Our Story
About BokBus
On the road since 1999, still leading real adventures.
BokBus started with one simple idea: the Garden Route is best experienced through the people who know it, not just the places on the map. Over 25 years, we’ve grown into a small, owner-run team built around our guides – real people, with real stories, who’ve spent decades getting to know these roads, reserves and towns.
We’re not the biggest operator on the Garden Route, and we don’t try to be. What we are is the team our guests come back to, and send their friends to. Meet the people who make that happen below.
The Founder
Ryan
Owner
Ryan founded BokBus in 1999 with a single Toyota Quantum and a love of the Garden Route. Over 25 years, that’s grown into a small, guide-led team – but the goal’s never changed: show people the real South Africa, properly.
Led by storytellers, not just drivers.
Every BokBus tour is led by a local guide who knows the route, the stories and the people along it.
Benjamin
Award-Winning Tour Guide
Benjamin joined BokBus after many years in the tourism industry, including time as a hot air balloon pilot. He loves sharing the beauty of South Africa and its diverse cultures, and sees guiding as being an ambassador of Mzansi. Above all, he just loves travelling.
Frank
Tour Guide
Originally from Soweto, Frank has called Cape Town home for nearly three decades. His journey into tourism began 27 years ago at a filling station at the gateway to the Cape Peninsula, helping travellers find their way to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.
Those simple conversations sparked a lifelong career. Today, Frank loves introducing guests to South Africa’s history, cultures and landscapes through the eyes of someone who’s proud to call it home.
Christopher
Tour Guide
Christopher is a proud South African whose heritage reflects the Cape’s Coloured community – Malay, Indonesian, Indigenous Southern African, freed slaves and Dutch settlers. Afrikaans, his home language, carries that same rich mix of cultures.
With more than 26 years in tourism, Christopher believes every tour is a chance to create real connections and share authentic local experiences. Off the road, he’s usually hiking one of the Cape’s trails with his children.
Mawande
Tour Guide
Mawande has spent more than a decade sharing South Africa’s history, culture and landscapes with travellers from around the world, showing guests both the icons and the hidden corners of the country.
Proud to call South Africa home, Mawande loves introducing guests to the resilience, warmth and diversity of the Rainbow Nation – and helping them understand why so many people fall in love with Mzansi.
The team behind the tours
The people who keep every BokBus trip running smoothly, from the office to the wash bay.
Ntsiko
General Manager
Since joining BokBus in 2019, Ntsiko has been committed to showcasing the very best of South Africa. Before that, he spent over 11 years running a chain of hostels along the Garden Route – experience that shapes how he leads operations today.
Ntsiko oversees BokBus day to day, from guiding standards to guest experience, and takes real pride in helping visitors discover South Africa’s beauty, diversity and hospitality.
Sylvia
Township Guide & Accounts
Sylvia joined BokBus in 2002 and is one of our Township Guides, sharing Cape Town’s townships with real insight, care and respect. She also helps keep the accounts running smoothly behind the scenes.
Maxwell
Vehicle Wash Executive
The Cleanliness Champion. Behind every great Garden Route adventure is a sparkling clean vehicle, ready to tackle the dust of Oudtshoorn and the sea breeze of Knysna.
Maxwell makes sure our tour vehicles look pristine, safe and ready for the next photo-op, with high energy, attention to detail and perfectly clear windows for elephant-spotting in Addo.
