Jomi and Hadley grew up traveling around the world with their families and fell under Africa's spell at a young age. Jomi, who is German by birth but grew up in Dublin, graduated with honors from Trinity College in Ireland and Hadley, who grew up in Boston, graduated magna cum laude with honors from the University of Richmond in the U.S. Unable to get rid of the urge to return to Africa, both respectively moved to South Africa to pursue a guiding career after graduating. After completing their safari guide training courses, the pair met while guiding at a safari lodge in South Africa.

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Since then, they have guided at and managed safari lodges in Botswana, Zambia, Namibia and then Rwanda where they managed the gorilla trekking-focused Bisate Lodge, which was named one of the Top 50 Hotels in the World by TIME magazine while under their management (one of only two African properties to make the list). While working in these lodges, they realized that many of their guests' trips had been planned by travel agents who had never visited the country they were sending people to. That lack of on the ground knowledge was clearly evident in the guests' unpreparedness for the weather and what items they needed to pack, which activities were must-do and which were skippable tourist traps, and which times of year were truly the best to visit based on their individual interests and priorities. They realized that there was an opportunity to offer a better service--to have the people that have lived and worked in these regions for years be the ones planning and guiding the trips. And so, Trunks & Tracks was born. 

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In 2020, Jomi & Hadley started Trunks & Tracks full time (great time to start a travel company, right?). Luckily, their in-depth knowledge of the African continent and their strong relationships with on the ground partners, allowed them to provide the peace of mind people needed in order to continue booking travel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

Today, they are based between Boston and Philadelphia and return to Africa regularly throughout the year, privately guiding trips and scouting new areas for the next new destination for T&T guests. They use their expertise and understanding of what makes a safari truly unforgettable to curate and guide tailor-made safaris all over Sub-Saharan Africa so as to share their passion for wildlife and conservation with others. They now have guests on the ground in Africa for over half the year. 

 

If you are interested in joining them on a safari or having them organize an itinerary for you, reach out here.