Your clients have played the world’s most celebrated courses. They’ve experienced the impeccable service, the challenging layouts, and the luxurious 19th holes. But I want you to imagine a different kind of post-round conversation. Instead of discussing a missed putt on the 18th, your client is sitting around a crackling fire under a canopy of stars, completely captivated by a man who has looked a charging rhino in the eye and stood his ground.
This is the moment that transforms a wonderful golf trip into a life-defining journey. Ascot Tours curates an African golf safari that offers an unparalleled experience. At Ascot Tours, we believe that true luxury lies not just in what you see, but in who you meet. While we pride ourselves on securing tee times at championship courses like Leopard Creek and Fancourt, we know that the soul of Africa is found in its people. Picket Chabwedzeka is one such individual.
Meet the Man Who Whispers to Rhinos
When you meet Picket Chabwedzeka, the Reserve Manager of the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, you feel it instantly. He’s a barrel-chested man with the lean bearing and far-off gaze of someone who truly belongs to the wild. He looks bulletproof. He is, in every sense, a modern-day hero, the man at the forefront of a triumphant conservation mission to save the endangered black rhino.
As our partner, you don’t just sell a game drive on this reserve; you offer your clients an audience with the man himself. Through our exclusive relationships, we bring people like Picket into the fold of your clients’ journey. He won’t just recount facts; he will share the raw, visceral stories of his life’s work.
He’ll tell them about the tense, high-stakes ballet of a dehorning operation, the whir of the helicopter, the expert dart from the vet, and the race against the clock as his team moves in on the tranquillized giant. He’ll make them feel the tension as he describes the growling, gyrating sound of the chainsaw, a sound that sends shivers up your spine but ultimately means another rhino is safe from poachers.
This isn’t a story you read in a brochure. This is a real, deeply personal account from a man who has dedicated his life to this cause. “For me, it’s deeply personal,” Picket will tell them. “Dehorning at Victoria Falls signifies an 18-year legacy of zero poaching. I’ve been part of this mission for eight of those years.”
Creating Encounters, Not Just Itineraries
Any tour operator can book a hotel. A few tour operators can secure a tee time for you. But we believe our role, and yours, is to architect stories. It’s about understanding that the quiet thrill of a successful walking safari or the intellectual challenge of a Picket Chabwedzeka lecture can be just as exhilarating as sinking a birdie putt.
This combination is what sets Africa apart from every other golf destination on the planet. You can play a beautiful coastal course anywhere in the world. But only in Africa can you play that course in the morning and spend the afternoon learning tracking skills from a man who can read the earth like a book, a man who once had to rescue a baby rhino from its own aggressive father, only to have the bull rhino track it to his house and tear down the wall.
These are the moments that create evangelists for your brand. Your clients will return home with stories that their friends at the country club have never heard. They won’t just talk about the golf; they will talk about the time they met a man who has poachers treed by lions and holds a master’s degree from a background of pure bushcraft.
Your Partner in Shaping the Unforgettable
At Ascot Tours, we have spent years cultivating these relationships. We bring conservationists, guides, and storytellers like Picket to the table, offering your clients an exclusive layer of depth and authenticity that simply cannot be replicated.
We handle the seamless logistics of combining a world-class golf experience with these profound, intimate encounters. We create balanced itineraries that satisfy the golfer’s passion while feeding their soul with the powerful, humbling reality of the African wilderness and its guardians.
Partner with us. Let’s move beyond selling trips and start crafting legacies. Let’s give your clients the story of Picket Chabwedzeka, a story that proves the most memorable part of any journey is the human connection you make along the way.
Scott Edkins
CEO, Ascot Tours