our relationship with you and choose to treat our guests like family. As you’re entrusting your dreams to us, we’ll listen carefully to what your heart has to say to create the perfect trip for you. We love getting to know you through personal meetings or phone calls and our regular emails will ensure you’re well-prepared throughout the planning stages as well as the journey. Once you’re back home we’d love to hear your stories, share your photos, and hear which moments spoke to your heart.

  • Journeys of Value

    We define value as what is meaningful and important in our lives. Maybe on safari it’s a remote wilderness camp or a walk amongst the wildlife. Elsewhere it could be that a deep and authentic cultural experience is what you’d appreciate most. Whatever it is that is meaningful, we aim to ensure your experience is valuable to you.

    “The value of life can be measured by how many times your soul has been deeply stirred.” Soichiro H

  • Convenience & Peace of Mind

    Due to the scope of our expertise, we’re able to offer you a worry-free and seamless booking experience that includes international flights, travel insurance and a customized itinerary.  Our depth of experience means you can trust us to conveniently take care of all your travel arrangements – ensuring you’re well-prepared and equipped for your adventure!

  • Care & Conservation

    As relationship and community is an important element of every safari, we ensure your trip will make a positive impact on many levels. People in rural communities are an integral part of the preservation of Africa’s wildlife and wilderness areas and therefore strong and mutually beneficial relationships need to be formed. We only work with operators who, through their social responsibility work, show a deep care for the people – ensuring no exploitation ever takes place. Whether you’re on safari on a European vacation, we choose partners who share our values and ethics and ensure sustainable practices are followed in all areas of conservation and community relations.

How It All Began

Some days I still don’t know how it happened that Dan convinced me to leave my beloved safari-lifestyle and move to the frozen depths of Canada. I can only blame the curiosity of my adventurous heart.. or maybe it was that romantic summer picnic-by-floatplane in the remote woodlands that did the trick?

Whatever it was, I’m glad we both listened to our heart’s yearnings; as a lifetime of combined passions, adventures and experiences has culminated into the perfect relationship. Great things happen when soulmates meet, so it’s quite fitting that our story began in the vast and remote Kalahari – a little slice of heaven where soul-enriching encounters happen all the time!

But hold on, before I give it all away, let me stop there and allow Dan to tell you his story. After all, it was through his burning desire to share safaris with you, that Explorations Africa was born.

Oh my gosh this place is beyond gorgeous!

“We had a fabulous time at Nottens after a fabulous time at Victoria Falls after a fabulous time at Little Mac. Everything completely perfect with travel, accommodation and wonderful people everywhere. Thank you for making this happen for us. Thank you so much for everything! We have many envious friends and we tell them all how great Explorations Africa and you and Dan have been to make this trip so stress free and exciting to anticipate! – Myrna and the gang”

Bearspaw, Calgary

An Intrepid Adventurer

A deep passion for Africa has burned in my soul from my earliest memory and has blazed into a lifelong addiction.  Little did I know that following my passions would lead to everything my heart could have ever desired.

I was barely a year old when I arrived in Africa with my missionary parents and set off on a life-long discovery of this enchanting and magical continent. My parents’ work exposed my young adventurous heart to travel & exploration and I was fortunate enough to grow up surrounded by Africa’s spectacular beauty; reveling in the excitement of being on safari from an early age.  In Africa my heart is truly at home; a place where my love for her enticing beauty, fascinating people, rich cultures and matchless wildlife finds full expression.

At 16 I returned to Canada to complete my schooling and start my own life, but the intense passion for Africa continued to pull at my heart strings. I knew I needed to answer the call and so finally in 2009, Explorations Africa was born.  Fulfilling this life-long dream provides daily expression to my deep desire to encourage and enrich peoples lives and to have a part in promoting and protecting Africa’s incomparable wild places.

Thanks to my father’s example and encouragement, a camera is never far from my reach.  Capturing the raw beauty, profound contrasts and wonder that is Africa provides a photographic outlet that is unrivaled.  One of my particular pleasures, is building and sharing new opportunities to uniquely enhance any photographers experience through what we offer, whether you’re a total novice, serious amateur or professional.

Nothing gives me greater joy than providing the opportunity for others to experience the life changing, soul enriching experience that exploring Africa offers.  I look forward to hosting you on safari!  Warm regards Dan

Dan MacKenzie

Dan MacKenzie

Dan and Ants, we just wanted to say thanks again for making our first trip to Africa a truly memorable one.

“You were great travel companions and ambassadors along the way. We both had a fantastic time and would not have changed a thing. Cape Town was beautiful. We did everything we wanted to do except go shark diving due to water conditions but in exchange Jody was over the moon to go to Cheetah outreach centre. We look forward to planning our next safari for 2017! – Jeff & Jody”

Fort McMurray, Canada

Antoinette MacKenzie

Antoinette MacKenzie

Wild at Heart

My story started on a farm in northern South Africa, where I was born and raised by wonderful parents who encouraged my desire to explore and discover the bush. I remember many happy childhood days collecting insects, stalking impala on our bellies, or helping my dad catch large and bothersome pythons that needed relocating. One of my favourite pastimes was to climb high up into the giant baobab trees – I recall marveling at the smooth bark and textured skin which reminded me so much of the elephants that I loved.

Always a dreamer and in my mind a turn-of-the century explorer, I knew that one day I would travel to the remote areas of Africa and experience the rich and diverse cultures that I used to read about. My career in the hospitality industry started at the age of 19 where I worked in the famous Sabi Sands Reserve and during my first week I had the wild experience of having mating lions in front of my bedroom window for four days! I’d found my niche and was totally hooked on the beauty, thrill, and adventure! For the next 17 years I managed safari camps and travelled in some of Southern Africa’s most remote and spectacular locations, deeply immersed in nature.

My passion for making people feel special was perfectly suited to the 5-star safari industry and I’ve been fortunate to work for some of the top safari companies in Africa and lucky to host many famous celebrities. I not only know and understand the safari world intimately, but I am passionate about the wild, remote destinations of Africa, the incredible people, the breath-taking beauty of the wildlife.

At the end of 2012 I married Dan and moved to Canada where we lived for the next 8 years. In 2021 our sense of adventure led us to relocating to Portugal where we continue the pleasure of fulfilling our life’s purpose by selling soul experiences to Africa and the hidden gems of new destinations such as Portugal, that we love.

My wish for you is to experience travel in a way that will change your life too!

See you on safari!

Warmest regards, Antoinette

Our Partners

Throughout Africa we are very careful to select only the best companies to work with.  The ones that we know for sure care about the environment and people as deeply as we do – ensuring that no exploitation of people or resources will ever happen.  We’ve had long relationships with so many of our partners and feel proud to be associated with them.

 

Are You Ready to Join Us on Safari Yet?

Let Us Help You Plan the Perfect African Safari

We both have a great Africa hangover, and in some ways, it feels like an amazing dream.  We are both underwhelmed with being back in “boring” southern Ontario after the adventure of a lifetime. Thanks to you both for arranging a fantastic trip.  We thoroughly enjoyed travelling with you.  We started out thinking this would be a once in a lifetime trip but now feel like it was a good start.

David & SueOntario – Safari Highlights & Gallery

My daughters and I travelled to Africa in June of this year and it’s taken me this long to put something into words. On this Thanksgiving weekend I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to do this trip and more than thankful that we enlisted Ants and Dan to set up the trip for us! Ants listened to what our interests were and coordinated a trip that suited us all perfectly. From flights, accommodations, special diet requests, activities and everything else, it was absolutely perfect. We were gone 15 days and saw so many must-sees and did so many fun things I still have a hard time processing it. If you have a chance to go to Africa, I would highly recommend Explorations Africa for their knowledge of Africa and the travel industry in general. The entire trip went without a hitch and we will remember it for the rest of our lives! Thanks Ants!

Gerri, Sara & LisaCochrane

5 stars is not enough! This was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime for me and it was. But it was so much more than what I expected. Dan and Ants are so professional, attentive and a whole lot of fun too. Everything was organised to the finest detail, with some personal touches also. I am from Australia, so our organising was done via emails and Skype calls. We covered everything and trust me, I had lots of questions!!

The accommodation was exceptional, the staff everywhere treated us like royalty, the food was delicious and there was plenty of it too. Ants also introduced me to Amarula. : ) I even had an Amarula frappe waiting for me for breakfast one morning!

I loved every single day, we saw so many beautiful animals and met some beautiful locals along the way. There has not been one day that has passed since my safari that I haven’t thought about it. I love animals with all of my heart, so each day was such a gift. I never told you Ants and Dan, but I actually had a little cry in the back of the safari vehicle driving back to camp on our last night. I just didn’t want it to end, and I didn’t want to leave our stunning lion we had found.

If I get the opportunity to do this again with you, I will. Actually, I will make sure I do this again with you. Thank you for the best holiday of my life. 5 stars is not enough.

DebAustralia

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