Overland Cook, South Africa

At Intrepid Travel we exist to inspire, create, share and lead the best travel experiences ever – for both people and the planet. More than 34 years later, we’re proud to be a certified B Corp with hundreds of trips in over 100 countries.

The world needs more Intrepid people:

Do you dream of inspiring travellers and helping them fall in love with a destination through real, memorable experiences – including unforgettable meals? As an Overland Cook with Intrepid, you’ll be a vital part of our crew, helping bring each journey to life with flavour, passion, and purpose.

Every day will be different, but every day you will:

• Take ownership of all hot meals and food preparation on tour, creating delicious, nourishing meals for our travellers that cater to a variety of dietary needs.
• Be responsible for budget and menu planning, hygiene and cleanliness, and managing equipment and camping materials.
• Partner with our Tour Leaders to elevate the group experience through warm hospitality and great food, helping to create a sense of connection and community around each meal.
• Be an ambassador for Intrepid’s responsible travel values – we’re proud to work with local cooks, leaders, and suppliers to ensure our impact on communities is a positive one.

To be considered you must have:

• A valid passport with at least six months’ validity and police clearance.
• Full rights to work in the region.
• Experience in preparing, seasoning, and cooking a variety of food, with a solid understanding of sanitation guidelines.
• The ability to assess and meet dietary requirements of customers.
• Physical readiness – you’ll need to be able to reach, bend, stoop, and lift up to 20kg and work standing up for long periods (up to 9 hours).
• Chef certification is preferred but not essential – it’s your skill, attitude, and passion that matter most!
• Excellent communication skills in English and ideally one other local language.
• A strong service mindset and positive attitude – you’ll need to work closely with customers, crew and local communities.

What it’s like to be an Overland Cook with Intrepid

We’re a certified B Corp and one of the world’s largest adventure travel company – but what really sets us apart is our people. As a Cook on our South Africa-based tours, you’ll work freelance alongside an incredible team of Tour Leaders and crew to deliver life-changing trips.

We are recruiting for Crew this April with training commencing in May 2025.

What you need to know:

• This is a freelance contract position, which offers flexibility – but good availability across peak seasons (June–October) is essential.
• You’ll be leading and cooking on multi-day tours, sometimes away from home for up to four weeks at a time.
• Tours will run throughout South Africa and beyond – check out our trips here: www.intrepidtravel.com

Our people reflect the diversity of our customers and the communities we visit:

Intrepid is made up of 58 nationalities across 46 countries, and we recognise that diversity makes us a stronger business. We support a culture where people can be themselves and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, including First Nations People, LGBTQI+ people, those living with a disability, or from disadvantaged backgrounds, and all people from different ethnicities, races, and religions.

For our Tour Leaders, the work perks may vary from country to country, but some of the work perks we offer include:

• Diverse departures through the year to lead! Including hiking or biking adventures, festival, family, premium and foodie trips.
• Travel to where the trip starts (and home again) is included and covered by us.
• Some meals and all accommodation included (often where the guests are staying, such as hotels, camping, homestays etc).
• Access to learning and development programs, e-learning and comprehensive tour leader training before you even start.
• Internal career opportunities to further your career in travel and beyond.
• Amazing travel discounts for you to experience Intrepid as a passenger.
• Recognition and celebration with awards nights and the chance for our top performers to travel to our yearly Global Summit!
• Opportunity to support not-for-profit Intrepid Foundations projects.

We are Real. Together. Ambitious. Impactful. These are our values and to us they're more than just words, they are the pillars of our success and every day it's our people and the work they do that bring them to life.

At Intrepid ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion is an important part of our recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation to submit your application, please email careersupport@intrepidtravel.com with your name, location, and the accommodations you need, we will then be in touch to support your application.