Mahlatini's joint owner and director, Greg Fox, was born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa. Greg descends from passionate travellers; both his parents are avid adventurers and Greg's great, great-grandfather Charles John Anderson was a famous African explorer.
Greg grew up being fascinated by African wildlife which led him to study Environmental Science at Cape Town University.
After 5 years working in the City in London, Greg escaped the world of corporate banking to combine his passion for travel with his career and started up Mahlatini Luxury Travel. Greg says he is 'obsessed' with safari and over the years has visited nearly every region within Southern and East Africa.
For him, the most rewarding element of his job is being able to share that obsession with Mahlatini clients and colleagues, many of whom return to visit Africa year after year.
Having experienced so many incredible things on my African travels, it is hard to pinpoint an absolute favourite memory. However, here are a few of my highlights: flying low level over the incredible Okavango Delta in a helicopter; foraging for honey with the Hadza people in Tanzania; witnessing The Great Migration in the Serengeti from the air and the ground; joining a pack of wild dogs on a hunt in Botswana and watching lions hunt alongside my vehicle in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa. A very personal favourite was watching my son experience his first safari at Phinda Private Game Reserve... it brought back vivid memories of my virgin safari at the tender age of three which ultimately shaped my life.
My African bucket list is well-ticked at this stage, but I've never had the opportunity to visit Malawi so that's my first choice. Gorilla-tracking in Uganda is one of my life highlights so I'd love to experience this in Rwanda where the treks are a little less arduous. Of course, I love revisiting old favorites and experiencing the brand new properties opening in Africa's emerging safari destinations.
Legendary Serengeti Camp. I think this small, intimate camp is the epitome of safari. It offers the most spectacular locations and the quality of service and guiding is unrivalled. It's a mobile camp that follows the wildebeest migration around the Serengeti for much of the year. There is nothing like waking up in the middle of Serengeti completely surrounded by thousands of wildebeest and other wildlife.
Elephants are such majestic and intelligent creatures, with really tight-knit family units and human-like emotions. My ultimate safari sighting however, would have to be seeing my first Pels Fishing Owl, at Nxabega in Botswana, after 30 years of searching.
I will never forget the thrill of sending our very first clients out to Africa when we started Mahlatini back in 2002... it was the realisation of a lifelong dream and the start of an incredible journey with my business partner and friend, Chris Goldring.
"Greg was amazing. Great listener and put together an extraordinary trip, including adding a country, Zimbabwe, that I was not considering. Excellent job designing a trip that worked so well for a family ranging from 6 years old to 78.
Lots of variety in the camps / locations, easy travel between all camps, good variety of animals and scenery. Nailed it on all fronts. Thank you Greg -really, an extraordinary experience that furthered our family's love for Africa."
"Our family really enjoyed the diversity of South Africa. It felt like four consecutive holidays: a safari, the Garden Route, Winelands and then Cape Town. Greg took the time to listen to exactly what we wanted out of our trip, and then magically made it happen."
"Greg Fox is one of the most passionate people I know in the arena of African travel. His expertise combined with his overwhelming enthusiasm will no doubt ensure that each and every client is paired with the perfect safari for them through Mahlatini.
Having worked with Greg for the past decade, I realise that one of his biggest assets is that he listens to what the client is after rather than simply booking them into his preferred properties or whatever is trending at the time of booking.
This attribute he has passed onto his team of travel planners at Mahlatini and it forms the backbone of his successful and responsive business where the client is celebrated.
"Greg has worked closely with Wilderness Safaris since Mahlatini's early days. Over the years, I've enjoyed a great professional relationship and friendship with Greg and his dedicated team.
It's been wonderful to see his business grow from strength to strength. His success is due to an absolute commitment to planning amazing journeys tailored to his client wishes. Greg's knowledge of the destinations he sells is to an extremely high standard within the industry."