He's helping to take our little lodge to new heights

It's taken some 30 years of hard work fuelled by a passion for the African bush for Nico "Nic" van Zyl to find his bliss here with us, and now that he has, he feels like he's "come home" and become part of a huge, welcoming and loving family. He's brought his own, unique brand of hands-on leadership with him and has quickly become a guiding light for the entire Baobab Ridge team. Let's find out more about his journey...

Nic is a doer. He's only happy when he's completely immersed in the business of running a busy safari lodge, getting his hands dirty as and when needed. Whether it's helping to fix a faulty generator, capturing and relocating snakes or assisting with table service at mealtimes when the lodge is busy, getting stuck in is part of his DNA. It's this ability and willingness to lead by example and as a valued part of a team that has helped him to effortlessly step into the leadership role at Baobab Ridge and steer the lodge's full recovery from the lingering after-effects of the COVID19 pandemic.

Born in Johannesburg, Nic's family moved to Durban when he was young. "Durban is where I grew up and a place I still call home," he says with a smile. "So, even though I come from an Afrikaans family, I grew up very English because Durban is an English-speaking city with strong English traditions, thanks to its colonial past," he explains. Nic did all of his schooling in Durban and was 18 months into a financial auditing course when, aged 19, he realised crunching numbers was not going to cut the mustard for his restless spirit.

"My uncle had bought a former cattle farm up in Mussina and wanted to turn it into a game farm, so my dad suggested I go and work for him. As soon as I got there I fell in love with the bush and realised that working in the wilds of Africa was my calling," recalls Nic. "My dad's side of the family were farmers so we'd always spent holidays on farms, so the transition wasn't that drastic for me. So, I began working on the farm, building camps, building a house, reintroducing game and after two years my uncle sent me to Eco Training to do my game ranger's diploma and then I returned to the farm. Ever since then I have worked in the bush or at least with animals."

Nic's other big passion in life is horses. He spent 10 years as a full-time horse safari guide in KwaZulu-Natal and the Waterberg, met and married an English girl and in 2002 moved to England, about as far away from his beloved bush as it's possible to get. "It was my love of horses that saved me in a new country so far from Africa as I applied for a job as an equine handler in one of the big equine hospitals in Hampshire, close to where we lived, and worked my way up, becoming a clinical equine nurse. I also groomed for a few top riders in England before moving into the equine ICU at a major equine hospital."

In 2006 Nic co-founded the Vets Go Wild programme for  a gap year organisation called WorldWide Experience for veterinary students interested in spending time with wildlife vets in Africa, and so began his reconnection with the land of his birth.

Nic moved back to South Africa after 17 years in the UK. "I based myself once more in KwaZulu-Natal and began guiding and doing conservation work, being involved in rhino conservation working under Dr Ian Player. During this time, I got a good grounding in environmental management, conservation and infrastructure development and management, as well as anti-poaching. I eventually moved into safari guiding full time and this gradually evolved into hospitality," explains Nic.

The path towards lodge management was cemented when Nic was recruited by renowned safari group &Beyond to help manage their lodges, initially based at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge in Tanzania, moving to Klein's Camp and then to Sandibe in Botswana. "Through &Beyond I got involved in community programmes and sustainable development projects, which I absolutely love. It quickly became my passion, working with local communities and taking guests to see the projects we were working on," says Nic. 

"I also quickly saw how important it was to reduce the impact on our environment as much as possible, working on ways to operate in a more sustainable way. So, after a successful career with &Beyond, when I turned 43, I decided to further my education by doing a degree and was accepted by a university in East Sussex, England, undertaking a bachelor's in sustainable tourism. I focused on green eco tourism and did my dissertation on waste management in the Okavango Delta and how it is being dealt with and ways it can be reduced.

"When I completed my degree, I returned to South Africa and was offered a position with Eco Training to sell their professional courses into the alumni of various universities in the UK. I was based in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga and began in March 2020. Fate obviously stepped in and COVID19 struck, putting an end to things before they even began. I spent lockdown in the Cedarberg looking after a farm and as things began to open up again, I started looking for opportunities, getting a position at Rhino Sands in KwaZulu-Natal," says Nic. 

In September 2023 Nic was offered a position at Duma Tau in Botswana with Wilderness Safaris but by January this year still hadn't received his permits. "So, when the opportunity came to apply for the manager's job here at Baobab Ridge, I jumped at the chance. I had a meeting with our owner, Nini Gouveris and started the job shortly afterwards. I've been here for nine months now and have loved every single minute!"

Nic is unashamedly guest-centric, focusing on not just meeting guest expectations but exceeding them, tailoring the safari experience to make them feel welcome and at home. "I always say to my staff, we've got to be happy and if we are happy, it rubs off on the guests. They should arrive as guests but leave as friends," he smiles.

Nic has put all of his experience and skills to good use at Baobab Ridge. "I'm fortunate to have been given the chance to make changes and contribute meaningfully to the evolution of the lodge, helping to build and cement our amazing team so that they can offer a truly superlative safari experience to our guests," he says. 

"The future is looking bright for Baobab Ridge and I am excited to be part of this incredible team and feel honoured to be leading it forward. There's lot of plans in the works - we've just launched our brand-new sundowner deck out in the bush a short distance from the lodge, doing our first bush dinner on it which was a huge success. And we're finally back to where we were before COVID, on an upward trajectory, receiving guests from all over the world who absolutely love what we're doing here."

So, what's next for Nic? "I just love it here and am planning on staying put," he laughs. "I truly feel like I've come home here and feel a strong connection with Baobab Ridge and the Klaserie, and especially the amazing people we have here. This is my idea of heaven, and I feel very blessed to be a part of such an amazing brand."