Having spent a large proportion of my childhood living abroad I have been lucky enough to experience different cultures from a young age; I believe this is where my passion for travel began. Even whilst I pursued my career I tried to travel as much as possible.
Another passion of mine is wildlife and I love a David Attenborough documentary (who doesn’t!) and this was my motivation for wanting to experience the African Bush. In order to do this I planned my honeymoon around going on a safari, staying in a private game reserve in the Greater Kruger area for four nights, not wanting to leave. I loved seeing the Big Five up close as well as learning so much about animal behavior and how to track them.
I have since been back to South Africa and have been lucky enough to experience a lot more of what the country has to offer.
Q&A with Eloise
What’s your most vivid travel moment?
My most vivid travel moment has to be on first ever game drive. We set out from the lodge and within about two minutes had stumbled across a lonely buffalo. Shortly after this we went to a watering hole and were lucky enough to see a herd of elephants having a drink as well as a pride of lions at the other end. It was wonderful to see all these animals in their natural habitats. To top it off on the way back to the lodge we had a brilliant cheater sighting. It was an unforgettable game drive.
Where would you love to travel next?
A place I am keen to visit is the Galapagos Islands. I would love to see the wide array of wildlife the islands have to offer as well visiting Darwin’s research centre. I would also like to see how the penguins differ to those on boulders beach.
Your best piece of travel advice?
Layers, layers and layers! South Africa is a large country with two main weather patterns. Being able to put a jumper on over an outfit may well be needed and will save packing both your summer and winter wardrobe, meaning you're more likely to stick to that smaller weight allowance on most internal flights. The weather changes rapidly out on game drives and once the sun goes down you can really feel it, especially in the open top safari vehicles.