Kath Austin

Africa got me at thirteen. I read The Power of One and felt something shift — a pull towards a continent I’d never seen but somehow already knew I needed to. A few years later, a brief flirtation with university gave way to a five-week trip that became three months in Africa and two and a half years of travel in total. I stepped off the plane in Harare and fell in love immediately. That feeling has stayed with me ever since.

I joined The Classic Safari Company in 2004. I had been working in youth and backpacker travel but had always wanted to specialise in Africa, so when the opportunity arose, I took it without hesitation. More than 20 years on, I still love what I do — sharing incredible destinations and helping to create the kind of memories that stay with people for the rest of their lives.

My expertise is rooted in Africa and Latin America, built through years of extensive personal travel across both regions. I’ve always been drawn to their extraordinary wilderness, diverse cultures and the sense of adventure that pervades everything.

Among my most treasured experiences are trekking with gorillas, walking alongside chimpanzees, swimming on the edge of Victoria Falls, a doors-off helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta, and walking into a pride of lions on a kill. But if I had to choose a single memory above all others, it would be introducing my children to Africa — and watching their faces light up when they spotted their very first wild giraffe.

The key to creating a great itinerary, I believe, is listening. Really listening. Understanding what each client is looking for, rather than simply booking what’s popular. Everyone travels differently, and I take the time to get to know what will genuinely suit them before I put anything on paper. That, combined with two decades of experience and a passion I’ve never had to manufacture, is what I bring to every journey I create.