Walks in Africa was set up in 2005 by Angus Maclaren, who traces its origins to South Africa in 1990, when he first started visiting the Drakensberg and the wider region. He has been exploring the continent avidly ever since, building knowledge and contacts that enabled him to start a travel company, prompted by the realisation that most of the excitement in all previous jobs stemmed from the ‘travel bit’, which rarely happened frequently enough and never to wilderness regions!

We are specialists in all things that involve walking in Southern Africa – covering everything from short walks from a comfy lodge to a multiday mountain trek at altitude, or tracking lion deep in the African bush – but also acknowledge that a walking experience is usually just one part of a wider holiday. We are experts at building comprehensive itineraries from point of arrival to point of departure, melding walking with all the other great things that this part of the world has to offer, such as more traditional safaris, relaxation on the coast, historical and cultural tours or a city stay. We can help you plan all travel arrangements in-country, and also cover self-drive in South Africa and Namibia, which are great touring destinations.

We are tailor-made specialists and pride ourselves on our personal attitude to service, our focus on detail, and our ability to build itineraries that suit our clients and work seamlessly. So many travel destination websites have a habit in talking in superlatives, but in our experience, what you might read online or in a brochure doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. We believe it’s our job to very open and give honest opinions about the destinations you travel to, ensuring that there are no unwelcome surprises when you arrive in country. Our own travel experiences enable us to do that – aside from being fun, these are also our most valuable and important investments.

Last, but not least, we understand that in-country staff, your hosts, matter at least as much as those who design your holiday, and for this reason we put great emphasis on working with local partners we know and trust, from ground handlers and lodge managers through to those all-important people, the guides, many of whom now count among our friends. In short, on guided holidays you will be travelling with the people we want to travel with.

Note that all our holidays are financially-protected as required by the passenger travel regulations using an insurance-based scheme; we do not sell scheduled flights (although give guidance on these) and are therefore not required to hold an ATOL license, which is specifically for flight-inclusive packages. The exception to this is seat-rate air transfers and charter flights for the purposes of safaris, which are covered by our insurance scheme and which are included in our packages. For more information please refer to our financial protection information page.