We'd love to share our story
Encompass Africa is the realisation of a dream long held by Jonathon “Jono” Wilson
A dream born from the wild
Born and bred in South Africa, Jono spent his formative years visiting Kruger National Park with his grandparents. The intrepid travellers would head off in an old VW Jurgens AutoVilla (if you’ve never heard of one, imagine a vehicle that’s half VW Kombi, half caravan), driving for two days from Johannesburg. Then, for two glorious weeks, they’d stay at the National Park campsite, spending most of their days at waterholes where they’d watch the gathering wildlife, read and talk for hours until the sun set.
From his grandparents, Jono learnt invaluable lessons about not only South Africa’s animals and birds, but also its weather patterns, ecosystems, history, people, life in general – and, thanks to long, eight-hour stints by the waterholes – patience!
A seed was planted in Jono’s imagination that would grow to become his dream of the future. He wanted to share the safari experience with others and introduce them to the most life-changing and rewarding continent on the planet.
A life of adventure
At school Jono played competitive rugby and water polo. Sport took him to South America, a trip that confirmed for Jono that travel needed to play a major role in his life. After university, craving adventure and a life in the bush, he took off and began working as a guide, taking groups on long, multi-country tours in overland vehicles. It was a real odyssey to “find himself” and before Jono left, his father gifted him a beautiful antique linear compass and these parting words: “Take this compass with you so you’ll always find your way home”. Little did anyone know that this precious gift would one day be the inspiration for the name of Encompass Africa.
During Jono’s career as an overland guide it was action-packed adventure all the way. And never more so than on his final trip as a guide, when Jono met the woman who would change his life…
Danica Wilson (Danica Sade at the time) was a 29-year-old Aussie girl with a marketing career in Brisbane, a beautiful home and a large circle of friends, but she was looking for a new challenge. So she quit her job, sold her house and took off on a genuinely life-changing adventure: backpacking throughout Africa.
A poignant moment
In 2003, Jonathon had moved out of the overlanding role and into private guiding groups. But he was asked to do one last overland journey because they were short staffed. He begrudgingly agreed, little did he know that tour would change the course of his life. The chapter of his overlanding days soon closed, but the next chapter with Danica began.
Having left her marketing career and Brisbane home, Danica joined an overland tour that commenced from a hostel in Cape Town. Cape Town to Victoria Falls was the itinerary and from day one, Jonathon and Danica’s friendship formed. This instant connection grew stronger when she extended her journey, taking a seat on the same truck heading to Kenya.
The tour ended abruptly a few days earlier than scheduled with the assistant guide contracting cerebral malaria. He was airlifted to Cape Town for life-saving blood transfusion, leaving Jonathon stuck in Nairobi. It became a high priority to get Jonathon and the truck back to Cape Town, but for that a second passenger was required for insurance purposes.
Danica volunteered and 5,300 transit sawlong drives, border campouts, and shared stories that turned their friendship into love.
Building a vision
After falling in love, Jono and Danica decided to move to the UK for a year. One year turned into five, as they embraced the London lifestyle, travelled extensively throughout the UK, Europe and Africa, and found rewarding jobs that they loved. Danica worked in the creative industries, while Jonathon ultimately received an incredible offer to help set up a new Africa travel company offering safari and beach holidays to Africa and the Indian Ocean.
The seed that had been planted all those years ago really started to take root at this point, and the couple knew it was time to realise the dream of launching their own safari company.
With the business plan, marketing strategy and seed funds for Encompass Africa all in place, they decided it was time to put their plans into action – but only after one more epic adventure: a six-month trip that would take them from Paris to Prague, Norway to Syria and beyond. They finally arrived in Australia in December 2008 and Jonathon quickly became affectionately known as “Jono”.
Six months later, on 1 July 2009, Encompass Africa was born.
Making a difference one safari at a time
Jono and Danica, married since 2005, have grown Encompass Africa from strength to strength, with a few obstacles and hurdles along the way (thanks to things like Ebola breakout and the Covid pandemic). What has remained core to the business, is a commitment to making a difference one safari at a time.
They operate in 24 countries across the vast continent and choose partners carefully, based on a criteria that prioritises conservation, sustainability and regeneration across three pillars – wilderness, wildlife and community. Creativity is at the heart of what they do – crafting and designing unique experiences that bring clients’ dreams into reality.
Whether it’s a clients’ first safari or fifteenth, the team ensure it is always nothing short of extraordinary!