Hoopoe Safaris news: Director, Recruitment, New vehicles

Hoopoe Safaris is delighted to announce Peter Lindstrom’s safe return to Arusha, Tanzania, after an unexpectedly long stay in the UK.

A company director at Hoopoe, Peter’s vision and principles are an integral part of what we do, and have given Hoopoe the unshakeable ethos that make us such a trustworthy partner and DMC. Peter trains our long-serving, expert guides, who remained active throughout the pandemic, and steers a passionate company, working in partnership with local communities to conserve wildlife for future generations. Seeing a return to normality, post-pandemic, Peter was greatly looking forward to catching up with friends and colleagues from the industry, especially the UK operators, in person at Experience Africa in June, but some aggressive hotel steps made him a London hospital guest instead.

With his usual good humour and work ethic, Peter was far more concerned about getting his laptop to the show than he was about fractured bones, and after an impressively short rehab, has returned home on fine form. Thanks to Fern Montgomery from Samphire, for stepping into his shoes at the last minute!

As we adjust to the post Covid period, Hoopoe Safaris is on the recruiting trail, with new office staff and, as always, encouraging upward mobility into the management team.

Hoopoe has also invested in state-of-the-art, new generation safari cars, with a focus on photographers. We have completely re-conditioned 2 Toyota Land Cruisers, which are a cross over between open game drive safari vehicles and conventional safari cars, and we have 3 more on the way. These allow us to have the best of both worlds, where the vehicle can be adapted, in minutes, to qualify to enter the Crater. Once in the Serengeti, it becomes an open game drive with a hatch, offering sun protection. Another advantage of this vehicle is that when it rains it can be battened down, also useful between parks on transit sections which can be very dusty, as they are relatively dust proof! Hoopoe is also starting a programme of fleet renewal in 2023, with a target of three new vehicles each year, for the next three to five years.

Any significant senior management changes will be passed on, and our team are delighted to share their skills as an East African DMC with operators. Penny and Fern at Samphire Travel Consulting have resumed their representation work for Hoopoe, and are keen to give you more information. We’re anticipating a strong Q4 in 2022, and a roaring 2023.