Meet Masego, our dynamic operations manager

Feline Fields allowed her to realise her full potential

What makes a safari special? Is it an incredible location in a remote African wilderness, or sensational, luxury accommodation that indulges and pampers? Is it fabulous wildlife sightings and amazing guest experiences? Or all of the above? Here at Feline Fields, we believe that people make the difference between a good safari and an absolutely great one, and we're blessed to have a team of them working hard to make safari magic each and every day. 

They're our family - the extended support network of talented individuals who we rely on to make the Feline Fields safari experience extraordinary, and we're going to be sharing some of their stories over the coming months. We're kicking off with our Botswana-based "matriarch" - our truly inspirational operations manager Masego Sebokolodi. So, let's "meet" her and find out more about her...

Masego Sebokolodi is a pocket-sized powerhouse. The petite mother of four runs the operational side of Feline Fields' business from our office compound close to Maun International Airport, and is a director of the company to boot, earning her position through hard work and a passion for the industry she fell in love with aged 20, more years ago than she cares to mention!

Born and raised in Tonota in the north-east of Botswana, in what's known as the central district, some 30km from Francistown, Masego left school and went straight into national service as a teacher, posted in the north of the country. During a visit to see an aunt in the town of Gweta, renowned as the gateway to the Makgadikgadi Pans, she decided to get a job at a well-known local safari lodge. The rest, as they say, is history... 

"I started out as a chef and worked hard for three years, eventually becoming an assistant manager," she laughs, reminiscing about her start in the industry she so loves. "At the same time I decided to go back to school, doing a diploma in tourism through distance learning while I worked, so that I could improve my qualifications and skill set."

After getting her diploma she moved from Gweta to the Okavango Delta - the beating heart of tourism in Botswana. It was here, three years later in 2015, that she met Marjan del Sarte, co-owner and director of Feline Fields with her husband, Raphaël. Masego listened to Marjan's plans for a new lodge in the Kalahari and applied for a job on the spot. 

"When I joined Feline Fields, we were just beginning to build the chalets at Feline Fields Lodge in one of the most remote parts of the Kalahari, not far from the north-west border with Namibia," explains Masego. "It was so exciting and such an opportunity to be part of something from the ground up, so I jumped at the chance to learn as much as I could along the way."

And learn she did, in copious amounts! "It's been such a privilege to work alongside Marjan and Raphaël and I've learned so much from both of them, and from the journey we have taken together," she smiles earnestly. "I could not have asked for a better company to work for, nor one to help me realise my full potential," she adds. It's that potential and her penchant for leadership that saw her promoted to Operations Manager in September 2023. She's also a director of Feline Fields.

"Working at Feline Fields is like being part of a big family - one that cares for you and supports you every step of the way and helps you to become the best version of yourself possible," she says. 

In 2021 Marjan and Raphaël acquired a plot close to Maun International Airport (walking distance, in fact) and created Feline Fields' office compound. Today its the operational hub of the business and Masego's "home base", where she works with the reservations and other operations staff to ensure everything runs smoothly and seamlessly at Feline Fields Lodge and Feline Fields Vintage Camp in the Khwai region of the Delta.

"I love it here," she says. "I could never go anywhere else. I see myself spending the rest of my career here with Feline Fields, as Marjan and Raphael's partner, I am exceptionally happy and consider myself blessed," Masego says.

Her journey has not been without its challenges. "Getting Feline Fields Lodge established was hard, especially with it being in such a remote part of Botswana. But as soon as we paired it with Feline Fields Vintage Camp in Khwai it all made sense to the tourism market and offered guests the chance to enjoy the best of Botswana's wildlife in a wonderful part of the Delta and combine it with a sensational, immersive Kalahari experience at Feline Fields Lodge." 

So, what's next? "We do have plans in the works for another camp in the Delta, but that's another story and one which we hope will add to the current offering," says Masego cryptically. 

She's justifiably proud of what she's achieved. "I feel that I have done a good job, especially when we get compliments for the lodge and the camp from guests and trade partners alike, telling us how lovely they are," she says. "When we started, we had nothing in place, no systems or management processes, so I had to create all of the standard operating procedures, get everything in place and help to build the brand with Marjan at my side. We still work closely together, which is wonderful. She's very hands on and an inspiration to me."

Masego is also a role model for her four children - two daughters and two sons, aged 20, 18, 11 and six. "It's good to know that I can show them the results of hard work and commitment first-hand, providing them with opportunities in the process," she says. "They are very proud of me, which makes me a very happy mom!"