At Drive Africa, our story began in the Greater Kruger area, where Josh, from Wales, worked as a camp manager and Lorena, from Switzerland, guided guests as a safari and photography guide at a wildlife conservation project. Brought together by a shared love for the African bush, our early days were spent helping guests connect with the incredible wildlife and nature around us.
After leaving our positions at the project, we set off on a self-drive overland adventure, covering nearly 20,000 km in our fully self-sufficient 1997 Land Cruiser, complete with a roof tent and everything we’d need for life in the wilds of Africa. Over six months, we explored South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, staying in a mix of campsites, lodges, and wild bush camps. That journey only deepened our love of overlanding and it’s where the idea for Drive Africa was born.
It was our first big adventure together, but far from our first time exploring the continent. Between us, we had already travelled through Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, along with much of southern Africa, through volunteering, safaris, group travel, and self-drive trips.
After time back home and exploring other parts of the world, we returned for another epic journey, this time through Uganda, followed by a magical stay in Zanzibar, where we tied the knot on the beach.
Now based in Switzerland, we share our passion for Africa by planning fully tailored overland trips while continuing to explore the continent ourselves, constantly expanding our knowledge to make every journey we design as seamless and memorable as possible.
Josh first visited Africa in 2014 on a trip to Kenya after helping to fundraise and build a school in Kibera, Nairobi. During that trip, he experienced his first safari in the Masai Mara and climbed Mount Kenya, sparking a lasting fascination with the continent.
Soon after, while working as an IT project manager in Cardiff, Josh returned to Africa for an extended holiday, exploring Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa. This journey combined volunteering with solo travel and deepened his love for Africa and adventure. Inspired by these experiences, he left his job at home in Wales to spend over a year traveling the world, returning to Africa along the way. Back home, he began working in environmental affairs, aiming to build a career in conservation. Two years later, that dream became reality when he accepted a role managing a wildlife conservation project in the Greater Kruger area, an experience that strengthened his connection to the bush and led him to meet Lorena.
Since then, while travelling and working abroad, Josh has been running a sideline business planning overlanding trips for friends, people met along his travels and through word of mouth. After taking such great enjoyment from doing so, the aim is to now take this business to the next level and reach a wider audience with Drive Africa.
Lorena, from Switzerland, first set foot in Africa in 2017, working as a photography teacher at a wildlife camp near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe before moving on to a safari camp in Kenya. Not long after, she joined a group overlanding expedition covering South Africa, Namibia and Johannesburg, an adventure that ignited a deep love for Africa, its wildlife, its people, and the special feeling of being out in the bush, while also fuelling her growing passion for photography.
Eager to spend more time in the wild, Lorena took a role at a conservation project in the Greater Kruger area before deciding to take her passion to the next level and complete her FGASA field guide training in South Africa. After six months of intensive training, she stayed on for another six month placement at a different location in the Greater Kruger, where she met Josh.
Since then, her love for Africa and wildlife photography has only grown during multiple more adventures, including a six month overland trip through Southern Africa, an unforgettable journey around Uganda, getting married on the beaches of Zanzibar, and, more recently, an overlanding trip through Morocco.
Since returning home to Switzerland, Lorena has also worked as a travel advisor, designing trips all over the world for clients, specialising in Africa travel.
Drive Africa aims to share our love of overlanding in Africa by designing and booking fully bespoke trips, tailored just for you.