Unusual Destinations is a specialist tour planner in the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar, Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius, Rodrigues, Zanzibar and Pemba, and the mainland African countries of Ethiopia, Gabon, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania. We take pride in our unrivalled product knowledge and service.

We opened our doors in 1995 and many staff members have been with us since. Our depth of knowledge and quality of staff allow us to offer a wide variety of value-for-money products. Working only with carefully chosen hotels and handling agents and remaining up-to-date with the hotels, lodges, guides, and operators we use in each country ensures we offer clients quality service.

We travel regularly to the countries in which we operate, visiting new hotels and trying new excursions and itineraries. In addition to specialising in tailor-made itineraries for individual travellers, we also arrange group tours to some  destinations with a focus on natural history, birding, cultural and adventure.  We also put together incentive packages, visits to health spa and wellness centres, beach holidays, honeymoons and business travel.  

All our consultants have been to Madagascar many times and we visit regularly. Our ground handlers in Madagascar have been working with us for the past 14 years, since the inception of Unusual Destinations, and the strength of our partnership is undisputed. We receive the best prices and use local guides for our group tours. Madagascar will always be our flagship product. 

New clients sometimes wonder about booking with a tour operator based in South Africa: Based in Africa we can remain experts in African destinations and products, and such knowledge is essential during the planning and booking stage of your holiday. Also, during your holiday we are on the ground and in the same time zone to ensure that every aspect of your trip runs according to plan.

We look forward to being in touch!

 

Rita Bachmann is the director and founder of Unusual Destinations and has spent her life travelling and working on all the continents. Her favourite destination is undoubtedly Madagascar which she has been visiting regularly since 1992. Those who know Rita will confirm that she has unbelievable energy and zest for life and a wicked sense of humour. Besides all her other talents she has taken on the immense task of designing our website and keeping it updated with our latest destinations, specials and current rates - no small feat. With her busy schedule and annual trips to Indaba and WTM and Pure Life Experiences, Rita manages still to squeeze in trips to our unusual destinations. 

Janet McCloughan is one of the pioneer members of the Unusual Destinations team. Janet has travelled extensively to many exotic and remote places to satisfy her interest in wildlife. Always prepared to go several extra miles to ensure your ideal itinerary, Janet has built up a steady stream of repeat clients. Most recently Janet travelled once again to Madagascar and Ethiopia (returning with a stock of seriously good coffee beans from our beloved Ethiopian ground handler). 

Helen Mann has visited over 44 countries, is an avid diver (300 + dives), and has also been skydiving, bungee jumping and canoeing down the Zambezi. Helen started at Unusual Destinations in 1999 and has worked in the travel industry since 1993, mostly for tour operators specialising in Africa and the Middle East. Helen got her helicopter licence eons ago, is mad about cats, hates spiders and has a fantastic sense of humour. She is also in charge of our advertising and marketing. In 2008 Helen went to the Seychelles and Mozambique. Helen visited Zanzibar in July 2009 for a quick update.

Elise Kreusch: Beyond going on numerous safaris in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Madagascar and South Africa, Elise has canoed the Lower Zambezi, rhino trekked in Mana Pools, quad biked on the Makgadikgadi salt pans, adventured into the Skeleton Coast, and her latest trip included flying over the Cirques of Reunion. Elise has also travelled to the Far East, Australia and most of the Indian Ocean islands.  Elise just came back from Zambia. Report to follow in the next couple of days.

Constance Dikgale has travelled to Mozambique, Madagascar and Reunion since joining us in mid 2007. Prior to that Constance gained experience at a company specialising in tours within Southern Africa. Still in her early twenties Constance looks forward to many decades of travel to exotic destinations. In addition to Constance's infectious laugh, her healthy eating habits are a good influence on some of us! Constance visited Reunion and Rwanda in early 2009 and has just come back from a quick Zanzibar trip. 

Cindy Zwarts quickly became a manager in her short career in travel before joining us in August 2007.  In addition to her joy for travel her newfound passion is being mum to baby Victoria, born on 15 October 2008. Cindy travelled with Constance to northern Mozambique in 2007 and enjoyed pampering at the many up-market spas in Mauritius in 2008. Madagascar is Cindy's new favorite destinations, read her Nosy Be travel report (June 2009). 

Ian Davidson is our group tour leader. His background is in entomology, having worked at the Natural History Museum in London and then with the South African Institute for Medical Research. During this time he carried out research in Namibia for his Masters degree in Medical Entomology. He has travelled extensively in Africa, leading tour groups to Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Gabon and Cameroon. Africa is his main area of expertise, having led more than 130 group tours.

Ian has also travelled extensively in search of birds in the USA, South America, Europe, and the Middle East. While his primary interest is birds, he has a wide knowledge in the entomological, botanical and general zoological fields and has written over 40 scientific papers on entomological and bird-related subjects.

On a more popular level his publications include Southern African Birds - a photographic guide co-authored with Ian Sinclair, and a multi-lingual guide 'Birds of the National Parks of South Africa' both published by Struik publishers. Favourite birding spots in Africa are the Nyika plateau in Malawi, the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda and the forests and savannahs of Gabon.

2008 trips: Gabon, Madagascar, Tanzania and Pemba. 

Gayle Bannatyne is an energetic, fun-loving, passionate mum of twins. She has been in the travel industry for 20 years and now has her own company promoting top suppliers, including Unusual Destinations. Gayle represents our dynamic team in Cape Town. Gayle travelled to Mozambique in October 2009. Read her report on our blog.

Claudia Smith started her travel career in 1986, running the forex department of a large travel agency. She soon worked her way into a senior position and then became assistant manager. After a decade Claudia decided to begin something and co-founded Amalfi Travel Promotions which has been running successfully for over 9 years. Claudia has visited Greece numerous times and has also been to Turkey, Italy, Sicily, Mauritius, the US, South America, Botswana and the UK. Claudia represents Unusual Destinations in Durban. 

Cheryl Schmidt and Penelope Gottlieb joined used us in September 2008, enthusiastically representing our team as sales consultants in the Gauteng area. In November 2008 Penelope will visit Madagascar, adding to Unusual Destiations' wealth of knowledge of all our destinations. Penelope fell in love with Madagscar in November 2008. We have now another Madofile....Cheryl got back from Nosy in early July 2009. Read her report on our blog.