Everseen's great photographic and experiential safaris in Africa

A great love - a touch of romance in these sad times certainly doesn't hurt - and a similar outlook on nature and the world: this is how Everseen Africa was born, which to call a travel agency or, perhaps worse, a tour operator, is really reductive. We could rather speak of creators of 'tailor-made experiences' or, better still, dream-makers. Because visiting one of the African countries where Charlie Van Staden and his wife Serena Negro organise trips must first and foremost be, precisely, a dream. '85% of the people we accompany to South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Botswana are Italian,' says Serena. 'It's a choice we made right from the start, because there are so many other agencies that deal with travel and safaris in Africa, but none were focused on departures from our country. We decided to combine the know-how of Charlie, who was born and raised in South Africa, with my knowledge of my country and the Italians. The remaining 15% of the people who come to Everseen are Europeans and Americans and of course we are open to all, but the dedication to the needs of Italian travellers and dreamers is giving us a lot of satisfaction. In addition to the possibility, through us, to break down any language barriers with the locals, there is definitely also a greater understanding, especially on my part, of the specific needs and perhaps even the expectations of the Italians'.

Another key to the success of Everseen, which is thinking of expanding its range of destinations, is customisation and the size of the groups of travellers. "The maximum we reach is six people if there is only one jeep, or twelve if we plan two," Serena Negro emphasises. "We have more or less outlined packages and proposals, but we can expand or reduce the itineraries according to requests. We recently set a record, organising a sixty-day trip that will touch four countries, built around the tastes, dreams and needs of a couple. It is an exceptional case, of course, but it gives an idea of how tailor-made Everseen's proposition can be".

Charlie Van Staden, to be precise, also has a deep knowledge of Italia, as well as of his home country: he met Serena more than ten years ago, when he was a professional rugby player in our country, where he met Serena, whom he then married and immediately brought to South Africa. "When we came together for the first time to this incredible country where I was born," says Charlie, "Serena immediately fell in love, but she also managed to show me a beauty of this land that I, at least in part, had taken for granted. At the basis of Everseen's proposal are multiple exploratory 'pre-trips' by the couple, who screen lodges where they can take people, also thanks to the international team they have built up, composed of course also of local staff.

"Those who come to Africa with us have a great love and respect for nature and the animals that inhabit the continent, but we are the first to want to make an active contribution to conservation," Serena adds. By visiting several animal rescue centres and meeting many people on our way, we have become particularly passionate about saving rhinos and have become ambassadors for South Africa's largest rhino orphanage, Care for Wild, to which we have so far donated one million rand (over 50,000 euro, ed.) with our 'Super project 2019'. We feel it is our mission to be able to show the beauty of these lands to as many people as possible, raising awareness about poaching and how we can save and protect the lives of the animals, and everyone who participates in our trips contributes to our efforts, both because we tell people about what we do in collaboration with the rescue centres, run by exceptional people, such as Care for Wild and Insimbi Legacy Project, and because it is almost always the travellers who want to make a contribution themselves. You can really make a difference and by coming here you can see that".

Photography is an integral part of any trip and of course of a safari in Africa, but sometimes it can be distracting. "Another feature of our packages are the 'safari experts', qualified guides and rangers, who are also professional photographers. During the trip it is they who take pictures of all the animals we encounter, with state-of-the-art equipment,' say Serena and Charlie, himself a passionate photographer, almost in unison. A theme dear to both of them is the role that this type of tourism can have for social development: 'Many local and national governments are aware of the positive effects on employment and the image they give to the world. But we see an awareness, which we could describe as prideful, for environmental sustainability and careful use of resources growing year by year, almost by the day, and particularly in the younger generation,' conclude the founders of Everseen. 'We want to be part of this virtuous circle, encouraging lodges that use renewable energy and are careful about the use of, for example, water'. In the end, it is the South African word, so dear to Nelson Mandela, that sums it all up. Ubuntu, which we can translate as I am because we are