Vicky Mittan is one of those people who just have Africa deep in their bones. She was born in Kenya and often her family piled into their game vehicle and went off into the bush in the Serengeti and Amboseli. She is passionate about animals and when her father forbade her to ride horses, after a bad fall she went door to door to raise money to get herself back on the horse.

She and her husband, John Mittan and their two young children decided to go for the adventure of a new life Australia back in the 80’s, but Africa kept calling. Vicky was a successful businesswoman in Sydney with degrees in Accounting and Tourism when she and John came for a holiday to the Blyde River Canyon Lodge. Their son was working as a ranger at a game lodge nearby and they ended up at the lodge of the Blyde Botanical Reserve. For Vicky it was love at first sight and over dinner she jokingly said to the owner that if the lodge were for sale they would buy it. Two weeks later they had bought the lodge and two months later Vicky had left Australia, moved into the lodge and taken over.

Guests at the Blyde River Canyon Lodge feel the special love that Vicky has for this land. Within weeks of arriving she had a bush baby and an orphaned impala. Guests could give Mala the impala a bottle or watch the bush baby daintily pick at a tiny bowl of Pronutro. Guests from all over the world remember sitting on the wide porch of the lodge with Vicky watching the fabulous glow of the setting sun on the deep orange cliffs of the canyon.

When the lodge won first prize at the Bush Banquet all of the work that Vicky and her staff have put into making the lodge so special was rewarded. It was a big day for all and an indication of how well this lodge functions as a team.

The core of this success rests in the love that Vicky holds deep in her bones for Africa and it’s people.