ABOUT SOLIRA

Soné was born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia, and grew up between the capital and her grandparents’ farm in the south of the country, where she first developed her love for the outdoors. She learned to drive in an old Land Rover on the rocky slopes of the Karas Mountains and started watching birds as a teenager.
After graduating from high school, she developed a taste for travel and adventure, backpacking solo through Europe during her gap year. She then moved to Stellenbosch, South Africa, where she obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biochemistry.
She spent the following four years in Germany completing her PhD in Chemistry. It was during this time that she realised that Africa was home, and that she would rather trade the lab for the bush. Since returning to Namibia, she has begun her training as a national guide, building on years of knowledge and experience with Southern African birds, fauna, flora, geology and history. She now works as a freelance guide and is a co-founder of Solira.

Heinrich was born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia, and developed a fascination with the bush and its creatures from an exceptionally young age. He caught his first snake at just three years old, and what began as childhood curiosity grew into a lifelong passion for herpetology and the natural world. At 17, his knowledge and enthusiasm for reptiles led to being recruited by a National Geographic team to assist with filming a documentary about Cape Cobras in Namibia. At 21, he completed his Level 2 training with the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) in Natal, South Africa. Since then, he has spent 9 years working as a freelance guide and contracted guide, gaining extensive experience in guiding guests through Namibia. For Heinrich, guiding is about much more than simply showing people the sights. He thrives on getting guests into the heart of the experience. His enthusiasm is infectious, and his knowledge allows him to turn the small details of the bush into some of the most memorable moments of a journey.