Pim Douw and Anne de Korte are a Dutch couple who quit their day jobs to drive across Southern Africa for 9 months in a 4×4, complete with rooftop tents, and their two very young daughters – somehow starting two businesses while doing it.
Tell us how a young Dutch family landed up in South Africa?
We had been travelling to South Africa for many years previously as part of our business, Homes of Africa, a development of luxury villas set in the heart of the bushveld in a town called Hoedspruit, close to Kruger National Park. Anne’s father invested in the homes when the development started, and with our background in online marketing it made sense for us to promote them as holiday villas for tourists to experience the beauty of Africa in a unique way. However, it was during the pandemic and after our two daughters were born that we really felt a need to experience true freedom and the idea came to us to quit our jobs and go on an epic adventure through Southern Africa.
How much planning goes into an offroad trip into Africa?
A lot! But we quickly learnt that traveling in Africa is unpredictable and our plans ended up changing every week. We bought a 4×4 and kitted it out with rooftop tents so that we would camp wherever we went. We started in Cape Town and the original plan was to explore South Africa, and maybe do Botswana and Namibia. However, due to visa issues, we had to leave South Africa and ended up in Mozambique for a month, and then we did Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana and Namibia.
Favourite place that you visited?
So many! But some of our highlights would have to be the Cederberg Wilderness area in South Africa, the exquisite beaches of Mozambique, and the grand lake Malawi.
Did you ever feel unsafe?
Not unsafe but aware constantly. Crossing borders was also challenging with a European passport. But we found the people of Africa extremely warm and friendly.
“To really experience Africa, not just see it, you need to spend time there. Don’t rush through it – spend more time and go to less places. That’s where the feeling of being in Africa is truly experienced.”
What did you learn travelling with young kids?
Patience! Travelling with young kids taught us to be very patient. Our daughters were only 1 and 3 years old when we left for our trip. But being parents doesn’t mean you cannot travel, it just means you travel differently. Children are flexible and will adapt to any circumstances. They don’t need fancy stuff or toys. Kids will play with everything nature provides.
Any life changing moments that you experienced on the trip?
Yes, although it wasn’t necessarily a single moment but a series of them. At one point in the trip we felt our kids were missing out on interaction with other kids, so we went onto Facebook and a chance post on a group led to meeting another traveling family with kids the same age. We ended up traveling many miles together with Vince, Megan and their kids from @the_bucket_year_family. As we spent hours around campfires dreaming about our desire to share the wonders of all we had experienced with the rest of the world, our business My Africa was born. With our existing business Homes of Africa, we saw an opportunity to not just provide accommodation to guests, but to offer them a complete experience of Africa but we needed a couple like Vince and Megan to do that with. So as we completed our great offroad adventures, our new entrepreneurial adventure began.
Being parents doesn’t mean you cannot travel,it just means you travel differently.
And the second business that came out of this trip?
Yes, Dutchies! As an avid photographer (aka “mamarazzi”), Anne constantly struggled with her oversized phone and where to keep it. Unable to find a phone case to meet her needs – protective, high quality, stylish, versatile and with removable cords, we decided to make one. It turned out that thousands of women had the same problem, and Dutchies, with its
range of high quality leather and beautiful prints, is continuously growing and evolving.
Any advice for families who want to experience a safari for the first time?
To really experience Africa, not just see it, you need to spend time there. Don’t rush through it – spend more time and go to less places. That’s where the feeling of being in Africa is truly experienced. That’s why we created My Africa – to take the stress out of a trip like this! My Africa takes care of all the organisational details and curates the perfect safari trip.
Where is home?
That’s a difficult question. The Netherlands will always be home and that is where we are growing Dutchies from. However, we are fortunate that our other business, My Africa, brings us to South Africa often so we divide our time between both.
Next adventure?
My biggest dream is to experience more sunsets in Africa.
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