Emma Seaman: People And Places

EMMA SEAMAN:

PEOPLE AND PLACES

Emma Seaman was born and raised in Zimbabwe where she attended junior and high school. She says of her childhood, ‘I come from a small family of four—my parents and my sister. I grew up in the suburbs of Harare and went to a local primary school down the road from our home. Life was very free and relaxed and I was always out and about on my bicycle, riding to and from school and around the neighbourhood.

‘At18,whenIfinishedmyAlevels,Idecidedtodoabitoftravelling to decide what I wanted to do. I went to Australia, the Far East and eventually ended up in Dorset, England, where I spent some time working in a kennels and cattery. I also worked in the pub nearby at lunchtime and in the evening. Working in the pub is something I really enjoyed; I loved meeting new people and working with a team of people. It was there that I decided I wanted to go into hospitality—initially hotel management.’

Emma eventually returned to Zimbabwe and looked at her options. The decision was taken to begin working at a hotel with either a job or internship to see if she would enjoy it and if hotel school would be the next best step. ‘I was very fortunate that I got a job at Meikles Hotel,Harare’sleadingfive-starhotel.Ihadstudied languages for A level and I got a job as one of their guest services co-ordinators because I had French and German to my advantage,’ she tells me. ‘That was where my career in hospitality was launched. I loved working in the hotel with all the different guests that I got to meet and we had many regulars that we managed to build a relationship with. In my role as guest services I managed to cross over into many other departments like Food and Beverage for various functions, assist Front Desk with check-ins if the hotel was busy and we really got an opportunity to be involved in the full hotel operation.’

Emma met her husband David while working at Meikles. He was the banqueting manager at the time, and they eventually married before moving to Victoria Falls to work at the Victoria Falls Hotel. ‘Wehadourfirstsonshortlythereafterandthenmovedto Johannesburg in South Africa where my husband ran a small boutique hotel, The Grace at Rosebank. I had then joined a group of lodges that operated in Zambia known as Star of Africa Lodges and I was their marketing manager.’

Writer: Leelee Ngwenya Photography: People and Places

LivinginJohannesburgwasnotthebestfitforthefamily.Thebig city was fast paced and at the time it felt very First World and not suited to their background, coming from the slower pace of life in Zimbabwe. When the opportunity to move to Zambia presented itself, they jumped at the chance. ‘We moved to Zambia in 2004 and we have been here 13 going on 14 years,’ Emma explains. ‘I workedforWildernessSafarisintheirLusakaheadofficeupuntil 2012whentheydecidedtomovetheirheadofficetoVictoriaFalls town in Zimbabwe. David and I decided that we were very happy in Lusaka and in Zambia, and it was time for me to put my dream into action and start my own business and consequently People and Places was born. We started operations in mid-2012 as a small personal tour operating business.

‘When we were starting out, we wanted to link people and places—people being the traveller, our agents and the people on the ground; the staff and the guides, people working at the camps. Places—the countries and parks that we cover, for us it is about how all of these elements are connected and create the ultimate safari experience. For me it’s not just about the safari though; it’s about getting a taste of the culture, seeing how other people live in our parts of the world and that’s a huge element. The people element is key to the overall experience—from the tour guide and local people on the ground—that makes it all possible; they make it an enriching experience.’

People and Places is Zambia-based but has a presence in its neighbouring countries in Southern Africa such as Botswana, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Emma explains the rationale: ‘Zimbabwe, because of my roots and the fact that I know the country very well. I know all the different regions and I have been working with most of the camps and service providers there since I started in hospitality. I think it’s a fantastic country that combines well with Zambia, allowing us to do multiple destination travel experiences.

‘Since moving to Zambia, we have had the opportunity to go to Malawi several times and it marries very well with Zambia in terms of logistics; we are able to move people between the two countries. Lake Malawi is a wonderful end to a safari; it’s the equivalent to a very nice beach experience but logistically so easy to access from South Luangwa. We do stand-alone trips to Malawi for people visiting Liwonde National Park, Majete Wildlife Reserve and the Nyika Plateau, to name more popular areas. Botswana is an area