Vikki grew up in Manchester in a family of redheads, which meant the traditional beach holiday was never really an option. So the Jacksons road-tripped instead. Europe first, then anywhere with something to look at rather than lie on. One year it was South Africa, three weeks of it, and something about that trip did not wash off. Years later, with a degree finished and a choice to make between starting a career in England or joining her family six thousand kilometres away, it was not much of a choice. She has been here ever since.
Sian did not need persuading. She was born and bred in South Africa, and the bush was never something she had to find, just the place you went when you could.
For years, without either of us noticing, we were the people friends and colleagues rang when they wanted to go on safari. Which lodge, which month, whether the small planes were anything to worry about, what to pack. We would plan the whole thing, for nothing, because we liked it.
At some point one of us asked the question everyone in a corporate job eventually asks: would I still do this if I did not need the salary? For both of us the answer was the same. This. Only this.
So we left, and started Marula Hill.
02
Where we work from
Why Hoedspruit
We could have run this from Johannesburg, or for that matter from Manchester. We run it from a small town in the Lowveld, forty minutes from many of the lodges we book, because we think it matters. It means when a lodge changes its head guide, we hear about it at the shop. It means we can drive out and look at a new property the week it opens rather than reading the fact sheet. It means the airport we collect you from is the one we use ourselves. And it means, most nights, one of us is lying awake listening to a hyena somewhere past the fence, which is not a marketing detail.
It is just where we live.
03
Who you will be talking to
The two of us
Vikki Jackson
Born in the UK, South African by choice. Her first career was at IBM, on the operational side of large, complicated projects, the kind where you plan the people, the timings, the weather and the contingencies, and then plan them all again. That instinct is in every itinerary we build. Her favourite animal is the hyena, the misunderstood one everybody gets wrong.
Vikki is the one you'll speak to when a plan needs rethinking on the fly: a lodge switch, a charter that has to happen by Thursday, a wedding that needs a new venue. She writes the journal, sends the packing lists, and is famously bad at following them herself.
Sian Loehrer
Born and raised in South Africa. Her career was in marketing for one of the big consumer brands, where the product has to be right, the story has to be right, and the customer is the only thing that matters. She still thinks like that. She is the one who turns a long, hopeful email into a proposal with the right lodges and the right weeks to be in them, and the one who will tell you kindly that the lodge you have seen on Instagram is lovely and wrong for you.
Sian will probably be the first person you hear from. If the plan feels like it was written for you, that's why.
04
The rest of us
And the people you will also meet
Roxanne manages reservations from Johannesburg, holding dates and rooms steady while a trip comes together. We met Rox during Covid, at one of the lodges, and she has been part of Marula Hill ever since, so when a review thanks Rox or Roxy, that is her. Alon advises on our kosher safaris, which means certification is checked rather than assumed.
05
How we work
Direct contracts, direct lines, nothing in between
We hold direct contracts with most of the lodges we recommend. No agent in the middle, and no booking platform deciding what you see. You ask a question, one of us answers it.
We have stayed in most of the lodges we recommend, some of them more times than we can count, and we tell you when we have not. Where we have not, we will only put a property in front of you if we have current, first-hand intelligence on it, from operators we trust or from recent client feedback.
For the ones we know, we can tell you what the rooms are actually like, which guides we would ask for, which kitchens are honest about allergies, which lodges are wonderful for children and which are really not.
We also represent a small collection of private safari homes and villas directly. If you want a house instead of a lodge, we are one of very few people who can put one in your itinerary.
06
While you are away
You have our numbers
This is the part most companies do not write down, so here it is. When you travel with us, you have our numbers. If a transfer is late, a flight is cancelled, or you want to know whether the thing outside your tent is what you think it is, you call, and one of us picks up. Being on your time zone rather than ours is part of the job.
Every booking is financially protected through SATSA bonding. We are SATSA member 3049.
07
Our own rules
A few things we have decided not to do
We do not send brochures. We have taken the lodge logo stream off the site, because we would rather you chose a lodge for the right reasons than because it looked familiar. The rate you see is the lodge's own rate, and we do not invent discounts to win a booking. We stopped printing a long time ago, and the office runs on solar. We will name a lodge on social when we are working on something together, and otherwise we leave our own stays off it, because a lodge that has looked after us privately should not have to wonder what we will say about it in public.
None of this is a manifesto. It is just how two people who plan safaris for a living have decided to plan them.
As featured in
Travel Essence Magazine put the two of us on its cover and asked how Marula Hill began.
Sian was great in helping us plan our 8 night South African safari. There are so many choices but she met with us and helped narrow down our options and did a superb job at selecting accommodations for us.
Sue W.Thornybush & Sabi Sand
Marula Hill was super helpful and organised. Our trip was relaxed and full of incredible game sightings, with warm staff and guides who went out of their way to make sure our trip was memorable.
Anneleigh J.Anniversary safari, South Africa
Our travel agent Roxy did our booking and made sure we were well taken care of. The food was absolutely delicious, the staff so friendly and helpful. Our game ranger Vincent made sure our game viewing didn't disappoint.
Neil & Cally H.Waterberg, Limpopo
Having never been to the African continent, I found the planning process intimidating. Marula Hill took care of every detail. We covered three countries and a variety of activities during our 12-day stay, and everything went smoothly.
