Sales Team Leader

Angela Hannah

Do you want a Travel Designer who knows Africa? Angela specialises in travel to; Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

My background

Born and raised in Africa, and with two decades of experience as an African travel specialist, I have extensive knowledge of many popular safari regions spanning Southern and East Africa.

Instilled with a passion for the wilderness and love for the diversity of cultures in Africa

I was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, into a family of wildlife enthusiasts. From a young age I spent weekends on the family game farm, learning to love the wilderness. Holidays were spent in Plettenberg Bay (the star of the Garden Route), on safari in Kruger National Park, or overlanding through Zimbabwe and Botswana. During my high school years, I lived in Windhoek, Namibia – and with my family explored the many landscapes the country contains.

Instilled with a passion for the wilderness and love for the diversity of cultures in Africa, on leaving school I studied Travel & Tourism before joining a renowned luxury safari operator in Johannesburg in 2004. After six years, I felt the need for a change. I spontaneously moved to South Africa’s beautiful Mother City, Cape Town, where I started planning bespoke safaris, tailored to the individual, at a small safari travel company. After seven years in the Cape, I married my high school sweetheart and relocated to the UK to be with my husband.

I’ve joined the team at Wilderness having spent two decades in the African travel industry and having gained a broad-based knowledge of various regions in Africa and the assortment of lodges and camps available. I take great care to place each client into perfectly matched spaces, to ensure that each traveller’s expectations of the safari experience are exceeded.

My most memorable experience

I have had many moments in the bush that have evoked a range of emotions – total joy, excitement, and often complete awe. Here’s a quick top three, as each evoked a different feeling:

First, there’s the first time I heard a fully grown male lion let rip, really roar, from the depths of his belly, right next to our open safari vehicle. The reverberations could be felt as the vehicle shook and the sound rumbled right through my body – so powerful I will never forget it!

Then, there’s having to chase a hyena out of the kitchen at the family farm. The hyena had wandered in on a hot evening to steal scraps from the bin after our evening braai (barbeque) – I was left with jelly legs, to say the least!

But my favourite experiences in the bush have always been with wild dog – NOTHING gets the blood pumping quite like chasing a pack on a hunt. I’ve been lucky to have been able to do so a few times, but the most special experience was chasing a pack in the Savute, Botswana. Our guide stopped the vehicle abruptly – everyone on board looked very confused, as the pack had locked onto an antelope and they were in full pursuit. The guide pointed to the side of where the pack was running… and there, cowering in the long grass, was a leopard. The cat slowly snuck up the low-hanging branches of a tree as a few of the dogs ran within metres of the predator, who was trying very hard to make himself unseen and unreachable. Fortunately, the dogs were fixated on their potential and eventually successful kill, and the leopard, still very alert, exited the area rapidly after the pack had passed by. It was fascinating to see the leopard, listed in the Big Five for a reason, fearful of what I believe are the most efficient and effective killers in the wilderness!

Hear from my clients

Our wonderful safari specialist Angela truly got to know us and took the time to understand the type of trip we were looking for. She went above and beyond...had our best interest at heart, and truly wanted us to have the best trip possible. The properties we enjoyed were beyond expectations, food incredible, and transportation/transfers perfectly organized.

Wilderness Guest