About Mabaruli

About Mabaruli African Safaris

Mabaruli African Safaris, previously known as Gaylard Safaris and Tours was formed by Gus Gaylard, who led the first safari in 1987.

The name of the company is a tribute to the memory of Gus, who had a profoundly moving experience with Mabaruli, a Shangaan word meaning “Big Foot”, who was a legendary big tusker who lived in the Kruger Park National Park, South Africa.

Current owners of Mabaruli African Safaris, Sven and Serina Strohmenger, both have a passion of Africa and especially Namibia. Both worked as tour guides in the past and have an intimate knowledge of what their clients would like to experience on tour and how to offer a high quality, good value tour.

Sven studied Nature Conservation and worked as a game ranger in the Kruger National Park, before joining Gaylard Safaris in 1998.

He started as tour guide, conducting many exciting tours through Namibia and Southern Africa, before joining the Operation side of Mabaruli African Safaris.

Serina finished her Tourism studies in Stellenbosch before working as a tour guide, conducting safaris from Cape Town to Uganda for 5 years, before joining Mabaruli African Safaris in 2006 and have been in the office since.

Both met while guiding on separate safaris in Namibia at Cape Cross Seal Colony in 2005.

As Mabaruli African Safaris is an owner-run company, we pride ourselves on our high-quality service, attention to detail and our ability to be flexible and to meet our clients’ needs. The mission Mabaruli provide is the best value-for-money tours and safaris as possible!

We also care passionately about Namibia’s natural environment and to subscribe to a minimum impact and to reflect on the ecological focus of our tours, where we “take nothing but photo’s, leave nothing but footprints.”

Sven have been conducting tours himself as tour guide since 1998 and cycling tours since 2010 and are still going out regularly with visitors and cyclists on tour, exploring the best that Namibia can show.