Who We Are

We are often asked how two Glaswegians came to own a luxury safari agency and luxury chalet company and so we thought we would share our story with you and let you in on our experience so far.

Africa is simply always in you. You cannot escape dreaming about it, reminiscing about it and longing for it. Since we left Tanzania in 2016, where we lived and worked at the time, we have returned to the continent every year with the exception of 2020 when it wasn’t possible to travel. Our youngest hasn’t known a birthday not spent in Kruger National Park, our three children can identify wild animals better than farm animals and our deep love of safari has seeped into our growing family and our friends who we have brought to Africa with us. We are addicted to it.

There are some things in life that people become passionate about and we consider ourselves very fortunate to both be passionate about the same things and have been able to build our businesses around them; safari, mountains and exceptional customer service.

Originally from Glasgow, Finlay and I met at high school and followed the typical academic route through school and university to become a chartered surveyor and a geography teacher but certainly, for myself, it wasn’t a route I had carved out of passion or a definite idea of what I wanted to do with my life, rather a series of doing what is expected of you and life falling into place. It was on our honeymoon that, unexpectedly, our lives changed forever.

Sitting by the campfire under a blanket of stars in a remote corner of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Finlay and I got talking to a private safari guide who was guiding a family of Americans that had already retired to their beds. Talking to him and becoming completely absorbed by his enthusiasm and knowledge of the bush we asked “How could we do this?” “How can a teacher and a surveyor from Glasgow move to the bush and work in the safari industry?” We could just feel it, we knew it was where we were meant to be and we knew that we needed to explore all that Africa had to offer.

Several emails and months later we had a phone call that completely altered the path of our lives forever and for which we will always be grateful. The guide we had met on our honeymoon had introduced us to a safari company and they offered us a job in the safari industry. We were moving to Zambia to manage the country’s newest and most exclusive lodge in the South Luangwa National Park! We didn’t even know where it was… but we were going and we were excited!

As the camp was still to be built, we had eight months before we would be leaving and so we decided to start our adventures early by travelling around Europe and California before then moving to Morzine in the French Alps to spend a ski season working as a chalet host couple running a catered chalet. The ski season was also something new to us. We didn’t grow up with friends going off to do ski seasons and neither of us had been on family ski holidays, in fact, Finlay didn’t even know how to ski at that time and so the whole concept was new and exciting for us and ultimately an experience that had a huge impact on our future. Having completed an incredible five months in the French Alps we flew home for one week, swapped our ski kit for khaki clothes, said goodbye to our family and friends and set off for Zambia.

As the wheels touched down in Mfuwe airport and a rush of hot dusty air came in through the doors the reality of our new situation was just so incredibly exciting and we couldn’t wait to get started. I could talk for hours about our time there and will delve in to many incredible memories in our ‘Safari Stories’ blogs where you can read about brushes with hippos and close encounters with lions but for now it is suffice to say that we learnt an enormous amount about the logistics of operating safari lodges and providing luxury safari holidays during our time in Zambia. As the camp was not yet completely built we not only catered to guests and managed a huge team of lodge staff but also assisted the construction team in completing the build and adding the finishing touches. A true baptism of fire and a wonderful way to learn hands on how the safari industry operates not only front of house but behind the scenes and down the river too! Nothing will deeply root your love for Africa like waking up in your tent each morning on the banks of the Luangwa waiting for the sun to rise and cast that golden glow on a river full of hippos and elephants and thinking… this is our job, we actually live here!

Deciding to hone our hospitality management skills and build on what we had learned in Zambia, we moved to Switzerland for a winter season to manage a spectacular chalet that catered to high networth clientele and allowed us to further establish our career in hospitality. We had an incredible season but knowing that it was a seasonal contract, we had one agenda on our minds; where would we work in Africa next? If you had told us two years earlier that we would be moving to Rwanda we might have laughed it off; but ‘visit the mountain gorillas’ was written in black and white on our little bucket list that we had on a piece of till roll from ten years earlier, so maybe it was always meant to be.

And so, once again we packed our bags and set off for what seemed like the middle of nowhere to manage Rwanda’s finest safari lodge in Volcanoes National Park. Rwanda completely and utterly exceeded our expectations from the second we arrived. I’m not sure what our preconceptions were but they certainly didn’t include the modern glass fronted airport, having all plastic bags taken from us at the airport and replaced with environmentally friendly paper bags or the immaculate capital city, Kigali. As we travelled through the land of a thousand hills the landscape, people, colours, sounds and sights just got better and better until we found ourselves high in the Virunga volcanoes region meeting the current management couple. When guests visit the mountain gorillas it is a transformative experience. Some have waited their whole life to do it, like our 90 year old guest who finally made her dream come true. You cannot see them, be close to them or witness their human-like families without being profoundly moved. It is not an exaggeration to say that being with the mountain gorillas is one of the biggest privileges of our lives as was working in Rwanda with lovely Rwandan people. In our ‘Safari Stories’ I recount the day that I witnessed one of the silverbacks remove a thorn from his baby’s foot in such a gentle and caring way it was almost unbelievable. Managing a lodge and catering to guests were already passions of ours but between Zambia and Rwanda, learning from the locals and building our team ethos was crucial to creating the kind of exceptional hospitality service that would lead us to our next position in Tanzania. Unbeknown to us, a guest in Rwanda was the owner of a large safari operation in Tanzania and after staying with us they later approached us to manage their lodge in the southern Serengeti.

Whilst we adored Rwanda and had had no intention of leaving, the opportunity to immerse ourselves further in the luxury safari sector was too good an offer to refuse.

The Serengeti. It is everything you imagine and more. You will have seen the quintessential sweeping vistas in movies and watched the migration on a documentary series on T.V but nothing compares breathing in the dry dusty air of the savannah or the smell in the air that alerts you to elephants before you have seen them. The lodge that we managed in Tanzania was designed to offer clients the most exclusive safari experience that allowed them to be truly immersed in the moment without the disruption of any other vehicles, guests or even noise around them. A genuine luxury safari experience doesn’t mean that it has to have all the bells and whistles (although here it definitely did). It is about the ability to be the only person to experience that unique moment in nature. It is to be able to have cultural experiences without the masses and to have the privilege of being a part of experiences that genuinely help local tribes whether that is to allow them to share their way of life for the sheer joy and pride of it or if it is to help financially support their trades by buying their products. Once again, we will share the many wonderful stories of our time here through the ‘Safari Stories’ series but our time in Tanzania was invaluable in furthering our experience in providing exceptional, luxury safari holidays and was only brought to an end by the imminent arrival of our first child.

Wanting to be a little closer to home by the time our baby arrived, we started planning for and creating our own company Hunter Chalets and Apartments. With a desire to transform our passions and build a company based on everything we had valued and learned, we founded the business to offer genuine luxury chalet stays in the French Alps. Hunter Chalets has grown rapidly and successfully on the back of our commitment to our guests and our growing permanent and seasonal team’s drive to exceed our client’s expectations time and time again. You can find out more about Hunter Chalets and Apartments here.

During the years establishing and expanding Hunter Chalets, we spent many holidays going back to Africa. We were fortunate enough to be able to return to the lodge we managed in Tanzania with two of our children which was a joy to see all of the team again and introduce them to our two daughters. Watching them fuss over our kids, make them bow and arrows by the campfire and take them on incredible game drives was just priceless. Each time we return to Africa we experience something new. That is the beauty of a safari, you cannot recreate it. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience each time.

Including our children in our African adventures has been incredible. To see nature through a child’s eye is wondrous and to watch them instinctively sit in silence watching animals when they are just one year old makes you realise how perfect a safari is for all ages. During our recent travels we have combined safaris with beach destinations and city breaks exploring all that we can and exposing our kids to the natural world as well as the vibrant African city life. We have also enjoyed introducing family and friends to safari holidays either taking them with us or telling them all about it and advising them on where to go.

In late 2023 Fin and I were talking once again about our love of Africa and where we should go next when we had a thought that we really could talk about this for hours to anyone. We are so passionate about it that we want everyone to be able to experience it and we want to help create these memories for others. With our chalet company well established and an excellent full time team in place, we decided to do something about it.

And so The Safari Edit was born. Our aim is to establish a luxury safari travel agency that prides itself on delivering the most exceptional experience from the moment you enquire to the moment you return. This is deeply aligned with our values at Hunter Chalets and the customer service we provide to our clients. We have brought together a team of Africa and safari experts who, like us, have a passion for Africa as well as first hand knowledge and experience of the destinations and accommodations we offer. Each holiday is specifically tailored to our clients needs and we speak directly to all guests to provide a bespoke and detailed itinerary that is unique to them. We are so excited to introduce you to The Safari Edit and look forward to creating lifelong memories for all of our future clients.

For more information and to hear our ‘Safari Stories’ follow us here.