Wild Rainbow African Safaris began as a collaboration between African adventurer Jody Cole and independent travel agent Alison Hawthorne. Alison's dream of spending a milestone birthday in Africa led to their first shared trip, along with twenty guests. The success of the 2004 tour helped them realize their mutual passion for sharing a deep love of Africa with others. Wild Rainbow African Safaris was born. In 2006, Jody took over the company as sole proprietor and head guide.
Jody Cole is a philanthropist and human rights activist, who has been traveling to Africa since January 1998. Having traveled to most of the sub-Saharan countries of Africa she has become a specialist at life in the bush. Jody is a certified Field Guide and Trails Guide with FGASA, (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa), has trained in Kenya with the Kenyan Professional Guides Association, she is an Adventure Travel Specialist and a Master KATS (Kenya Authorized Travel Specialist). Jody summited Mount Kilimanjaro in February 1998 and in January 2010.
Jody was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She moved to the Bay Area in 1984 and lived in San Francisco for 18 years before moving to her ranch in Mendocino County. She has spent the past 20 years focusing on human rights and animal welfare.
Jody has supported non-profit organizations, special projects and candidates for elected office. Her fundraising experience includes serving as Capital Campaign Co-chair for the San Francisco LGBT Community Center Project, helping raise $15 million dollars to build the Center; Class Representative and on the Board of Visitors for her alma mater, Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA; and is on the Board for the Equality California Institute. Jody has received numerous awards for her community work and dedicated eight years of volunteer work with the Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands.
She has had an active role in animal research projects including South Africa's brown hyaenas with The Earthwatch Institute with Drs. Dawn Scott and Richard Yarnell and The South African Transboundary Project with Michelle & Steve Henley.
"One of the things that I find the most exhilarating is tracking African elephant and rhino on foot."
Katharine has been working with Wild Rainbow African Safaris since 2004. She has traveled to Africa several times, including Namibia, Botswana, East Africa, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In her other life she has been a professional musician for over 25 years. Katharine is our "voice on the ground" while Jody is in Africa.
Founder of Over The Rainbow Travel Alison has been in the business for more than 15 years. She is the past president of the Northern California Chapter of APTA (Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa) a Master KATS (Kenya Authorized Travel Specialist and a certified Field Guide with FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa).
Mariah joined our team in June 2011. Having been born and raised in Mendocino County, Mariah has a great passion for wildlife and the outdoors and brings this passion to her work as the Operations Assistant at our home office in Ukiah. Though she has not traveled to Africa yet herself, she hopes that one day she will be able to travel there and experience the incredible journey firsthand. When she's not blazing through our emails and database, she volunteers and coaches for the local Ukiah Lions Cheerleading squad.
“Excellent about says it all. I am astonished by how much you know, Jody, and in so many realms. Your knowledge and expertise of, in conjunction with your passion for Africa added immeasurably to my experience. Going to Africa has been a life long dream. This trip exceeded every expectation I had. No mean feat. The competence, enthusiasm and warmth of everyone, especially Jody, gave me an immediate feeling of ease and comfort that endured throughout. This was the best trip I have ever taken and worth every single penny spent. Thanks for making it so.”
—C. Kear, San Francisco, CA
