GAY2AFRIKA :: Go Gay on Safari!

Africa is rarely thought of as a destination for gay travelers. Now, one company is setting out to change that - 2Afrika. EDGE's Megan Smith finds out why the leading African safari company is opening up the subcontinent for the Gs and the Ls.

They are two of the communities first and hardest hit by AIDS. And they are the two communities whose recent histories are defined in part by what happened when policy makers and the broader community chose to ignore the ravishing, devastating effects of the disease.

Yet, despite this shared history and tragedy, the two communities are often seen as oil and water, two things that quite simply do not mix. Until now. Kenneth Hieber and his company 2Afrika are bringing the two together for an experience that is, clich� be damned, once in a lifetime.

Gay2Afrika, born out of the boutique safari company 2Afrika, has as its mission to show the subcontinent to gay and lesbian travelers and to begin to break down the stigma that all too often keeps them from visiting some of the most spectacular landscapes and brilliant cultures on earth.

How it all got started

Perhaps, it's the staccato of his South African accent, perhaps it's his passion for what he does or his absolute confidence in what he's talking about, but Kenneth Hieber is instantly engaging when I call him to discuss Gay2Afrika.

Born in East London, South Africa and raised in the capital city of Pretoria, Kenneth started the company 2Afrika following the end of apartheid in 1994. As he tells it, "Way back when South Africa changed its policies, I came to realize that much of the world, for all the right reasons, isolated themselves from South Africa because of its policies.

"So, I started a company called 2Afrika, I relocated to the United States and became someone who very aggressively started to promote Southern Africa because by that point South Africa needed a stronger force of people coming in to the country because we had gone through dramatic changes and we needed help. That was the founding of 2Afrika, the company itself. That's the cornerstone of it. As the company developed and grew from strength to strength, I opened up into East Africa, which I am very familiar with also."

Once the first adventurers had seen what the region held, southern Africa quickly became a destination for bold travelers seeking something beyond the normal packaged tours. Safaris to the region grew rapidly in popularity and became the focus of 2Afrika, whose reputation for boutique, custom-made services made it a leader in the field.

Top of the safari field

"I have noticed a lot of people have the load them up and get them out and on with the next one. As a result of that, we have a very particular statement of social responsibility in tourism that we stick to.

"I debrief most of our returning passengers, and if I pick up anything that is a little odd or doesn't please me 100% relevant to keeping socially responsible with anyone of my safaris I will take someone to task immediately... I've worked too long and too hard to not make sure that the standards we set, the levels of service we set, the products we work really hard on, are met," declares Hieber.

This attentiveness is 2Afrika's calling card. They put the individual traveler at the center of the experience, listening to their needs and requests and personalizing each trip.

"Anybody who takes a regular pre-packaged safari, generally will get just that - we leave today, we do this; we leave tomorrow, we do that, etc, etc... " says Hieber, but not with 2Afrika, whose decade plus of experience gives them an unrivaled knowledge of their destinations that allows them to deliver on almost any desire.

Custom-built tours and ostrich eggs

As if to prove this, Hieber starts to talk of a trip he's currently planning for two gay men traveling to southern Africa with a group of friends to celebrate their 50th birthday.

"These guys are so unique in their approach and what they wanted to do, they actually want to send the invitations to the people who are going along on the trip in ostrich eggs. So, they have asked for 20 ostrich eggs to be shipped to them, which we are currently doing. Then they will pop invitations into an ostrich egg and send them off to the people they would like to go with. Isn't that amazing?"

Indeed, but more amazing is the various places and experiences in store for those who accept the ostrich invitation. Hieber rattles off the tour plans, which includes the town of Darling where South Africa's most famous drag artist Pieter Dirk-Uys performs.

"This whole group are going to have an evening there having dinner and cocktails and watching his show, which is extremely tongue-in-cheek and very good humor. The end result of that all is that Pieter Dirk-Uys has the Darling Trust Foundation which assists local communities, particularly young children who are their own parents as their parents have died as a result of HIV complications... The whole group, while it is a 50th and a celebration, there are very serious moments where they are giving back to the community as well."

Going gay and not looking back

Gay travelers and African safaris may seem odd partners in a business proposition, but after a few minutes listening to Hieber detail the tours he is currently organizing, it's clear he's the man to bring the two together. As one of the first to bring American travelers to the subcontinent, he's also eager to be the first to tackle the stigma and stereotypes that are associated with gay travel to Africa.

"Back in the day when I first came to the U.S., everyone kept talking about the gay and lesbian market over and over and over, but nobody wanted to brand themselves as being a gay- and/or lesbian-owned or operated because it still was taboo.

"I just thought enough with all of this nonsense, let's open up Gay2Afrika and let's use those three little letters that seem to rock everyone else's world. And let's serve the gay and lesbian traveler with the product they want and the respect they deserve."

Hieber says he and the other guides enjoy working with gay and lesbian travelers, who often bring greater creativity and panache to their travel arrangements.

"I can't put a timeline to it, but Gay2Afrika will become the cornerstone of this company at some point," he says, continuing, "we know the nuances, the likes, the dislikes, the requirements, and we can put together phenomenal trips for gay and lesbian travelers."

The gay traveler in Africa

With South Africa at one end of the spectrum and Nigeria at the other, there is a broad range of attitudes and legal frameworks towards homosexuality in sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, gay and lesbian couples are out and proud and married. In Nigeria, they can be sentenced to death. Understandably navigating the subcontinent can be a bit daunting. Traveling with Gay2Afrika provides not just a knowledge of the differences between countries, but of the nuanced attitudes within them, Hieber explains.

"I've traveled into Kenya and Tanzania, and I know there are issues and it is taboo, particularly in East Africa. Yet, I think somewhere along the way someone in a position of superiority said to the tourism and hospitality industry 'this is what it is, turn a blind eye, do not make a fuss.' I have escorted gay and lesbian couples on safari, and while Mr. and Mr. or Ms. and Ms. are going to be sharing the same room, there is never so much as a raised eyebrow or a question or a feeling of hostility whatsoever."

When asked, however, if there are any parts of Africa where gay and lesbian adventurers should be cautious, he names both Egypt and the island of Zanzibar, but adds, "if you act with a level of decorum, you will have no issues."

Giving back...

As part of 2Afrika's ethos is a belief in giving back to the destinations and communities they visit. Rather than large NGOs, Hieber has always valued those individual exchanges and the ability to make a difference on a local level, one life at a time. As a result, he opts for small charities or causes, such as a local school or orphanage, where just a single day volunteering can make a huge difference.

"I don't advocate for going out and dishing out dollar bills all over the shop," he says, "because you never know who will be doing what with them. My mindset is to say to everyone on a particular departure instead of actually giving money, find someone who needs help and then go off to a local supermarket and buy food, buy supplies and bring it to that particular organization. There is a place in KwaZulu-Natal [one of the poorest areas of South Africa] where an old lady during the struggle years started of her own accord several orphanages and gave shelter to many children, but she relied on visitors coming and bringing with them supplies that she would require for teaching, for food. Those are the kind of places where I involve myself very deeply as opposed to going off and saying here's $100, I've done my bit, love you madly, and move on. It's far more rewarding to bring staple food products and know that is enough food for at least a month."

To travelers, Hieber is both blunt and practical with his advice for giving back.

"It is pointless taking American t-shirts and American baseball caps because you are going to give them to children who are undernourished. They aren't even going to make it to school if they don't have a good plate of food in their stomachs. So, instead go find a local store or supermarket - and the guys who work for us in East Africa are very well versed in where these spots are - and bring food supplies to a specific community. It's almost absurd to think what you can do with $100 in local currencies. $100 we wouldn't look left, right or center at, but when you convert it into a foreign currency and you are going to a local marketplace, what you can purchase with that volume of money can sustain a village for at least six weeks."

...and getting in return

"Some of my favorite moments are seeing the responses of people I'm with," he exclaims. "I know what I'm going into, I know the experiences I'm going to have, but then looking at others, if you look at the way others react in being totally involved and able to reach out and share the spirit, those are moments that have really touched me more than I can put into words... It's something you really can't write about. You can put fancy words to it, but it doesn't encapsulate the total feeling of giving and getting back in return that four-letter word love. You go with the anticipation of wanting nothing, you know you are going to contribute, but what you don't realize is the overwhelming love you get back and the smiling faces and joy and happiness. Those are some of my most special moments - seeing the expressions of others."

For some, the experience is so life-changing that they just can't leave it to a single safari. One such example was a lesbian woman who went on a 2Afrika safari to Tanzania and spent one afternoon at an orphanage for children who lost their parents to HIV. The woman was so moved she is now organizing a 2Afrika trip specifically for volunteer work in the area called Heartfelt Tanzania.

Green from the start

As a company with a moral compass, 2Afrika is also a company with a long-standing sustainability philosophy. Long before "being green" was the trend, 2Afrika had assumed a position of corporate social responsibility.

"Wherever you look, and I sometimes smile tongue-in-cheek, everyone is going green. It's got to be green and on and on and on we go, but we've been into social responsibility in corporate tourism for as far back as I can remember," says Hieber.

Now, however, with tourism gaining a strong foothold in Africa, that responsibility is more important than ever, and Hieber is very critical of some of the uber-resorts opening up in the region.

"Some major hotel companies are opening up and they are creating these fantastic lodges. I want to stay away from those because it takes away from the spirit that is Africa and it takes away from the eco angle that is Africa. For example, in the Serengeti, I generally use a place called the Serengeti Silver Safari Lodge. I use that because they have been built out of everything in the environment. You will just about be at the lodge before you can even see it in the bush, as opposed to new modern structures that have been created for the six-star traveler. I'm really not interested in that kind of person, I'm interested in someone who wants to feel some level of social responsibility for having gone to Africa."

"The ecosystems of Africa are very fragile," he continues. "If we don't protect them now, they will not be there in the future."

Come See the Paradise

16 day safari - Memorial Day 2010

For gay and lesbian travelers who have always wanted to see Africa on safari but hesitated because they just couldn't find the right tour, Gay2Afrika has designed Come See the Paradise, a tour meant to introduce the gay and lesbian traveler to East Africa and show them it is not a place to be fearful of.

"We are kind of two communities that are so vastly divorced from one another, yet we have so many common threads between both of our communities that I think we can weave them together to the common good of Africa and the LGBT community, I really do. I think there are sufficient threads of commonality that can be woven and create something absolutely incredible for the future enhancement of those communities as time goes by."

"Come See the Paradise was created with one mission in mind, that was to say to the LGBT community come along, come see it for yourself, It is not frightening, it is not intimidating and you are in for an enormous amount of fun, and you will be contributing back to local communities, just come and see there is no fear factor at all. And then tell everybody that you know.'"

Come See the Paradise will run as a 16-day safari around Memorial Day 2010 and will visit some of the most pristine safari environments in Kenya and Tanzania. 2Afrika has partnered with Virgin America and Kenya Airlines, so that all costs, including flights are covered in the safari and travelers can start their trip from any Virgin Atlantic gateway in the United States.

For more information on Come See the Paradise or any of Gay2Afrika's other offerings, visit www.gay2afrika.com or www.2afrika.com.

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