Who we are

CHRISTOPHER READER, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Christopher was Tish’s husband. His first experience of safaris was in 1968 when he met a number of professional hunters while travelling in northern Botswana. Trophy hunting did not appeal to him but the untamed beauty of the African bushveld and the luxurious camps he visited certainly did. He enjoyed many more of these pleasures while accompanying Tish on dozens of excursions into the wilds of East and Southern Africa. Being at her side throughout her career enabled him to appreciate how a safari specialist earns the undivided trust of clients and service providers alike. His motivation to start Readers Choice Safaris was based on this experience and the desire to see Tish’s legacy live on.

TIMOTHY CUMMING, INTERNATIONAL HOTELIER AND MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Timothy’s illustrious 40-year career encompassing the Savoy and New Berkeley hotels in London, the Lancaster in Paris, the Oriental in Bangkok and the Mandarin and Regent in Hong Kong, reads like a luxury hotel guide book. His inimitable sense of style, dedication to staff training and finesse in banqueting propelled the Oriental and Regent hotels to the No 1 position in international surveys. In Africa, he was head of operations at Singita Boulders Lodge in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Game Reserve and general manager of Cape Town’s most luxurious boutique hotel, Ellerman House. His consultancy assignments include Singita’s tented camps in Tanzania and the magnificent Villa Feltrinelli on the shores of Lake Garda in Italy.

SUSIE CAZENOVE, SAFARI SPECIALIST, AUTHOR AND MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Susie lived in South Africa before moving to the UK in the late seventies. When trophy hunting was banned in Botswana in 1977 she persuaded a number of safari companies to offer photographic safaris instead. This had a significant impact on tourism in the country, especially the Okavango Delta. As a luxury tour operator at Cazenove and Loyd in London, she played a leading role in opening up new safari destinations in Zambia, Namibia and Uganda. Her understanding of what turns a perfectly good holiday into a life-changing experience is superbly articulated in her book ‘Legendary Safari Guides’. As she rightly says, “seeing the sights is one thing, but hearing the stories around the campfire brings the whole thing to life”.

LIZ WESTBY-NUNN, TOURISM AUTHORITY, PUBLISHER AND MEMBER OF THE ADVISORY BOARD
Liz’s safari connection started in 1977, running the Johannesburg office of Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa. She soon realised that many guests needed an overnight stay in the vicinity before or after their visit so she set out to explore suitable options. She made many wonderful discoveries all of which have become primary destinations in their own right. Launching her guidebook Portfolio of Places 1982, she then spent 30 years putting new places to stay on the map. Her knowledge of country houses, game lodges, guesthouses and B&Bs informed her appointment to the board of South Africa’s official tourism authority, S A Tourism, on which she served for six years, three of them as chair.