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Victoria Falls, through Henk’s Eyes
There are people who don’t just sell a destination — they more or less adopt it. They know it the way you know a long-standing family elder: the quirks, the hidden talents, the corner spots you only show to those who’ll truly appreciate them.
Henk Graaf, owner of SW Africa, is one of those people.
A South African through and through — accent, manner, and heartbeat — yet married to a Frenchwoman, with two university-age children who regard him as a kind of travelling lion-guardian. And rightly so. He watches over his team like a patriarch over his clan: fiercely loyal, warm, and always attuned to whether everyone is thriving. In a travel industry increasingly obsessed with dashboards and margins, that alone makes him unusual.
But then comes the thing that truly sets him apart.
Where others settle comfortably into the familiar Cape Town–Kruger formula, Henk is only just getting started.
He rethinks his destinations the way a chef revisits a classic dish — with curiosity, scepticism, and a refusal to serve anything tired. Garden Route? Rethought together from scratch. Panorama Route? He’s currently dissecting that one too.
And then there’s Victoria Falls — a place he approaches with the same mix of curiosity and protective pride. For me, it became one of the most extraordinary discoveries in Southern Africa; the kind of incentive destination that reminds you why we still travel, even now.
A Zambezi Sundowner
The Zambezi is not just a river — it’s a wide, breathing ribbon of Africa. During a sundowner cruise, something quietly spectacular happens:
the sky turns a series of ambitious colours — blush pink, honey yellow, mandarin, deep violet — as if unable to settle on just one. You stand there, glass of champagne in hand, a few pieces of sushi on a plate, and the world suddenly softens at the edges.
And then, with perfect timing, a small herd of elephants begins wading through the water — slow, deliberate, meditative. As though the scene wasn’t complete without their cameo. It’s the kind of moment you don’t narrate. You barely whisper. Mostly, you’re grateful.
Feeding Elephants, Avoiding Hippos, and Finding a Barbecue in the Bush
Victoria Falls is not a place to simply look at — it’s one to experience.
There’s the elephant nursery, where you’re not merely an observer but a participant: feeding elephants, feeling the warmth of their trunks, the earth under your nails. No artificial staging — just honest, tactile proximity.
Then there’s kayaking on the Zambezi. Your pulse quickens, partly because the same river is home to the hippo — a creature with surprisingly little patience for intruders. Suddenly, everyone in your group discovers a new level of discipline, sticking neatly together.​
When you return to land, thinking the adventure is over, you discover a surprise bush barbecue waiting between the tall grasses. Crackling fire, wood smoke, the unmistakable warmth of African hospitality.
And because Africa never does things halfway, the evening might continue at a drum restaurant. A tribal pattern painted on your face. A Maasai blanket draped around your shoulders. Rhythms you feel in your ribcage. The sort of night that reminds you culture is not something preserved in glass — it’s alive, shared, visceral.
And of course: the Falls
The walk along Victoria Falls — Mosi-oa-Tunya, The Smoke That Thunders — is non-negotiable. You hear them long before you see them. Livingstone understood this perfectly: some wonders do not need superlatives; they speak for themselves.
And just when you think you’ve had enough adrenaline, there’s always the zipline — that final jolt that turns a strong incentive programme into a memorable one.
The Henk Effect
What I love most about working with Henk — and therefore with SW Africa — is that nothing ever feels routine.
Not for him, not for you.
He travels through his own destinations as though seeing them anew, and because of that, you see them anew too.
Every itinerary gets a twist.
Every leisure group receives a creative uplift.
Every incentive programme is rewritten until it becomes a story — one you want to take home.
And that, I suspect, is his secret:
You’re not just travelling through Southern Africa.
You’re travelling, in a way, with Henk’s eyes open.
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