The World Awaits for Hingham Native, Kelsey Johnson

When your boyfriend lands a job for a high-end travel concierge company, you have something to celebrate. Exotic trips are just one of the perks for Kelsey Johnson, a long-time Hingham resident and girlfriend of Travel Sommelier’s new VP of Sales, Mike Abrahams.  “As part of the training process, Travel Sommelier sent Mike around Africa for 5 weeks." Kelsey explains. "I was thrilled when they allowed me to tag along on the tail end of the trip”.

Ironically, this is not Kelsey’s first experience with Africa or Travel Sommelier. After graduating from Thayer in 2009, Kelsey worked as an intern at Adidas in Cape Town through Dartmouth College, and lived in South Africa for 3 months. Additionally, Kelsey had traveled on a Travel Sommelier-curated trip years before and knew the caliber of their trips. Kelsey remembers, “When Mike told me about his opportunity, I jumped at the chance to join him. I knew that if the trip was planned by Travel Sommelier, we’d be staying in the most exclusive places in Africa and, although I had been there before, some of his destinations would be new to me, like Mozambique and Botswana.”

When asked, “Where you afraid to travel to Africa alone?”, Kelsey responded, “Not at all. Everywhere I went, I felt completely safe. Travel Sommelier arranged for a guide to be waiting for me at every possible junction. The trip was seamlessly planned and I am grateful that I did not let fear prevent me from witnessing some of the world’s most amazing treasures. I will certainly be tagging along on more of Mike's exploratory journeys."

Here are a few photos from Kelsey and Mike’s travels to Botswana and Mozambique:

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This was taken during one of our game drives at Jao Camp.
We started out in early morning and again at sunset to experience peak wildlife.
Mid-day, the guides took us back to our camp for a gourmet lunch and refreshing break in our private pool.

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The staff and guides were super knowledgeable and were a highlight for us.
We especially enjoyed the ‘Sundowner' stops, where we were offered refreshments as we watched the sunset in the middle of a game drive.
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We seamlessly traveled from camp to camp on a private helicopter. Much to our surprise, the pilot stopped in the middle of the bushveld and we watched the sunset and elephants while sipping champagne.

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Mozambique was just a short flight from Botswana. We stayed at Villa Santorini,  the most magical hotel set on a cliff above a pristine white sandy beach that went on for miles.
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Travel Sommelier arranged for a private yacht to explore the nearby islands. I was starting to get used to these gourmet picnics that magically appeared from nowhere.

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The service was fantastic and every meal was better than the next - each at a new gorgeous setting around the hotel. The trip was perfectly planned and will be a highlight that will bring me happiness for years to come.

 
Travel Sommelier is a luxury travel company in Duxbury and offers exclusive, highly-curated trips to Africa and the world’s most notable destinations. Owner, Darren Humphreys, is native of South Africa and has special relationships with hotels, restaurants and tour operators and can offer “ungoogle-able” advice that elevates the travel experience. Precise attention to detail is the reason elite travelers trust Travel Sommelier.

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