Spotlight On Petrina Bestor

How did you come to join Royal African Safaris?

In 1999, RAS was looking to hire someone based in the US to assist the office in Toronto. It was a job offer I could not refuse: I knew several of the RAS partners including Adam, the late David Penrose, Peter Silvester and of course Malcolm, my brother.  Plus, working for RAS would allow me to have contact with my home continent on a daily basis.

Tell us about your role?

My main role is to be a liaison between the Royal African Partners and guests from booking fee to the time guests return from safari. Other roles include accounting, some management duties, marketing, and Royal African Foundation board duties.

What do you like most about your job?

Getting to know our guests and hearing what a wonderful safari experience they have had when they return home.

The terrific team I work with every day:  Katie, Janet, Bev, Derry, Nicky and Barbara.

What’s your favorite place in Africa and why?  

Honestly, I don’t think there is anywhere I have been that I have not loved.  Well, perhaps Juba in Southern Sudan on a road trip with my Dad in the early 1980s ranks pretty low.  Pushed to name one, I would probably say the Masai Mara where I spent many a Christmas with my family. 

What are your hobbies?

Reading, cooking when I have time, learning a new language, and being outdoors: hiking, running, camping and more recently I’ve taken up paddle boarding.

Do you have any memorable safari moments?

Many! Hearing the unique call of the Indri lemur in Madagascar, tubing down the river in Shompole with Fish Eagles flying overhead, having my pant leg pulled by a baby gorilla in Uganda, keeping up with the Hadza on a hunt in Yaida, Tanzania,  flying over the stunning landscapes of the Northern Frontier, sleeping out on an island in the middle of the Okavango Delta, summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, landing by helicopter in the middle of the Sacred Forest.

Tell us about a place in Africa that you hope to visit one day?

Mount Nyiragongo in Democratic Republic of the Congo.