88 TRAVEL+LEISURE | SEPTEMBER 2019
AFRICA
Cherri Briggs
Half the year, Briggs lives in
Zambia, scouting new
services and places to stay
throughout Africa. She has
seen an increase in trips to
the Congo Basin, thanks to
new direct flights in and out
of the Dzanga-Sangha Forest,
as well as heightened interest
in Madagascar’s flora and
fauna. Additional specialties:
Peru, Ecuador, and India;
minimum daily spend: $800
per person; 970-871-0065;
info@explore inc.com.
Starla Estrada
Estrada plans about 100
custom trips each year. She
regularly arranges three-
week tours of the continent,
combining safaris and
cultural excursions in Cape
Town, Botswana’s Okavango
Delta, the Republic of Congo,
Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia’s
southern Omo, and the
Seychelles. Additional
specialty: India; minimum
daily spend: $1,500 per
person; 415-962-3650;
[email protected].
THE CAUCASUS
Amelia Stewart
Stewart can create an
Islamic-architecture-
focused journey along the
Silk Road, tell you the best
way to see Georgia’s remote
mountain regions, and guide
you on a cultural trip through
Iran, including visits to
Esfahan and Shiraz. She has
even set up a private tour of
the Tbilisi presidential offices.
Additional specialties: North
Africa and solo travel;
minimum daily spend: none;
44-207-801-1753; amelia@
original travel.co.uk.EAST AND
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Deborah Calmeyer
Born in Zimbabwe, the CEO
and founder of Roar Africa
now lives half the year in
Cape Town. While safaris are
her company’s bread and
butter, Calmeyer is also
passionate about what
she calls Africa’s “other Big
Five”: food, fashion, art,
culture, and design. She can
curate experiences like chef-
led city tours and meetings
with artists. Minimum daily
spend: $1,200 per person;
347-935-2765; deb@roar
africa.com.Tamsyn Fricker
Fricker can arrange
conservation-focused
safaris in South Africa that
incorporate wildlife collaring
and lectures from anti-
poaching rangers. She is also
knowledgeable about other
destinations in southern and
East Africa; she recently
planned a sunset safari in
Mozambique with snorkeling
and kite-surfing detours.
Additional specialties: family
travel, adventure travel,
honeymoons, and cultural
travel; minimum daily spend:
$1,000 per person; 404-414-
0549; tamsyn@travel artistry
africa.com.Chris Liebenberg
The San DiegoÐbased
Liebenberg, who focuses on
wildlife and environmental
tourism, was raised in
Namibia and has extensive
connections in southern and
East Africa. He prioritizesconservation and
community in his work and
can arrange informative,
meaningful experiences,
such as shadowing an anti-
poaching unit in the field.
Minimum daily spend: $500;
858-598-5559; chris@piper
and heath.com.Sunit Sanghrajka
A Kenya native, Sanghrajka
has spent the past 30 years
traveling throughout Africa. A
regular visitor to Zimbabwe,
Zambia, Botswana, and South
Africa, he is attuned to trends,
basing trips around the new
Museum of Contemporary ArtAfrica
and the
Middle
East