About Ready Set Safari

Safari planning grounded in first-hand experience.

Ready Set Safari is an Australian-based African safari planning and booking service run by Cara and Van. Van is a qualified South African field guide, while Cara is an Australian safari specialist, travel agent and wildlife photography enthusiast.

Together, we have stayed at countless lodges and camps and travelled widely through Southern and East Africa. We use that experience to help you choose the right reserve, lodge, season and route for the safari you actually want, not simply the property with the best brochure.

Who we are	Cara, an Australian safari specialist, and Van, a qualified South African field guide
Based	Australia, planning tailored safaris across Southern and East Africa
First-hand experience	More than 50 lodges and camps stayed at, with new research trips added regularly
Planning style	Personalised around your wildlife priorities, travel style, timing and budget
Planning fee	None. Your safari will not cost more than booking direct
Response time	We aim to reply to new enquiries within 24-48 hours

How a Sydney office worker ended up married to a game ranger

A South African field guide and a safari-obsessed Australian, born on different continents and brought together by a shared love of the African bush.

We met on safari in 2012 at Kambaku Safari Lodge in South Africa, where Van was the Pring family’s guide (yes, it’s a bit cliched, we know…). We married at Karongwe Private Game Reserve in April 2016.

After four years living together in Sydney — and spending an impressive amount of our savings on safari trips — we returned to South Africa for a year. During that time we visited more than 40 lodges and camps across at least eight wildlife reserves, researching safari experiences across a wide range of styles and budgets: from camping in the Central Kalahari to five-star luxury in Timbavati.

What our experience means for your safari

Between us, we have slept in the rooms, eaten the food, met the guides and sat in the vehicles at more than 50 lodges and camps. We’ve taken our kids on safari numerous times, from as young as 5 months. That gives us useful context that a brochure or a single online review cannot provide.

• We can compare reserves and lodges based on guiding, wildlife, vehicle policies, atmosphere, room layout, food, access and value, not just photographs.
• We can explain the trade-offs between different seasons, locations and price points.
• We tailor recommendations to what matters to you, whether that is photography, a particular species, walking, family suitability, privacy or simply your first unforgettable safari.
• We know what is important for a good family safari vs honeymooners vs first-time safari-goers or if it’s your 10th time
• We can connect the lodges properly, avoiding unnecessary travel time and stressful transfers.

How we make recommendations

We prioritise lodges, camps and reserves that we know first-hand. Africa is vast and properties change, so we also draw on current information from trusted local partners and recent Ready Set Safari clients.

If a recommendation is based on trusted partner knowledge or recent client experience rather than our own stay, we will tell you.

Our role is to explain why a property suits your trip, what its limitations are and which alternatives are worth considering. Our recommendations are based on fit and value, not on which lodge pays the highest commission.

Personal help before and during your trip

You deal directly with us while your itinerary is being planned, booked and travelled. We coordinate the lodges, internal flights and road transfers, and every booked trip includes a personalised safari app containing your itinerary, travel documents, packing information and wildlife checklist.

We primarily plan safaris across Southern and East Africa and can also assist with selected wildlife trips in India. If you are not sure where to begin, that is exactly what we are here for.