About me

Grete Vahtakand – more than 20 years of experience in tourism and travelling.

My name is Grete and I come from Estonia. Travelling is a lifestyle for me and it has taken me to 67 different countries. I have lived on three continents, currently in South-Africa.

I have worked as a travel consultant since 1997 in Estonia, Malaysia, Tanzania and South Africa. During that time I have worked as a tour guide on skiing trips to Scandinavia and the rest of Europe, accompanied groups on canoe hikes and climbed various mountains in Asia and Africa as a guide.

Besides loving to travel myself, I am also passionate about organizing trips and I wish to share the excitement of travelling with everyone who has similar dreams. I want to make dreams come true!

I hold many places in Europe, Asia and Africa close to my heart. I have conquered some of the highest peaks in Asia (Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Kerinci in Sumatra and Mount Rinjani in Lombok). I have been to the Roof of Africa in Kilimanjaro, reached the top of Mount Meru in Tanzania and conquered Mount Kenya in Kenya.

Hikes have taken me to the forests and national parks of Lesotho, Swaziland, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam and to the wild rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia.

Out of these amazing experiences, I believe rafting in the rapids of Zambezi River, diving with whale sharks in Mozambique and South Africa, taking part in trail runs in Drakensberg, running marathons in Europe and Asia and participating in safaris in the Okavango Delta, Namibia, Tanzania and Kenya have perhaps been the most special of them all.

Travel experience:

A – Åland Islands, Albania, Australia, Austria

B – Borneo (Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria

C – China, Croatia, Cambodia, Cyprus, Czech Republic

D – Denmark

E – Estonia, Egypt, England

F – Faroe Islands, France, Finland

G – Gibraltar, Greece (including Crete and Rhodes), Germany

H – Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary

I – Ireland, Indonesia (Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi, Lombok, Gili), Iceland, Italy (including Sicily)

J – Jamaica

K – Kenya

L – Laos, Lithuania, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Latvia

M – Macau, Madagascar, Malta, Malaysia, Morocco, Mauritius, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique

N – Namibia, Norway

P – Philippines, Poland, Portugal (including Madeira)

R – Republic of South Africa, Russia

S – Spain (including the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands), Sweden, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Syria

T – Thailand, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey

V – Vietnam

Z – Zambia, Zanzibar, Zimbabwe

 

Languages:

I speak Estonian, English and Finnish. I can also understand Russian and Swahili

Hobbies:

I love sports, theatre, books, handicraft, nature, photographing animals and birds. My special passion is hiking and canoeing.

Plans for the future:

I am currently obtaining the Survival Ranger qualification. My dream is to get the Game Ranger qualification and work in one of the national parks that is the home of the Big Five (proudest and most powerful animals in Africa): lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos and rhinos.

Motto:

Smile and the world will smile back at you! ☺

Naerata ja maailm naeratab sulle vastu! ?