Meet the Team
The myth, the wonder, the legend! When the big boss is not busy doing boss things in the office, he is on tour making dreams come true. Francois has been in the tourism industry for over 20 years! Francois is one of the rare cases (as the saying goes) where tourism flows in his vanes as water flows through the mighty Zambezi River.
Not only does he have a broad spectrum of knowledge in his fields, but he carries an infectious personality that his clients, colleagues, and friends love about him (Except his wife…sometimes). Francois makes sure his client's needs are met to the fullest and genuinely strives to make every tour, every moment, and every experience a memorable one for years to come.
Throw a little bit of humor and passion into that mix and voilà you have the perfect guide and guess what, he ticks every single box! The most difficult part of having Francois as your guide is that at the end of the tour, it feels like you are leaving a family member behind when you travel back home (not like leaving your mother-in-law behind). Francois is guaranteed to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime experience!
Simeon has been with the Tracking Namibia Familia for over 20 years, what with this 20-year thing, honestly (laughing emoji). It's safe to say that by this point Simeon is part of the family and not just an employee. We are pretty sure that if you go look up “hard-working” & “dedicated” in the dictionary you will find the name Simeon there.
From working behind the scenes, packing vehicles for tours, and joining some of those tours, he forms the spine of the operations that keep this machine running. The thing that freaks us out most of all is that you will never see Simeon without a smile on his face, like never! We can only count our blessings to have him in our team and family!
As faithful as elephants are to their family group, Elia plays a crucial role in our family group! Don’t be fooled when it comes to age as this old bull still operates like he is in his twenties.
Elia honestly does not know the meaning of the word “no”. If you tell him, Elia we have a problem or a lot of work that we need to jump on immediately his response would be, “Okay let’s do it”.
He’s as loyal as sand is to the desert and with that, he carries a heart of gold! Elia would be a great asset to any company but luckily he is part of ours and best of all, is that we feel we found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow with him by our side.
When Sonja is not busy with her pole fitness studio and blowing the minds of people by showing them what true power is or trying to save every animal on the streets, she can be found at the Tracking Namibia base. Yup, you read that right!
This woman carries a heart overflowing with love and yet still finds time to help with preparing tours and assisting on tours. We are not going to lie, sometimes she takes the “shine” away from the guides as her personality and hardworking attitude are so captivating that she even managed to steal the heart of one of our guides.
For Sonja, it's not always about the fancy lodges that make the tour but the feeling of being in the tranquility and peacefulness of nature. Sonja is an adventurer by heart and together with her fiancé, Andre, they try to explore every nook and cranny of southern Africa whenever they get a chance. If you want Sonja to do something close to “impossible”, just tell her “You cant do it”. Her direct words to you will be “Hold my beer and I'll show you”.
A true gem of a person and we are ecstatic to have her in our Tracking Namibia Familia.
Andre grew up in the tourism industry since his whole family is basically involved with tourism in some or other form. Andre worked as a Scuba Diving instructor for a few years abroad before returning and jumping into the family business with the aim of hopefully one day taking the reigns from his father to continue the legacy of Tracking Namibia Safaris (this guy and tourism, right).
An Adventurer and adrenaline seeker by heart he loves exploring! Throw in a tent (not even), a sleep role, a cold beer, and good company and he is in heaven, free to explore. It’s a passion that built up through the years from diving to 4x4 expeditions and it only grows by the day. For Andre, there is no greater pleasure than sharing his passion with clients and friends.
We still don’t know how he managed to convince Sonja to travel with him on expeditions or even how he got her (We think she is being paid). Andre plays a big role in the functionality of the company and together with his dad it’s the perfect mix of “New Blood” & “Old School”. Andre tries to live by the motto “Screw it, Let’s do it” – Richard Branson, except for when it comes to cycling, Andre hates cycling. Whether it's chasing the next adventure or planning a tour, this is what it's about for Andre and he is ready for your next adventure!
They normally refer to something that is very durable, strong and not easily broken as “Hard as Concrete”, well folks that’s the best way we can describe Tina to you. Don’t be fooled by the pretty smile and blonde hair, this woman is a force to be reckoned with.
Be it from talking with clients through email or calls to planning the perfect trip for our clients to problem solving (not like playing Sudoku) Tina can do it all! Tina plays a major role in helping Tracking Namibia reach its full potential and the fact that she is part of our team is like finding a diamond on the dunes (no joke, this happened in Namibia during the colonial years) and we can not be more proud to show her off as one of Tracking Namibia’s DIAMONDS. You get people that just does what's expected from them to keep the boat floating and then you get the passionate and workaholic (except when its her off days) that is Tina.
Sometimes we need to force her to take a break and go away for the weekend or something because she pours her heart, soul and time into her clients (The boyfriend has to fight for her time) and creating their perfect holiday. We can sit here and type the whole day about how amazing Tina is but then you won't have time to meet her 😊 and we don’t want to be selfish!
So get that glass of wine and send Tina a email to kickstart that dream holiday you have been promising your significant other for the last 5 years!
Marianne, where do we even start? It's not a myth that some people are built from steel because this woman truly is built from steel. Marianne has been a friend for many years and saved our behinds by managing our social media and website. So yeah, all of that amazing content you see on our social platforms, that’s her people and she manages all of that while still raising two young children, helping other clients, and helping her husband when he has the “man flu”.
How is that even possible you might ask? The answer, she’s made from steel. Being a perfectionist in her work, you are basically guaranteed to receive the best of the best when it comes to her work deliverance. To have Marianne part of the team is not just a necessity but a miracle!
