Chene Wales-Baillie

Chene was born in 1989 in the North West province of South Africa.

As they say…a leopard never changes its spots, so when it come to Chene’s love and passion for all that is Africa, the rosettes that mark her heart have and always will remain the same.

As a child with very adventurous, wildlife loving parents and artists who painted the birds of Southern Africa, Chene was privileged to spend a lot of her time experiencing wilderness areas and learning about the African bush and its wildlife. From the age of three she was introduced to the Kruger National Park and Greater Kruger area, however, she moved to New Zealand at the age of ten.

After studying Graphic Design, Marketing and Advanced Digital Media in Chirstchurch, she worked in the design world for three years which, in that time, included multiple trips back to the bush in South Africa.

This, however, was not where her heart was and so she packed up everything in New Zealand to follow her passion for the bush and moved back to South Africa to become a fully qualified guide. She has now worked in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve for a number of years.

With a design background she has a keen eye for photography and loves to share with and help guests to capture the beauty of every moment. She has an immense love for animal behaviour and absolutely loves to finds tracks to follow alongside her tracker until the animal is discovered – especially those of the Panthera species!