The R10 Million Domain Sale
Afritrip, the holding company for the luxury online tour operators faced legal action from South African National Parks who own Kruger National Park. This was due to Afritrip owning the Krugerpark.com domain which SANParks had a legal claim to as it was the name of their business. Losing the Krugerpark.com domain would cost Afritrip nearly 80% of their business.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place , Afritrip had to search for an alternative domain,when then CEO Ric Meulemans came across Safari.com. COO Alexis Boshoff said: “It was just this dormant placeholder website with a few safari listings. Nothing had changed on the site since the ’90s."
Afritrip decided to buy the domain but was now faced with the challenge of finding the owner of the domain and harder yet convincing the owner to sell.The domain first registered in 1992, has since then turned down offers from Apple - whose web browser is called Safari - and Ralph Lauren, which makes Safari cologne for men.
Afritrip enlisted US private investigator Dan Hurley to conduct a further investigation, to track down the owner and start negotiations for Safari.com. Negotiations went on until March with an improved offer of R5-and R10-million and a fully paid safari holiday sealing the deal. The sale took effect in June.“We took ownership of the Safari.com domain about a week before we had to give up Krugerpark.com,” said Boshoff
“The purchase of the Safari.com domain will allow extensive operations to all parts of Africa and is no longer focused primarily in South Africa; this allows customers who are arranging trips to book any and all African Safaris with Safari.com.”
The company has grown from bringing visitors to the Kruger National Park and South African National Parks properties to bringing visitors to all national parks in Africa in 2017.
Shamwari Game Reserve and Sanbona Wildlife Reserve Reopen Explorer Camps
July 2016 – Shamwari Game Reserve, situated in the Eastern Cape near Port Elizabeth, is set to reopen its ‘Explorer Camp’ for the upcoming season – October 2016 until April 2017 as is Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, just outside Cape Town. This once-in-a-lifetime experience takes guests on a guided walking safari allowing them to get up close and personal with nature.
The Shamwari Explorer itinerary comprises a 2-night trail, departing each Friday, with an optional third night on request to either stay at the Shamwari Explorer or incorporate nights at one of the six Shamwari lodges. Unique to Shamwari’s Explorer Camp is the ‘Explorer Deck’ overlooking 25,000 hectares of breathtaking Big 5 territory. Each tent is luxuriously furnished by Melvill & Moon for comfort in the wilderness.
The Sanbona Explorer two day walking safari takes place in the midst of Sanbona’s Big 5 wilderness territory and is perfect for guests looking for an authentic walking safari, accompanied by a specialist guide. Guests learn about this unique Karoo wilderness area as well as the vast variety of birds, wildlife and vegetation and the natural history and culture of the area. In the evenings a delicious bush meal is prepared and cooked on the camp fire enhancing the safari bush experience. Guests can still experience the height of bush comfort with an eco shower and toilet and all tents are equipped with bedding and torches.
Distances walked vary each day but can last up to 4 hours each. No persons younger than 16 years or older than 60 years will be able to participate. However, if a medical certificate can be provided via the client or the booking agent, exceptions to this will be allowed.
