WHO WE ARE
We’re a team of independent associates, each with separate skills that we bring to the project, but none of us work exclusively for Greenwood. All of us are South Africans from various cultures and parts of the country and we each bring a unique perspective to the guide. Most of us don’t even work in the tourism industry.
This independence is central to how we operate. By keeping our professional lives in other sectors, from business consulting to technical development, we make sure our perspective remains that of the traveller, not a tourist board. We look at South Africa through the eyes of locals who simply love where they live and want to share the best of it with others. We aren’t interested in industry trends. We are interested in what is real and what feels authentic to the South African experience.
Meet the team...
Philip Rendel
Owner and Founder
Liesl Murray
Project Manager
Inga Sibiya
Route Designer & Site Inspector
Melissa Botha
Website Manager
It is important to note that while we represent the main team, the guide is a collaborative effort. Phil and Inge specifically curate the places for Route 1, and we are currently working with other independent contributors who are providing their local expertise as we develop the other regions and routes featured across the country. We believe that no single person can be an expert on every corner of South Africa, so we rely on people who live and breathe these specific areas. This ensures that every recommendation we make is based on current, local knowledge.
The Greenwood Community
GG is a community – that’s the contributors (that’s us), the travellers (that’s you) and the subscribers (those we list in GG). The guide’s strength lies in the contributions we receive from that community and as such we genuinely welcome all your comments, ideas, photos, and videos at any time.
We believe that travel is an ongoing conversation. A guide is only as good as the voices within it. By bringing together the people who run these unique establishments, the locals who find them, and the travellers who visit them, we create a resource that is far more useful than a standard directory.
Your Voice Matters
The site lists all the usual ways to get in touch. We aren’t a faceless organization. We are just a small group of people who are passionate about independent travel in Africa. Because of this, your feedback doesn’t go into a vacuum. It comes directly to us.
The integrity of our guide depends on this constant flow of communication from people who are actually out there on the road. Whether you have found a hidden gem that we haven’t listed yet, or you want to share an experience from a place we already feature, we want to hear it. Your input helps us ensure that Greenwood Guides remains an authentic and reliable resource for independent South African travel.