Your privacy matters
Privacy Policy
How Africa Explore Safaris collects, uses, shares and protects your personal information when you plan your African adventure with us.
What we collect
Your contact details, trip plans and, only when you book, the travel details we need.
Why we use it
To plan and book your safari, keep you safe, and improve our website with your consent.
Across borders
Safaris span many countries, so we share only what is needed with trusted partners abroad.
Your rights
Access, correct, delete or object at any time. We never sell your information.
01Who we are
This website is operated by Africa’s Child Safaris (Pty) Ltd, trading as Africa Explore Safaris (“we”, “us”, “our”), a tour operator based at Unit F9B, Westlake Square, 1 Westlake Drive, Westlake, Cape Town, South Africa.
We are the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) and, for visitors from the European Union and United Kingdom, the controller under the GDPR and UK GDPR.
02Information we collect
Information you give us
- Enquiry details: your name, email address, phone number and message, whether you use our website forms, email, phone or WhatsApp.
- Trip planning details: travel dates, destinations, number of travellers, budget, preferences and special requests.
- Booking details: only when you book, we may need passport details, dates of birth, dietary needs, medical or mobility needs relevant to your trip, travel insurance and emergency contacts. We handle these with extra care.
Information collected automatically
- Technical details such as IP address, browser, device, pages viewed and how you found our website.
- Cookies and similar technologies. Analytics and marketing cookies are only used if you agree to them in our cookie banner. See section 6 and our Cookie Policy.
03How and why we use your information
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Respond to your enquiry and plan your trip | Steps you asked us to take before a contract |
| Make and manage your bookings | Performing our contract with you |
| Keep you safe and handle emergencies while travelling | Contract and your vital interests |
| Send safari news and offers | Your consent (unsubscribe any time) |
| Measure and improve our website and advertising | Your consent via the cookie banner |
| Protect the website from spam and attacks | Our legitimate interest in security |
| Meet legal, tax and accounting obligations | Legal obligation |
04Who we share your information with
We never sell your personal information. We share it only when needed:
- Travel suppliers – lodges, camps, hotels, airlines, transfer and ground operators in the countries you visit, so they can deliver your trip.
- Service providers – our website host (xneelo, South Africa), website security and delivery (Cloudflare, Wordfence) and our email providers.
- Analytics and advertising partners – Google (Analytics and Ads) and Meta (Facebook and Instagram), only if you consent.
- Messaging services – WhatsApp (Meta) when you choose to contact us that way.
- Authorities – where the law requires it, or to protect our rights or someone’s safety.
05Cross-border data collection and transfers
We welcome travellers from all over the world and our safaris cross many borders. This means personal information is often collected from outside South Africa and sent to other countries. We handle this in line with section 72 of POPIA and Chapter V of the GDPR.
Collecting information from visitors abroad
- When you use our website or contact us from another country, your information is received and stored by us in South Africa, and by the service providers listed below.
- Visitors from the EU, UK and other countries with privacy laws get the same protections and rights described in this policy, including our consent-first cookie banner.
Where your information may go
| Recipient | Where | Why | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lodges, camps, hotels and local ground operators | Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Maldives and other destinations you book | To deliver your trip | Necessary to perform your contract (POPIA s72(1)(c) and (d), GDPR Art. 49(1)(b)); only the details each supplier needs |
| Airlines and transfer companies | Worldwide | Flights, charters and transfers | Necessary to perform your contract |
| Google (Analytics, Ads) | United States, European Union | Website analytics and advertising | Your consent; Google’s data processing terms, including standard contractual clauses |
| Meta (Pixel, WhatsApp) | United States, Ireland | Advertising measurement and messaging | Your consent or your choice to message us; Meta’s data processing terms, including standard contractual clauses |
| Cloudflare | Global network | Website speed and security | Data processing agreement with standard contractual clauses |
| xneelo | South Africa | Website hosting | Hosted in South Africa under POPIA |
06Cookies, analytics and advertising
On your first visit you can accept or decline analytics and marketing cookies in our cookie banner, and change your mind at any time using Manage cookie settings. With your consent we use:
- Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site.
- Google Ads conversion tracking and remarketing.
- Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram) advertising measurement.
We use Google Consent Mode, so if you decline, Google tags do not set analytics or advertising cookies. See our Cookie Policy for full details, and you can also manage personalised Google ads at adssettings.google.com.
07How long we keep your information
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Enquiries that do not become bookings | Up to 2 years, unless you ask us to delete them sooner |
| Booking and financial records | As long as South African tax and accounting law requires (generally 5 years) |
| Marketing contacts | Until you unsubscribe |
| Website analytics data | No longer than 14 months |
08How we protect your information
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures, including encrypted HTTPS connections, a website firewall, restricted access to personal information and trusted service providers. No system is completely secure, but if a security compromise affects your information we will notify you and the Information Regulator as the law requires.
09Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to:
To use any of these rights, email abby@africaexploresafaris.com. We may need to confirm your identity first and will respond within the periods set by law.
Complaints
- South Africa: Information Regulator, inforegulator.org.za, complaints.IR@justice.gov.za
- European Union: the data protection authority in your country
- United Kingdom: Information Commissioner’s Office, ico.org.uk
10Children
Our website is not aimed at children. We only process information about children when a parent or guardian gives it to us to book a family trip, and we use it only for that booking.
11Links to other websites
Our website links to other sites such as Tripadvisor, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and our travel partners. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their policies.
12Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated at the top.
13Contact us
Questions about this policy or how we handle your information? Our team is happy to help.
Privacy questions or requests
Contact our Information Officer and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Unit F9B, Westlake Square, 1 Westlake Drive,
Westlake, Cape Town, South Africa
abby@africaexploresafaris.com
+27 82 056 3708