Our Ethos
Every Wild Wellness journey is shaped by people who know these trails, tides, and mountains as intimately as their own heartbeat. We’re locals, guides, and storytellers – passionate about sharing the Cape Whale Coast’s beauty while ensuring every detail of your adventure feels effortless, personal, and unforgettable.
- Local expertise – We’ve walked these trails hundreds of times, know the tides, seasons, and secret spots, and have fine-tuned every route for safety and beauty.
- Luxury touches – Boutique accommodation, thoughtfully prepared meals, and little surprises along the way elevate your journey beyond the ordinary.
- Tailor-made experiences – From multi-day slackpacking adventures to short, revitalising Wellness Boosts, we design each trip around your pace, preferences, and dreams.
- Sustainable travel – We operate in harmony with the Cape Whale Coast’s delicate ecosystems, supporting conservation and local communities.
Wild Wellness is more than just a company – it’s your invitation to pause, breathe, and experience South Africa’s natural treasures with all your senses.
Leanne
Co-Founder and Curator
Born into a family of adventurers, Leanne’s love for the outdoors began at Treverton in the 1980s, where she immersed herself in environmental education, hiking, and conservation. Her career has woven together ocean diving, photography and travel. For the past seven years, she has championed the protection of the Rooisand Wild Horses, creating an annual calendar to promote their preservation. An experienced hiker, she has completed many trails across South Africa, Italy, and Spain’s Camino de Santiago with her husband, Peter. She is the engine behind the business.
Peter
Co-Founder and Anchor
Peter’s love for the outdoors began at fifteen with a rugged, ill-equipped mountain adventure that sparked a lifelong passion for hiking across Southern Africa. A professional photographer since 1983, he has spent the past decade teaching photography alongside his wife, Leanne, in stunning locations worldwide. Thirteen years ago, they traded city life for life in the Cape Whale Coast, where Peter now shares his deep knowledge of local history. His calm leadership and unwavering support keep the Wild Wellness team, and every journey – running smoothly.
Our proudest moments in tourism
Some interesting information about us, is that in 2014, at the Getaway Travel Fair, South Africa’s largest travel expo, we were awarded 1st Prize for Best Adventure 2014. Teaching photography in beautiful parts of SA and the world, while actually learning and working with your own camera, combined with our walking tours and support shown to our clients, excited the judges to the extent that we were awarded the coveted trophy.
Small bespoke groups is what we love, and we are excited to transfer our energy from teaching photography, to walking in the beautiful Whale Coast, with the same energy and ethos.
We are incredibly proud to have been awarded the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award 2026, placing Wild Wellness among the top-10% experiences worldwide based on genuine guest reviews.
What makes this recognition particularly special is that it comes directly from the people who have walked with us, swum with us, shared stories around our tables, and experienced the beauty of the Cape Whale Coast alongside us.
We are grateful to every guest who has taken the time to share their experience and helped us earn this award. It inspires us to continue creating meaningful adventures, one step at a time.
A glimpse of Leannes work with the Wild Horses
‘I became aware of The Wild Horses when I moved to the Overberg in 2013 and in 2016 on a long walk near our home, we stumbled across a lone injured stallion. Learning that it was Brassy, who had separated himself from the herd to heal after challenging another stallion. I’ve been involved ever since. It was easy for me to pick up my camera, and very quickly realised that a zoom lens is imperative as the minute you go close, their dynamic changes.
Interested in their bloodlines, who belonged to whom, what their history is, and slowly started meeting people who had studied the horses many years before me. It was an honour for me to meet Prof. Frans van der Merwe who studied them deeply since 1972. To have him share his deep knowledge with me was incredible. I will always be enormously grateful.
Introduced to a woman who is 102 and grew up on the Farm where Arabella is. She remembers free roaming horses from her youth. I am in the process of producing a book on The Rooisand Wild Horses which includes all of this information. I photographed, designed and printed a beautiful and informative annual calendar in 2022 and 2023, 2024, 2025 and am busy with the 2026 version.
Leanne’s shares her knowledge and stories on the horses during the Kogelberg Camino, and you may have a sighting of them too.
2026 calendar is here!
Email: free@rooisandwildhorses.com
This is Leanne’s passion project and the proceeds go to The Wild Horse Fund.
