How it all started

Walking has always been the ultimate freedom to me. It became all the more apparent during COVID, when no matter where you looked (the TV, the newspaper, social media), the world seemed all doom and gloom. But when I was out walking, all that noise fell away. It was just me and the bush. One foot in front of the other, in a world governed by nothing more than the unforgiving laws of nature.

I grew up in the Kalahari, and the bush has shaped my life ever since. Over the years I worked as a guide at lodges across Southern Africa, and I saw the same thing again and again. Guests asked about walking. Their eyes lit up when we stepped off the vehicle. And yet the walk was always last on the list, squeezed in between two game drives, often in the midday heat, always rushed. The experience people remembered most was treated like an extra.

I couldn't let that go. In a world that is only a remnant of what it once was in terms of wildlife and unspoiled nature, I believed, and still do, that everyone should experience Africa on foot. With nothing more than a backpack on your shoulders, you reconnect with your body, your mind and the land under your feet.

That is how Tsala Trails was born. In Setswana, "tsala" means companion, and it is a name very close to my heart. Back in 2018, while I was working in Madikwe Game Reserve, I adopted a dog from the Animal Anti-Cruelty League in Johannesburg, a street dog from the city. When I brought her to the staff village in Madikwe, she simply wouldn't listen to the name the shelter had given her. So the ladies in the village decided she needed a real African name, because she is an African dog. That is how Tsala came into my life, a companion through everything.

So when I decided to build my own company, Tsala was the first name that came to mind. Because isn't that what life is all about? Walking with friends, having companions along the way.

At Tsala Trails, walking is the heart of the journey, not an add-on. Small groups, guides who know their guests, and time to stop, look closer and understand what the bush is telling you.

Our vision is still simple: make walking safaris easy. All you need is good walking shoes, strong ankles and an open heart. We take care of everything else.

Explore our Premium Safaris for a deeper experience of Africa

or design a Tailor-Made Journey shaped around your curiosity and comfort.

Ever dreamed of walking Africa with nothing but a backpack? Of hearing only the bush and your own footsteps?

Ask us and let's turn that dream into your first trail.