About Us >>

Rob and Helen Maclean are the joint founders and owners of Satpack Travel.

We are both British Nationals, educated at Oxford University and cut our teeth in strategy consultancy, financial services and travel and entertainment companies before moving permanently to South Africa in 2005.

Our passion is travel. We have visited more than 50 countries worldwide, on every continent. We have slummed it with backpackers, faked it in luxury and enjoyed generous corporate expense accounts. We draw on this experience and conversations with fellow travellers to understand exactly what it is that the modern traveller wants, regardless of budget. Although we now prefer to travel in a bit more comfort, our spirit of adventure hasn't diminished and we believe both are compatible, with the correct advice.

We have been travelling to Africa for 15 years and have visited 19 countries from Senegal to Namibia, from Mozambique to Uganda. We have been on more than 20 safaris, driven many, many thousands of kilometres and hiked in some of the most remote places on the continent.

In South Africa we have travelled to every province, major city and tourist attraction, increasingly preferring to be more adventurous and get off-the-beaten track. This has opened our eyes to a whole new world in South Africa that most international tourists never see. And this world has magnificent scenery, deserted beaches, amazing value for money and real people offering hospitality like we’ve seen no-where else in the world. It is this passion for South Africa that we bring to your holiday.

We like:

1. Exploring and feeling we're one of a few select travellers to be on the road less travelled.
2. Being spontaneous, getting lost and finding our way back again.
3. The best, but that doesn't necessarily mean the most expensive or luxurious. It could be the most charming guesthouse with the most hospitable hosts, the most knowledgeable and talented safari guide or the best latte in Lesotho (we do know where it is!).
4. Travelling with caution, but not fear.
5. Puppies.

We are obsessed with maps, researching new places and speaking to both travellers and people working in the industry. However we know that the most enjoyable experiences are the one’s that are not planned months in advance and usually come from speaking to people in the know.

The breakthrough for us was realising that new technology (such as satellite navigation, the internet, email and mobile phones), used the right way, can deliver exactly what most travellers want today – local advice, flexibility, value for money, peace of mind, more information about the places they’re going, authentic experiences. You no longer need to be a nerd to understand how to use it, and it should not intrude on your holiday experience, only enhance it.

We believe most other travel agents haven’t exploited these additional services that can be provided to travellers. They are stuck in the old model of recommending places to go in countries they’ve never even been to. They don’t discriminate between the usually good (and high commission-paying) and the consistently excellent. They book your flights, car hire and accommodation but you’re on your own once you step off the plane. Package holiday suppliers to have agents on the ground, but who wants to be herded from a disappointing hotel to an expensive tour, from a choreographed encounter with the ‘locals’ to another buffet dinner?

We prefer to be in a four-star guesthouse in a fishing village by a deserted beach. Or staying in a boutique hotel, sampling and discussing the Sauvignon Blanc that was grown in the vineyards we are looking over with the owner. Or driving the remote back-route through mountain passes rather than stuck behind a freight lorry on the highway? Or to be the only vehicle viewing a leopard, not one of part of a car park that is distressing her.

 

Come. Explore with Us.

Satpack Travel was established in 2008 and is a wholly owned and registered Close Company.