Not to toot our own horn, but we at NextTribe believe one secret to our success is our people as much as our places. We’re all midlife women with a boundless desire to live, learn, laugh, and grow. That’s why as NextTribe develops trips to more far-flung destinations, it’s crucial that our guides be “one of us.” Or, in the case of Vanessa Harker and Deborah Cooper, two of us! These South African BFFs are set to show off their incredible country with an itinerary created just for us, one that includes their personal favorite locales, cuisines, and activities. Not only will we be touring South Africa like locals, we’ll be doing it with a couple of truly great gals.

Join Vanessa and Deborah on the trip of a lifetime, NextTribe’s tour of South Africa happening in April 2026. Learn more here.

Read on to learn more about them, their fab friendship, and how they lead what’s truly the trip of a lifetime.

Opposites Attract

On paper, these South Africans may seem unlikely besties. “The savannah, forests, and riverbeds were my playground,” recalls Deborah, who was raised on a farm in the Kwa-Zulu Natal midlands. “My father taught my brother and me the names of the fauna and flora in Zulu and in Latin, and how to handle snakes and tie fly-fishing lures, while my mom made our clothes and taught us to play the antique piano that was our family’s most valuable p ossession.”

Vanessa on the other hand was born in Durban, a city on South Africa’s east coast. “I could see the sea from our house and my classrooms, and I grew up eating curries and samosas, due to the large Indian population there,” she says. “Then my family moved to Cape Town—in my eyes, the most beautiful city in the world.”

One was raised in the savannah, the other in the city, but when these two met in 1988, boom! Best friendship unfurled.

As young women, they embarked on ambitious careers—Vanessa in the fashion and retail industry while Deborah found her calling in hospitality. Yet the two clicked straightaway when they met in 1988 at the Royal Cape Yacht Club. The specifics? “That’s a story we are saving to tell over cocktails one evening!” Vanessa teases (so anyone coming on NextTribe’s South Africa sojourn had better remind her to spill it!) 

“We could not be more different, but have learned to love that about our friendship.”

Early on, Deborah relied on Vanessa for style counsel. “She’d be like, ‘Put on these pumps, this cashmere top, this red lipstick, and go out and get it, girl!’” Deborah says. “She also proved to be one of the most generous women I know—she’s literally given me the shirt off her back.”

Vanessa quickly learned what a remarkably inspiring individual  her new friend was. “Deborah is blessed with the most curious, brilliant mind,” Vanessa says. “She dives right into getting to know whoever looks or sounds interesting.”

The World Is Their Oyster

A mutual passion for travel bonded these buds. Though Vanessa came to live all over (including stints in California and Texas, as well as Auckland, New Zealand) as Deborah continued her rise in the upper echelons of the hotel business, they always managed to meet up for adventures. “We’ve driven across the U.S., sleeping in the back of a hatchback, and hiked the mountains of Sicily searching for swimming holes,” says Vanessa.

In time they came to celebrate—and rely on—how they balance each other. Vanessa calls Deborah a detail-oriented perfectionist. And Deborah describes Vanessa as a natural who “just knows” what to pack and what to see in any given locale; she even has a knack for figuring out any country’s currency.

Deborah is all about perfecting the details when traveling; Vanessa is the one who figures out any locale on the fly.

Of course, they have earned each other’s total trust. Take that time, when a little bit lost on a European road trip, Deborah recalls Vanessa “slinging her arm over the backrest and her head over her shoulder. Then she hit the gas in reverse along a cobbled village alleyway, looking for the  medieval tower we intended to scale!”

Their appetite for adventure remains as fierce as ever. One of their most recent trips together was to good ol’ Austin, Texas (which Vanessa called home for several years). They swam at Barton Springs and danced at the legendary Broken Spoke. “The wanderlust is strong,” Deborah says. “We both still thrill at having a new horizon in front of us.”

Touring South Africa: Let’s Travel with These Two!

While living in Austin, Vanessa was introduced to NextTribe CEO Jeannie Ralston—and they got along famously. So when Jeannie started hearing from travelers how much they’d love to visit South Africa, she knew just where to turn. “I mentioned our interest to Vanessa—who’s an incredibly generous hostess with the best taste of anyone I’ve ever met—and she immediately said, ‘I could put together a great itinerary for you,’” Jeannie says.

Logically, Deborah joined the conversation. “She was just as upbeat as Vanessa, and, thanks to her years of executive experience running five-star hotels, she’s connected to chefs, wine makers, artists, and entrepreneurs all over the country,” Jeannie says. “It was clear that these wonderful women would show us South Africa like locals, not tourists, with special perks throughout. This trip will be an extraordinary insiders’ take.”

One that’s in tune with what midlife women want when they travel. Says Vanessa, “We’ll be sharing all our personal favorite spots, from windswept beaches to mind-blowing sunsets to mouth-watering feasts. We have pulled together treats to delight every day!”

On this South Africa immersion, expect everything from windswept beaches to mind-blowing sunsets to mouth-watering feasts, curated just for women like you.

Adds Deborah: “I’ve been working in hospitality since the ‘80s, for a guest profile that’s an international, discerning demographic. Specifically, women who are either making their mark, at the top of their game, or have chosen to invest in and indulge their passions and interests.” So she and Vanessa asked Jeannie to suss out what NextTribers really want to experience. “Any esoteric heart’s desires you have, we’ll strive to make that happen for you,” she says.

It’s hard not to bubble with enthusiasm over various stops on the twosome’s tour. “You will journey in the footsteps of explorers to almost the southernmost tip of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope,” says Deborah. “And you’ll learn from pioneering, courageous, and venerable women why Cape Town is called the Mother City.”

South Africa’s New Era

Just be sure to leave any preconceived notions behind. “Who would have thought it, after apartheid, but South Africa is the Rainbow Nation. It’s cultural diversity at its finest,” Vanessa says proudly. “Nowhere else have I seen people of every ilk so happily coexist.”

Sure, there will be posh hotels and sumptuous wining and dining galore. However, Deborah insists: “With Vanessa and me, you’ll be among friends, and our friends will become yours. You’ll be welcomed into their kitchens and seated around their family tables. You’ll sway to the rhythm of the marimba and djembe drums while your Xhosa sisters’ voices stir your heart.”

Our guides say, “You’ll be among friends on this trip, and our friends in South Africa will become yours.”

In sum, Deborah says, “There’s an African proverb that reads, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’”

With these two leading the way, we’re sure to savor South Africa to the fullest.