The Flavors of Africa: Expert Travel Panel & Tasty Treats | East Bay

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Interested in traveling to Africa? Come to special live panel discussion with Africa experts who have taken more than 60 trips in Africa between them, making them an invaluable resource.

Free, but an RSVP is required. Only 50 spaces available. RSVP on Eventbrite, and also email tanya@mtsobek.com or call Tanya Rinaldi at 1-888-831-7526 ext. 6031.

They’ll be presenting their favorite African destinations, relating hard-earned travel wisdom, answering your questions, and much more. Along with the engaging discussion, they’ll be providing tasty treats from across Africa in addition to a sampling of wines from South Africa.
Doors open at 6:30pm, starts at 7pm. There will be a prize drawing to win wines from South Africa. Must be present to win.

The panelists have visited the following countries multiple times: Swaziland, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Morocco, Uganda, Rwanda, Egypt, Sudan, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Madagascar.

Panelists include:

Justin Huff — Director of Africa & Middle East Programs
Justin comes to us from Florida where he was born and raised. After pursuing his MBA, he was hired by a major tour operator as a Destination Specialist covering all regions across the globe. Justin’s first love was the Middle East, but he had his mind blown when he went to Africa for the first time. When offered the position of Program Director for Africa and Middle East programs at Mountain Travel Sobek, Justin couldn’t refuse—and the rest is history. Here’s a few of Justin’s favorite experiences in Africa:

• Gorilla tracking Nkuringo Family in southern Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park (Uganda)
• Scaled the razor-sharp crags of Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park (Madagascar)
• Drove myself via 4×4 through the Segera Conservancy (Kenya) and NamibRand Nature Reserve (Namibia)
• Explored exclusive wilderness area of Serengeti National Park’s eastern corridor on a 4-day walking safari (Tanzania)
• Mountain biked though zebra and giraffe at Hell’s Gate National Park (Kenya)

Tanya Rinaldi — Africa Regional Specialist & Pacific Program Director
A native of Australia, Tanya has been designing and running adventure programs in the Pacific and Africa for over a decade. She is a true global explorer, with more than 54 countries under her belt and a commercial pilot’s license to boot! She has also climbed Kilimanjaro 9 times, rafted multiple times down the Zambezi river, rode a camel across the Sahara, explored the ancient land of Nubian kingdoms, danced with Zulu Warriors and trekked through the ‘Impenetrable’ forest to see mountain gorillas. Her local expertise shines through in the breadth of unique adventures she has brought to the MTS line up.

Natalee Sheperd — Adventure Coordinator for Africa & Middle East Programs
Natalee cites her favorite areas for travel as the Middle East and Africa, so she’s a natural fit as Adventure Coordinator for our Africa & Middle East programs. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her job, having worked in the travel industry for over 30 years in my capacities, from Accounting to Tour Managing. She’s a real people person and loves to talk with MTS trip members about travel and help them plan their upcoming adventures.

Mountain Travel Sobek is the pioneer in adventure travel, aligned with National Geographic and consistently recognized as a top travel company by Outside, Men’s Journal, and Travel + Leisure. With 45 years of experience and expertise, MTS offers more than 200 adventure vacations in destinations worldwide.

Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.