Introducing Marike & Diaan
On today’s episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with Diaan and Marike Hoffman, the owners, and operators of Ohanya Tour and Safari. Diaan, a qualified conservation ecologist and expert tour guide, brings his extensive knowledge and passion for wildlife to every guided tour. Meanwhile, Marike, the creative mastermind behind Ohanya, is deeply passionate about plant-based nutrition and food. Together, they have created a unique and unforgettable experience for travelers seeking an immersive and sustainable way to explore the beauty of this country. We are excited to learn more about their company and the wonderful experiences they offer.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What makes Namibia special and why people should visit
- Ohanya’s founding and how it differs from other tour operators in Namibia
- The company’s goals with its tours in Namibia
- The various tour locations and packages offered by Ohanya
- Namibia is a unique safari destination
- Veganism in Namibia
Learn more about what we talk about
- Ohanya’s commitment to respecting the environment and wildlife
- The team’s passion for showcasing their country to visitors
- Buffalos on the Waterberg PlateauNational Park
- Unique herd of desert Elephants in Northwestern Namibia
- The small population of desert lions in Namibia
- Specific tour packages and locations offer an amazing itinerary idea, including the South of Namibia, the Northern Region of Namibia, Etosha National Park, Sossusvlei, and Swakopmund.
Other World Vegan Travel content connected with this episode
- Vegan Photography Trips in Botswana | Jennifer Hadley and Sharon Doak | Ep 108
- Why You Should Add Vegan-Friendly Ethiopia to your Bucket List | Eskinder Hailu Senbeta | Ep 107
- Living a Life of Purpose in a Crazy World | Peter Eastwood | Ep 106
- Five Best Places in South Africa to See The Big Five | Ingrid Geertsema | Ep 105
- ALL-INCLUSIVE SOUTH AFRICA’S GARDEN ROUTE – with a wildlife photographer
- Bucket-List AFRICA: Vegan safaris and literary adventures
- 20 top travel destinations in Africa that Vegans need to visit (Part-2)
Connect with Marike & Diaan
Transcript
Brighde: Hello, Diaan and Marike. Thank you so much for joining me on The World Vegan Travel Podcast.
Diaan and Marike: Hi, Brighde. Thank you for having us. It’s so nice to be here.
Brighde: Awesome. So, we are gonna be talking about Namibia as a destination, this incredible country, not much visited in southern Africa. Before we get into that, would you mind telling us a little bit about what you do in the vegan travel space?
Diaan and Marike: Sure. So we’re fairly a new company but we do tours and safaris in Namibia and Southern Africa, those would be desert tours. Safaris in the Zambia region, safaris in Etosha National Park, the skeleton coast, and all over Namibia basically. We try to focus on vegan travelers since it’s not very well known in Namibia and there aren’t a lot of options, so we try to cater to them.
Brighde: hhmm and how did you get into this industry, Diaan?
Diaan and Marike: Actually two years ago we started a vegan journey of our own. We actually started out for health reasons and saw all of the health benefits of our vegan lifestyle. After watching all of these documentaries, we started to become more aware of the environmental issues and animal ethics issues that come with a vegan lifestyle. I’ve always had a love for nature, a passion for wildlife, and for this country. So everything just came together to give us this opportunity to start a vegan company. And Marika is more on the plant-based nutrition side of it. So she likes cooking and everything.
Of course, both of us grew up in Africa, so we know what it’s like to travel, especially in Namibia, as vegans can be quite challenging. So yeah, we are catering aish for a niche group.
Brighde: Did you have a background in the travel industry, before you decided to start up Ohanya Tours?
Diaan and Marike: No. Actually, I have a degree in conservation ecology. So I really have a passion for the outdoors, and we’ve really been camping throughout the country since I was a little boy, so I’ve seen pretty much every corner of this amazing country. So it’s really a passion of mine. I also worked in an environment for quite a while, so this is a new industry, but we will definitely make it work and yeah, we are excited about the journey ahead
Brighde: What are both of your roles within the company?
Diaan and Marike: I guess with your own company you kind of do everything. So both of us just do whatever needs to be done. But I would say that I cater more to the client’s needs, do client correspondence, do bookings, make itineraries, and Diaan is our guide. He knows everything about nature side and wildlife. He also speaks to the clients, especially if they have questions or concerns, then I usually hand it over to him but I guess both of us do a bit of everything.
Brighde: I see. Alright, well let’s talk about Namibia as a destination because I don’t know the numbers of visitors that Namibia gets each year, maybe you do, but I’m sure it’s less than the international visitors that come to South Africa, for example, and Tanzania. So, tell us a little bit about where Namibia is, its location in Africa, and maybe a little bit about what people can expect in terms of its geography.
Diaan and Marike: Okay, so Namibia is situated in Southern Africa. We actually share our borders with five countries, South Africa to the south of us. Then Botswana to the east, Angola to the north, and then in the Zambia region we also share a small section with Zambia and Zimbabwe. The western side of the country we share with the Atlantic Ocean. That’s actually quite nice to have the coast here. So guests can expect in Namibia is definitely a unique experience, I can tell you that. So Namibia has a piece of what all of Africa basically has to offer. We have one of the largest canyons in Africa.
Okay, so Namibia maybe has a piece of every part of Africa basically. We have this amazing coastline, with amazing views where the number desert actually meets the Atlantic Ocean. We have amazing, the Namib Desert, which is the oldest desert in the world. We also have a part of the Kalahari desert that extends from Botswana.
We have these amazing flood planes in the Zambezi region. That is basically the start of the Okavango Delta. We have the Etosha National Park. I think I can talk for a whole day about every unique aspect that Namibia. So it’s really a unique country and definitely an underrated tourism destination.
Brighde: If I understand well, I think that Namibia has this incredible panhandle that comes between Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, right? Like this little piece of land that extends right through. I always find Panhandles quite interesting. Why does Namibia have this sticky-outy bit?
Diaan and Marike: Yeah, actually the Zambezi region that I’m referring to, basically that wasn’t always part of Namibia. I’m not exactly sure when it was added but I’m actually very glad it has been added because this is a region that has a very high species richness, not only vegetation but mammals, and birds. So it’s really a unique part of Namibia. Most of the major rivers that Namibia has are actually in that region. So we have the Okavango River, the Mighty Zambezi, the Chobe, Kwando, and Linyanti. I think all of our rivers are basically there except for the Kunene, which is in the northwestern part of the country, and the Orange River, which separates us from South Africa.
Brighde: Right. Okay. I think most people come to Namibia because of the incredible safari opportunities. Can you talk a little bit about those?
Diaan and Marike: Yes, definitely. Well, Diaan spoke a little bit about the desert Port of Namibia. Many people do come to Namibia for the amazing landscapes that we have. So we have Sossusvlei, a very popular and very well-known tourist destination. Then we also have the Fish River Canyon and also the famous Skeleton Coast. I think many people do know about those areas if they think about Namibia. But with regards to safari, we have everything in competition with all the other famous safari destinations. Most people know about Etosha National Park, a very famous national park with a lot of predators and big mammals, and a lot of grazers.
Really very special with the large Etosha salt pan, which gives most of the animals, this white tint that they would have, which is quite unique. Unfortunately, you can’t really see the big five in Etosha. We don’t have buffalos in Etosha but then you can see them again in the Zambezi region. For people that really want to come and see wildlife, we always recommend going to the Zambezi region because it’s similar to what Botswana has to offer with water safaris, it’s just a more biodiversity-reach area. A very different experience from Etosha.
Brighde: Is it Etosha, where the real desert area is? I don’t think so. Right?
Diaan and Marike: No. So our main desert area mainly lies next to the coastal area. The whole of Namibia is actually not a desert. So we have this line that runs from the south to the northern boundary of the country, which is the completely arid desert area, the Namib desert. In this part we have Sossusvlei, we have the coastal towns of Swakopmund, and then also the famous skeleton coast. Then as you move to the eastern side, you get more savanna landscapes and as you move closer to the Zambezi region, to the northeastern parts of the country, get more broadleaf savanna regions. So yeah more lush vegetation. Actually, you can see the trend moving from the southwest of the country to the northeastern side. It becomes much more lush, much more species diverse. But the other desert part definitely has its own unique feature.
Brighde: I believe they have desert lions and desert elephants too, which seems incredible to me given that elephants eat so much vegetation. Could you talk about that?
Diaan and Marike: Yes. So we have these unique herds of desert elephants that mainly live in the arid regions in northwestern Namibia. They are mainly sustained by, what we call it linear oasis basically. So it’s ephemeral rivers that only run for a few hours to a few weeks a year. So they do not have water throughout the year. Especially if it’s good rainy seasons, these rivers break through to the ocean, which is really good and crucial to sustaining the desert ecosystems. These elephants are mainly led by matriarchs, which really know these areas, and have learned everything from their parents so they know where to go and search for the water.
They know where to go and search for vegetation in dry years. They’re also important ecosystems in engineers in a sense because they dig these holes which provide water for them, not only for them but for other wildlife in the area as well. And they also pull down these branches from these huge trees. So that also gives vegetation to some of the smaller mammals and antelopes that can’t reach these trees or vegetation. Then on the Desert Lion side, we actually have a really small population of desert lions. It’s the only population of pride of its sort in the whole of the world.
So that’s really unique. They actually took quite a knock over this last couple of years due to the drought. We had a big drought a few years ago. Also, human-wildlife conflict reduces some of their numbers. But there’s luckily a lot of NGOs and companies put a lot of effort into protecting these majestic animals.
Brighde: That’s really good to hear. Okay, I’ve been lucky enough to southern Africa several times. And of course, on our tours, we make sure that our travelers are very well looked after in terms of food and that kind of thing. What is it that you do for your vegan travelers who join Ohanya or one of your tours?
Diaan and Marike: All right, so we try to cater to a broad range of people no matter what your budget is. We do budget tours as well, camping tours for people who have a smaller budget, and then all the way to mid-range, and then luxury tours as well. So for the budget and mid-range options, all intermediate lodges don’t really cater to vegans.
So there are some exceptions, and when they’re all, we will take advantage of those and get our guests into those lodges. But otherwise, I think we like to embrace the Namibian tradition of cooking around a campfire and making traditional food, but for vegans. So I think that’s what makes us unique. So, we like embracing that we have outdoor cooking experiences for guests. We set beautiful tables for them to enjoy. Our amazing African night sky, it’s part of the experience that with a campfire, especially if you’re in a place like Etosha National Park at night, you can hear lions growling while you’re cooking up dinner. So it’s really special.
Then for our more luxury tours, there are lodges that would be prepared to cater to vegans. So then usually we would put our guests into those lodges. A few of the nature reserves also have really fancy luxury lodges that cater to those.
Brighde: I see. So will you run mobile safaris too? Is that something that’s done in Namibia?
Diaan and Marike: Yes. So just to confirm, the mobile Safari, she referred to safari is in a vehicle through the National parks.
Brighde: Yes. Sometimes people drive by themselves, but very often it will be with a tour guide and perhaps a small crew depending on the budget, I guess.
Diaan and Marike: Yes. Okay. So we will mainly focus on mobile safaris. I’m the driver and the guide, and she will also come along on all the tours to assist with the food, with guests overall, and to help with the camp set up and everything because we do everything on behalf of the clients. They can just enjoy their vacation when they come on our tours. We also do have tours where guests have the opportunity to drive by themselves. So we will hire a vehicle for them. They can do self-drive tours through these parks if they prefer the privacy of their own vehicles. So we basically cater to everything.
Brighde: I see. Okay. So you can do from like the self-drive for people that are really adventurous, that want to really do things by themselves and maybe save more money, to the higher-end stuff. That’s really interesting. Is there any sort of dishes that are traditionally vegan or very easy to veganize in Namibian Cuisine?
Diaan and Marike: Namibia is a country that really enjoys meat. That’s I think, what makes it so challenging in the lodges. A lot of food, especially in your meat dishes or prepared over an open fire. So in Namibia, we call it braai so we have a lot of fantastic meat substitutes that come from South Africa that are like Vegan steaks or Vegan sausage or things like that. So with that, we would give them the Namibian experience, but vegan style. Then also, call it the Potjiekos course in a cast iron Potjiekos that we also prepare over the fire that’s very traditional Namibian as well. So I think we will try to embrace that as much as possible because we want people to come to experience our culture and our country and our wildlife and really have a true, authentic experience.
So we will definitely embrace that where we can. But then of course, we are vegans ourselves, so we like salads and healthier food as well, and especially a lot of Europeans that come here say that they never see any salads. All of the lodges only give them all of these meat options and it’s so heavy. So, especially in the summer when it’s hot, embrace all the lovely fruits and salads and things available. So definitely.
Brighde: I traveled a fair bit and whenever you stay in the hotels, I think that hotels think they’re being, generous, hospitable guests when they put meat in everything. Cuz I think traditionally meat is considered a luxury so you often will get salads with meat in and you’re just like, why? Why did you have to put meat in that? There’s meat in everything else. So yeah, I think this is slowly changing, but a lot of places still feel like they’re not really looking after their guests if they don’t give them meat. Goodness.
Diaan and Marike: I know that’s very true.
Brighde: Yeah. So would you mind telling us what would be a really good itinerary for Namibia, maybe for the first-time visitor that would give us a really good overall broad entry-level look at what Namibia has to offer maybe for a week or 10 days?
Diaan and Marike: Okay, for a week’s itinerary. I’m just gonna give an overview of two itineraries. So these are actually two of our itineraries. We will start in Etosha National Park for about three days. This will give you two full days in the park to experience the eastern and the western side of the park. Just to fully experience everything, to visit all of the popular waters, to give you a chance to see all of your bucket list animals. Then from there, we will drive through Damaraland, which we call it, to Swakopmund for two nights. Swakopmund is a coastal town, in the center of Namibia.
At the coastal town, we will usually show guests, the dunes, where the Namibia desert actually meets the Atlantic Ocean. We will take them into the desert to show them the moon landscape and it’s the Welwitschia plants that grow there. These are actually very amazing and unique plants. Some of them are estimated to be over 2000 years old, so it’s really, really unique, and then Swakopmund actually has a lot of activities, so we will recommend a few additional activities for the guests. Before we head for Sossusvlei, we will usually stop at Walvis Bay at the lagoon area where there is usually a thousand-plus flamingo in the lagoon. So this is really amazing sight and a birding paradise for people that really love birds. Then we will depart for Sossusvlei for another two nights, which gives you one full day in Sossusvlei.
That gives you enough time to see all of the attractions in the area. The Sesriem Canyon, Deadvlei, Big Daddy Dune, Dune 45, and actual Sossusvlei, so it really give you a chance to see the unique desert landscape. Then we will head back to Windhoek. For a 10-day itinerary, we usually recommend driving to the south of Namibia. Then we will go and see the Fish River Canyon. We will usually stay at Canyon Roadhouse, which is a Gondwana Lodge close to the Fish River Canyon, for one night. Then we will visit the canyon in the morning, and drive to Aus, which is a really small town, if you blink you’ll literally miss the town, for two nights. Near us, you also get Garub, where you can see the number of wild horses, which is also amazing sight, in the desert. The next day we will head out to LÃuderitz. Before we enter LÃuderitz, we will usually take guests to Kolmanskop, which is a ghost town.
There was diamond mining in that area and the people from the area left for Oranjemund because diamonds were more common in that area, so they abandoned this little town in the 1950s, I think. So it’s now this amazing ghost town, which has great views and has a good atmosphere over it if I can say that. Then we will usually leave for LÃuderitz, to showcase the little coastal town and Diaz Point, which also has this amazing blue sea against these rocks and everything. So it’s really beautiful. Then we will head back to the house, for the night. Then we will head to the Namib Desert, where you go through NamibRand Nature Reserve as well.
So this is actually a really nice place to visit as well. There’s a lot of wildlife, in this desert landscape. Then we also go to Sossusvlei for two nights and see all of that attractions. After the two nights leave for Swakopmund, for one night. After Swakopmund leaves for Etosha, for two nights, and then back to Windhoek. So that’s actually quite a lot of driving throughout the country, but it basically gives you the opportunity to see everything. It gives you the opportunity to see amazing landscapes and amazing wildlife.
Brighde: How is the driving? I’m guessing you drive people around in a four-wheel drive. Is that right?
Diaan and Marike: Yes.
Brighde: So you’re off-road most of the time.
Diaan and Marike: Yes. So our roads are actually in really good condition. From Windhoek to Kolmanskop, it is mainly a tar road, which drives quite nicely. Then to the Fish River Canyon, there are a few gravel roads. Then to Aus again, it’s a tar road again, and then through the desert, it’s mainly gravel roads. The conditions are really good, so it’s actually no issue to drive. If tourists drive on their own, they should just practice caution because it can be tricky to drive on these gravel roads. But other than that, it’s really nice. Yeah. Also, we have a lot of wildlife on our roads as well.
I never know how to say this, but Namibia is like this extremely wild country. So everywhere you go, people think you’re only gonna see wildlife. In Etosha or in the national parks. But even if you drive from Bethanien airport to the city, chances are you’re going to see oryx or some sort of antelope or warthog so that’s always something that we try to make people cautious of if they drive on our roads, is we have a lot of wildlife.
Brighde: Mm-hmm.
Diaan and Marike: In the rainy season of last year, we actually drove a bit on one of these gravel roads and we saw four free-roaming cheetahs on the road. So that was also a very nice experience because Namibia actually has the largest free-roaming cheetah population in the world. So that’s quite nice. You never know what to expect on these roads.
Brighde: So when you say free roaming, I’m guessing that you mean that they’re not fenced in, in a national park, they’re just going around walking around doing their thing.
Diaan and Marike: yes. So Namibia is full of fences, all of the forms, but they move through the forms. Etosha, basically, it’s estimated that they only have like 50 cheetahs. So that’s very little for a park of that size. So most of our cheetahs are actually outside of the National Park, and most of the rangers are in farmlands and commercial areas.
Brighde: If I understand well, Namibia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. Is that correct?
Diaan and Marike: Yes, we have a very large country. I think we’re the 34th largest country in the world, but we only have 2.6 million people. I think the stats are something like three people per square kilometer. So we are very sparsely populated. A lot of our areas are extremely remote. I think Namibia has this high-value, low-impact approach to tourism as well. So many of the places where you drive, especially if you’re driving from the south of Namibia to the north, you’ll see how the landscape changes. But on most roads, you’ll be by yourself most of the time. The busy tourist areas like Sossusvlei can be crowded, especially in the high season. But normally you’ll find yourself alone at a sighting, especially if you’re driving along the roads and you see some antelope, or even if you’re lucky enough to see a free-ranging cheetah, chances are you’ll be alone. So that’s really great.
Brighde: Yeah, I’m thinking it’s really awesome for tourists that get to visit Namibia, but I’m also thinking that it’s probably really good for animals as well. Because there are few people, maybe there’s less human-wildlife conflict and there’s less pressure on the environments that these free roaming animals are in. Is that fair to say?
Diaan and Marike: Yes, I would definitely say so. So if you drive in these areas as far as you live, there’s just an open landscape. So there’s really enough space for animals to freely move. In some areas where you get these villages or farms, you get more wildlife conflict because especially in the northwestern part of the country where we have the desert lions and the desert elephants and all of these spotted hyenas. In the dry season, if there is little wildlife, they start to go into these villages and catch cattle or goats.
So, unfortunately, this creates a bit of wildlife conflict especially cause Namibia has quite a large livestock industry, so these free roaming predators can cause some issues. But luckily we have some amazing conservation organizations working hard to combat these human-wildlife conflicts in the country.
Brighde: Right. Are farmers ever compensated when an animal of theirs is taken by a predator? Cuz I know that sometimes happens in Europe, for example, they’re reintroducing wolves into some areas in Europe, and should a wolf take a sheep? It’s upsetting that they’re sheep in the first place, in Europe, definitely. I think it would be a lot better off if they didn’t have sheep, but that’s my opinion. Many people would disagree, but a program that they have got in Germany, for example, is that a farmer is compensated if they can prove that an animal was taken by a wolf. So do programs like that exist? Because I’m wondering how that would play into the human-animal conflict.
Diaan and Marike: Yes. So if there’s a case like that where a lion jumped into a goat pen and killed all of the guy’s goats, they will go out and will inspect the scene to check, just to make sure whether it was a lion. Usually, some of the NGOs because the desert lions, it’s just regular lions that have adapted to these desert conditions. There is so little left of them. So, the NGOs and people will probably also compensate these farmers just to ensure that the lions don’t get killed. From my understanding that is the case, they get compensated for their losses, especially in the communal areas because we have a veterinary fence that runs above Etosha. That basically separates the communal land from commercial farms to the south of this veterinary line.
You also don’t get buffalos. So the veterinary line is in place for food and mouth disease for cattle. So all of our buffalos are to the north of this line. Except we have some buffalos in the Waterberg Plateau National Park, the national park is basically on a plateau, so the buffalos can’t get off. That’s the only buffalo south of the veterinary line, which is quite unique.
Brighde: That is really interesting. I’m always filled with compassion and empathy for countries in Southern Africa because they have got so much to protect and so many threats to the things that they’re protecting with potentially not very much money. I can really understand, even though I don’t necessarily agree with it. I can understand why some countries have invited some sort of trophy hunting into areas. Like for example, I know that Botswana has reintroduced trophy hunting apparently as a way to stop human-wildlife conflict in this very large elephant population where people are being killed by elephants.
Of course, I hate that this is trophy hunting. I hate that elephants are being killed, but it’s an incredibly challenging problem that needs to be addressed. Poor people are literally being killed by elephants because of this. So I always try to remind myself to be compassionate for the length that sometimes authorities have to go to because the challenges are just so real.
Diaan and Marike: There are. Yep. That’s definitely the truth. For developing countries like Africa, and especially a country like Nambia that’s so remote, we have a lot of local villages and people that live around the national parks. So the human-wildlife conflict is a very difficult issue to deal with. I think that our government is doing a good job of it. In general, we have a lot of concessions in the northern parts of Namibia that also protect these types of things and make provisions for those. But yeah, I think we’ve spoken about, how wild Namibia is in the sense that many of our animals are outside of our national park, but maybe a good thing just to mention is the importance of a National Park for Namibia.
For example, it’s something like 17% of our land surface is a protected area. We have 20 national parks in Namibia, of which the largest one being the Namib-Naukluft National Park. I know some vegans are sometimes a bit worried about if safaris are vegan-friendly and if they are sustainable. We always try to defend that by explaining to people how big the national park is or what an important role it plays in conservation.
Like for example, our Namib-Naukluft National Park is 50,000 square kilometers in size. That’s larger than Denmark. It’s larger than the Netherlands. So parks are massive and these are really important for conservation. I know a well-known example that many people use is for Etosha in the 19 hundreds, Etosha had something like 26 elephants. Now today have over 2,500 elephants. So that is why national parks are important. Those are large parks in which animals live like they would’ve if this was an ideal world and we didn’t have livestock farms and everything was a national park, but they do live in their natural surrounding, and that is what protects our wildlife at the end of the day.
Brighde: Hmm. Yes. That’s really interesting, when I compare the percentage of National Park there is in Namibia, compared with the UK, it’s a huge amount of land that has to be managed and has to be protected, and needs to be staffed, and monitored. I’m guessing poaching is a possible issue as well and these animals need to be really protected, which requires a huge amount of resources. It’s a huge amount of work. By the sounds of it, Namibia is doing an amazing job and I think lots of surrounding countries are doing an amazing job considering the huge challenges that they are facing. So something I always like to ask guides and people who live in incredible destinations where they’re focusing on wildlife is what their most incredible wildlife encounter was. For example, for me, I’ve been lucky enough to go on many safari activities, I just pinch myself daily.
But for me was when there was a bit of a standoff between some crocodiles and a lion when they wanted to eat some hippo that had died in a fight with another hippo. And that was really quite incredible. But what’s the most amazing wildlife encounter that you’ve seen?
Diaan and Marike: There is really a lot of them, but I’m gonna refer to one amazing experience that I will never forget. So we went camping in the Zambezi region. So in the Kwando area, it’s a community campsite. There are no fences around the campsite. As we set up camp and we parked our cars under this huge tree, a herd of elephants actually came by and one came and stood next to us, so next to the vehicle, he put his trunk around a huge tree and start to shake it. Just see the sheer strength of this amazing animal. So he shook it and all of these seeds fell on us. Then he just realized the strength that he must have. That night was also amazing because the elephants and the hippos had a standoff. So you could just hear them trumpeting and moving through the Kwando River. It was just really an amazing experience. I don’t think I slept at all that night. Even the leopard was in the camp the next morning, so we actually heard the leopard. So it was really just an amazing experience.
Brighde: Marike is also that your experience too, your favorite wildlife encounter?
Diaan and Marike: Yeah, definitely. I must say that and the free-roaming cheetah that we saw the other day. I think it would be very difficult to top that.
Brighde: It’s funny, isn’t it, because I would say that when I’ve taken groups to Africa, in Botswana specifically, we always see something that’s really special on that trip. So out of the 10 or so safari activities that the group does, of course, we see so many amazing things, but there’d always be one really outstanding thing. This is why I think going on safari is quite addictive because you’re gonna see amazing things the next time you go. That will be completely different even if you’re going to the same location. It’s just quite addictive going on safari. That’s why we are so excited to run trips to places in Africa because we get to go too and we get to see these amazing things. Thank you both so much for being on the podcast. Before you go, I would love, it if you wouldn’t mind sharing with our listeners some information about how people can stay in touch with you, and maybe contact you in case they would like to go to Namibia on a tour that you would like to put together, could you share those details, please?
Diaan and Marike: Sure. Okay. So we are actually on Instagram, that’s where we are most active. So people can reach us through Instagram. Our website is also on Instagram. We also have Facebook. We are featured on Safari Bookings, which is a place where people can just request a quote or just reach us. We are also featured on Happycow, so people can also reach us through Happycow. The website is probably the most important part. So they can visit the website, can schedule a meeting with us, on our Contact Us page. We can discuss any possible questions that they might have, they can view our packages.
If they require a custom package, they can also request that. Even if they’re just looking to book a stay in Namibia, we are also registered as a booking office, so we can just book their favorite location or destination, to discuss their dietary requirements with the lodges on their behalf. So there’s a lot that we can do. Clients are welcome to just send an email, and request a booking with us and we will inform them of everything, and answer all the questions. I think that’s basically it.
Brighde: Fantastic. So that’s ohanya.com.na for Namibia. Thank you both so much for taking the time to share this incredible destination with our listeners. I cannot wait until we get to go to Namibia. It sounds like such an incredible destination. Thank you so much.
Diaan and Marike: Thank you for having us.