Indigo Safaris are experts in bespoke and package travel in Africa. As well as providing expert advice for free, we save you money, with exclusive deals and our own discounts on many trips. On others, we charge the same as the service provider would charge you directly, but reduce the number of international payments you have to make, all the while providing impartial advice covering all the elements of your trip under one roof. Whether you are a first-time visitor or an old hand, we will help you get the most out of your time in-country and your budget. Travelling autonomously or on a guided trip, you will return home with a head full of images and unforgettable memories whether you are a group, a couple, or on your own. Once you are travelling, we monitor your internal flights and connections and are always just a phone call or e-mail away should you need to contact us, any time of day or night.
We work with any group size from solo travellers up to medium-sized groups. We also act as a wholesaler to retail travel agents in the UK, the USA, France, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Poland.
Our Story
Founder Christopher Bartlett fell in love with Africa on a trip to Namibia in 1997 and after numerous visits to southern Africa moved to KwaZulu Natal in 2005 and became a safari field guide and underwater guide. When he combined these two new passions with his photography and writing skills and started doing assignments in east Africa for diving magazines, he had a grea opportunity to continue building his destination knowledge. In 2009 he had to return to the UK for family reasons, and ended up combining his knowledge and love of Africa and organisational skills to help other people discover Africa. Indigo Safaris was born.
In 2013 he met Scelo on a walking safari in Zululand, and a friendship was forged. It's become a "brother from another mother" kind of thing. Scelo now looks after our KwaZulu-Natal logistics.
In 2015 Christopher met Ines on an educational in Uganda, and recognised the consummate professional in her, and asked her to become his Senior Safari Consultant. A safari specialist with 17 years' experience garnered in Germany and London, she was poached from a prestigious London travel company where she was Senior Africa Travel Consultant.
In September 2019, Matthew joined us from another South African safari planner, having been a field guide in Namibia and Botswana prior to that. Based in Cape Town, Matthew shares his passion for African wildlife and the bush, and can blend it in seamlessly with his knowledge of city breaks. Since joining us, Matthew has arranged hundreds of trips for our clients across southern and eastern Africa, to much acclaim.
In May 2022, Kerry became the latest addition to our team and is based in Cape Town, South Africa. With five years’ experience guiding in South Africa and Namibia, and then further afield to Kenya, and then 16 years creating itineraries across the southern and eastern parts of the continent, Kerry’s product knowledge is extensive, to say the least. Allied to her attention to detail, her passion for designing guests' itineraries that exceed clients’ expectations and keep them coming back to Africa is a great benefit to us and our customers. She has travelled extensively throughout Southern and Eastern Africa and loves nothing more than to introduce the incredible experience of the African bush to the world! When she's not at work, you'll find her in the mountains, hiking or trail running, or planning her next travel adventure.
In October 2022, our team grew again, when Lindie Janse van Rensberg, a native of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, joined us, adding her 20+ years of safari planning experience and knowledge to our pot. Lindie is really clued up on southern Africa, with extensive, in-depth information on South African reserves, lodges, and logistics.
In the Spring of 2023, Matthew Milward and Judy Burrows joined our team of safari specialists. Both are natives of the Western Cape, South Africa, and experienced safari planners, with excellent attention to detail and knowledge, enabling them to pursue Indigo Safaris' desire to put together the best trips possible for our clients.
In northern Tanzania, Ben has looked after the logistics of our driven safaris since 2015, putting two decades of experience to great use, making sure our clients' trips run as smoothly as possible on the bumpy, rutted tracks that cover the vast plains of the Serengeti and the highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, from Tarangire to Lake Natron and the Kenyan border. He also looks after our bespoke Kenya driven safaris.
In Namibia, Tulimo is our driver-guide for our private guided safari clients. A charming man of many talents, Tulimo is also a great bush cook and braaimaster.
First-hand knowledge
Having lived in, worked in, and travelled around southern and eastern Africa, Oceania, Indonesia, and South America, Christopher has considerable first-hand knowledge of the destinations we send clients to. Travelling independently and working on assignments, he has stayed in a wide variety of accommodations and creates trips to suit most requirements. He has a foot on either side of the Atlantic in the UK and the USA, but spends at least three months of the year in Africa. Ines has worked in the travel and safari business for almost two decades and is an amazing source of knowledge on lodges and camps. Now based in London, she returns to Africa twice a year on inspection and educational trips. Lindie, Kerry, and Judy have over 20 years of safari travel planning experience each, and live in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, and does Matthew M, and Matthew O, an erstwhile resident of Cape Town, ex-guide in Namibia and Botswana, currently resides in Canada.
The lodges, hotels, dive centres, safari, trek, and vehicle hire companies we use have been tried, tested, and approved. All our providers are members of their respective country's tourism organisations, and we have stayed at around 98% of them.
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